Reviews
408
in total
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No Time to Die
A review by Brian Lowry for CNN2021-09-28
To its credit, this two hour, 43-minute movie (thus making the title a bit of a lie) assiduously builds on everything that the recent Bond movies have established, in a way earlier incarnations generally didn't. That has deepened the character, allowing Bond to experience grief, loss and love without hitting the reset button, the recurrence of the villainous Blofeld notwithstanding.Read entire review on CNN -
Dear Evan Hansen
A review by Brian Lowry for CNN2021-09-23
While the film says something that matters, for a show whose press notes proclaim it a "generation-defining Broadway phenomenon," a great deal appears to have been lost in translation.Read entire review on CNN -
The Guilty
A review by Brian Lowry for CNN2021-09-23
The Guilty is a taut, remarkably spare thriller.Read entire review on CNN -
The Many Saints of Newark
A review by Brian Lowry for CNN2021-09-21
The Many Saints of Newark turns out to be a credible and rewarding film. But with a bit more seasoning and time in the oven, like its HBO predecessor, it actually might have risen into a truly sensational TV show.Read entire review on CNN -
Cry Macho
A review by Brian Lowry for CNN2021-09-16
An understated, uneventful slog of a movie that feels like a misguided merger of "Gran Torino" and "Bronco Billy."Read entire review on CNN -
The Eyes of Tammy Faye
A review by Brian Lowry for CNN2021-09-16
The stars outshine the movie in The Eyes of Tammy Faye, a dazzling showcase for Jessica Chastain and Andrew Garfield as Tammy Faye and Jim Bakker in a dutiful, somewhat disjointed chronicle of how the televangelists amassed great wealth before his disgraced fall.Read entire review on CNN -
Kate
A review by Brian Lowry for CNN2021-09-10
Look, we get it, people are looking for new stuff to watch, mindless escapism included. Still, in terms of any sort of inspiration or originality, "Kate," the movie, is every bit as D.O.A. as Kate, the character.Read entire review on CNN -
Come from Away
A review by Brian Lowry for CNN2021-09-09
Much like "Hamilton" on Disney+,Come From Away delivers a best-seat-in-the-house view, offering a moving, brilliantly shot and staged spectacle that brings that moment unerringly back to life.Read entire review on CNN -
Cinderella
A review by Brian Lowry for CNN2021-09-02
It's possible to allow that Cinderella has its heart in the right place without concluding that the movie works. Credit where it's due for trying to squeeze the material into some new clothes, but hoping isn't enough to make the shoe fit.Read entire review on CNN -
No Man of God
A review by Brian Lowry for CNN2021-08-27
Because profiling and modern criminology were greatly influenced by this period, there is an intellectually stimulating side to all this that No Man of God mines.Read entire review on CNN -
Candyman
A review by Brian Lowry for CNN2021-08-26
For all that the film does well, in trying to balance its cerebral, visceral and sequel aspects, Candyman appears to have bitten off a bit more than it can chew.Read entire review on CNN -
Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings
A review by Brian Lowry for CNN2021-08-23
Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings conjures a slick addition to the Marvel Cinematic Universe, one that owes less to the comics than most of its predecessors. The movie not only strikes a welcome blow for inclusion with its predominantly Asian cast, but deftly juggles epic world building with lighter comedy in a way that should appeal to audiences, depending on how many can be lured back to theaters at this moment.Read entire review on CNN -
Reminiscence
A review by Brian Lowry for CNN2021-08-19
Too many of the points the story earns for ambition get deducted for execution in this jumble of ideas.Read entire review on CNN -
CODA
A review by Brian Lowry for CNN2021-08-13
What could feel cliched at various turns deftly avoids that, capturing Ruby’s plight in a way that recalls any number of coming-of-age stories while still feeling unexpectedly fresh and distinctive. There have been a number of first-rate movies about teenage girls in the last few years, but few that were better.Read entire review on CNN -
Respect
A review by Brian Lowry for CNN2021-08-12
Earnest to a fault, Respect spells out a handsome tribute to Aretha Franklin, with Jennifer Hudson and her peerless singing pipes as its formidable anchor. Yet this biography never fully sparks to life, as the Queen of Soul fights in episodic fashion to establish and later protect her musical legacy from the domineering men in her life.Read entire review on CNN -
Annette
A review by Brian Lowry for CNN2021-08-06
The resulting movie, however, hits the wrong notes, repeating mundane lyrics without uttering the words that keep coming to mind, which are "precious" and "pretentious."Read entire review on CNN -
Free Guy
A review by Brian Lowry for CNN2021-08-05
Free Guy is a cleverly programmed wedding of star (Ryan Reynolds) and subject matter, in a movie that's silly, handsome-looking and a great deal of fun, in roughly inverse proportion to how much one sweats the details. Traveling inside videogames doesn't always end well cinematically, but this "Guy" braves that familiar scenario and comes out ahead.Read entire review on CNN -
Vivo
A review by Brian Lowry for CNN2021-08-05
A sweet if slight love story.Read entire review on CNN -
The Suicide Squad
A review by Brian Lowry for CNN2021-08-04
On the plus side, writer-director James Gunn's movie is superior to its predecessor on most every level. Balancing that, the R-rated mayhem becomes a trifle numbing, blunting the overall effect.Read entire review on CNN -
The Last Mercenary
A review by Brian Lowry for CNN2021-07-30
After about 15 minutes of The Last Mercenary, though, even if you can't do splits like Van Damme the temptation is to split -- and to paraphrase "Scarface," say goodbye to him and his little friends.Read entire review on CNN
