Alpha movie review: dog tired
The remarkable Ice Age setting is all that distinguishes — and not by much — a depressingly conventional boy-and-his-dog story.
2018 theatrical releases
The Bookshop movie review: quiet portrait of a woman of words
It’s weighed down by unnecessary narration and a surprising lack of conflict. But star Emily Mortimer and director Isabel Coixet create a character study of a rarity onscreen: an earnestly cerebral woman.
Do You Trust This Computer? documentary review: artificial intelligence is already here
This slick gloss on the state of AI is frustratingly scattershot and won’t surprise anyone who has been paying attention. But its warnings about how we’ve dealt with huge and rapid scientific leaps before are worthy ones.
Juliet, Naked movie review: idol threat
A gentle, generous confrontation between fan and artist, and between a past full of regret and the possibility of a happier future, made warm and human by the terrific central performances. An instant new comfort movie.
The Darkest Minds movie review: seeking a prom date for the end of the world
The YA dystopia is now just another fantasy setting for teen romance. We have normalized the apocalypse. Superpowered kids are being held in concentration camps, but OMG, will Ruby and Liam get together?!
The Meg movie review: shark lark
Jason Statham versus a giant prehistoric shark. It’s never less — yet also never more — than you expect, and never more suspenseful or scary than it is cheesy. But whatev. Go, and enjoy.
Dog Days movie review: a mangy mongrel of a movie
Two rom-coms, a grossout comedy, a family drama, and a platonic May-December melodrama, all connected by stilted humor, sloppy schmaltz, implausible human interaction, and — least convincingly — dogs.
Sicilian Ghost Story movie review: grim failing tale
A cruel film that hopes to use its fantastical surreality to find some sort of redemption in the senseless, violent, and real-life abuse of a child. There is no magic here, and no meaning.
Teen Titans Go! To the Movies movie review: the last action heroes (to get a movie)
The superhero movie we need, and also the one we karmically deserve. A riot of hilariously zippy animation that gleefully shreds the clichés of the genre while also lovingly embracing its self-referential geek experience.
Puzzle movie review: reclaiming the pieces of her life
Kelly Macdonald is exquisite, bringing a lovely freshness and authentic life to a familiar sort of character. Even a script that is often improbable and strained cannot detract from her journey, hard as it tries to.
