Meanwhile many of the perceived blockbuster sure things in long-running franchises failed to take off.
The wider industry gives the impression of in a continued state of upheaval and transition.
; and no one is exactly sure what audiences want right now.
But the uncertainty is creating an air of excitement and anticipation.
More impressive still is how Cruise and theMissionfilms continue to defy the laws of Hollywood gravity too.
Despite being nearly 30 years old, these movies generally get better with nearly every installment.
Hes crying in the unisex bathroom, having been cheated on by his longterm girlfriend.
They share stories and get up to capers (surrounding the reclamation of a record).
Infinity Pool
Brandon Cronenberg came into his own as a filmmaker withthe hallucinatory nightmarethat isInfinity Pool.
But whenyou add director Paul King into the mix, all bets are off.
This is the man who madePaddington1and2, the least cynical family films of their time.
Chalamet as young Wonka is winsome.
Are You There God?
Its Me, Margaret.
Heres hoping thatMargaret, both the book and the film, manages to find new fans again.
Its a simple and winning American immigrant story.
After all, how many other comedies feature an LGBTQ+ after-school fight club?
The films vivacious energy makes the movie dance between raindrops (or at least flecks of blood splatter).
Give it a watch or three.
A big reason this is made possible is a cast which conjures a wall-to-wall charm offensive.
Its probably the most fun youll have watching this kind of thing.
With the BlackBerry itself now long gone, you wont get the sensation of watching a two-hour commercial.
The systematic slaughter of thousands is occurring, and it is impossible to not notice.
However, you only hear him speak about that in passing over the phone.
Hedwig is also fully aware of what her husband does (how can she not be?
), but his ingenuity pays for the home and garden she always dreamed of raising her children in.
Theirs is an idyllic life.
Dream Scenario
Theres something so malevolently cruel aboutKristoffer BorglisDream Scenariothat it circles back around to funny.
Prof Matthews is neither the most loved instructor at his university nor the greatest thinker in his field.
Imagine how it must feel, however, when those dreams he cannot control turn into nightmares?
It teases a quasi fatalism wherein someone invited their own destruction.
He even eventually titles itFuck.
It becomes a bestseller.
Jefferson and Wright nimbly lampoon how well-meaning white guilt still marginalizes Black voices into a monolith and caricature.
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol.
But amazingly,Guardians Vol.
Perhaps the most personal of Gunns films yet,Guardians of the Galaxy Vol.
3an undisputed high point of the MCUs uneven Phases 4 and 5.
Only then does the Big G show up.
But if you could actually put your hand to it, the thing is so heated it scalds.
Shes a successful author, and the breadwinner, who was in the house when her husbands life ended.
Either way, there are no easy answers in the snow castle Triet carefully constructs atop a frying pan.
Both elements are refined to tragicomic sweetness inThe Holdovers.
Also in addition to all three central performances being knockouts, David Hemingsons script is laugh-out-loud funny.
John Wick: Chapter 4
John Wick: Chapter 4is a grand symphony of gratuitous movie violence.
If this really is the end, John earned the rest.
Talk to Me
Young people do stupid things.
Sometimes that involves booze, and sometimes that involves drugs.
Heck, Im old enough to remember when crank calls were a thing friends did in the 90s.
By the end ofTalk to Me, you will not be laughing.
In fact, youre probably reeling from the most visceral gut punch weve had at a cinema this year.
This meant they became targets yet again for bottomless white greed.
Its the best performance De Niro has done in decades.
The film tells a multiverse story that is both epic in scale and intimately character-driven.
Even its cliffhanger ending feels earned instead of forced.
But behind all the perversity is a layered work that is surprisingly gentle for Lanthimos.
Its a dirty little freak of a movie, and we suspect Mary Shelley would be proud.
Nope, this is a much smarter film than that.Transformers, it is not.
Or rather, one of many Barbies who live in the candy-colored idyll of Barbieland.
Meanwhile the Barbieland Kens are somewhat superfluous, relying on Barbie for self-esteem.
Were confident thisll be a fan favorite for the ages.
Song takes her time, contrasting the choices and cultures which shape both characters.