This usually-biannual format of lightning-quick movie reviews has been going on for eight years now, but not since the very first one all the way back in 2017 have I been able to say that I saw all ten of the films on the page in actual cinemas. Perhaps due to all the bountiful writing material surrounding Nintendo Switch 2 hysteria, I had the luxury of taking my time to get this first batch out, so I didn’t have to jump on any streaming-only releases just to make March or April. Of course if there was a major streaming release with buzz around it that would have been a different story, but here we are.
We’ve got bountiful action, a couple of thrillers, a notably coherent Marvel comeback push, more than one runtime epic, and even a bit of horror sprinkled into this group of films – and the year is only just getting started!
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
Wolf Man
“Creative, tragic, well–directed… then turns into a horror movie.”
The Prosecutor
“Come for the Donny Yen fights, stay for the drama.”
Captain America: Brave New World
“Huge MCU Phase 2 energy, but that isn’t sufficent anymore.”
Mickey 17
“Odd, dense, unhinged, unpredicatable, expensive, bleakly hilarious, and utterly Pattinson-tastic.”
Black Bag
“90 minutes of tense writing, direction, and acting. Peak Soderbergh.”
A Working Man
“You already know if you’ll like this, but Beekeeper‘s better.”
Drop
“Sometimes all you need is straightforward thrills with committed actors.”
The Count of Monte Cristo
“So spectacular it retroactively damages the still–enjoyable 2002 adaptation.”
Sinners
“The best IMAX ticket (and soundtrack) since Oppenheimer at least.”
Thunderbolts*
Vagrant Rant 