\n<\/p>\n
A group of bumbling criminals kidnap a young girl and hold her for ransom, but the titular 12-year-old ballerina turns out to have more than just tulle up her sleeve.<\/p>\n
From our review:<\/p>\n
\nA cheerfully obvious splatterthon, the new horror movie \u201cAbigail\u201d follows a simple, time-tested recipe that calls for a minimal amount of ingredients. Total time: 109 minutes. Take a mysterious child, one suave fixer and six logic-challenged criminals. Place them in an extra-large pot with a few rats, creaking floorboards and ominous shadows. Stir. Simmer and continue stirring, letting the stew come to a near-boil. After an hour, crank the heat until some of the meat falls off the bone and the whole mix turns deep red. Enjoy!<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n
In theaters. <\/em>Read the full review<\/em><\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n
Less-than-glorious \u201cbasterds.\u201d<\/h2>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\n\n\u2018The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare\u2019<\/a><\/span><\/h3>\n
Based on a true story of an (until recently) unknown World War II operation, this film features some ungentlemanly types who are tasked with cutting off Germany\u2019s resources by sinking their supply ships.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\n\nFrom our review:<\/p>\n
\n\u201cThe Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare,\u201d the latest offering from the director Guy Ritchie, is a perfect airplane movie. That is not a compliment, but it\u2019s not exactly a dis. Some movies shouldn\u2019t be watched on planes \u2014 slow artful dramas, or movies that demand concentration and good sound (please do not watch \u201cThe Zone of Interest<\/a>\u201d on your next flight). But you\u2019ve got to watch something, and for that, we have movies like this one.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n
In theaters. <\/em>Read the full review<\/em><\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n
Like if Dorothy Gale was your Uber driver.<\/h2>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\n\n\u2018The Stranger\u2019<\/a><\/span><\/h3>\n
In this thriller, originally released as 13 short-form episodes on the streaming service Quibi, the indie-film scream queen Maika Monroe plays a Los Angeles transplant fresh from Kansas who works as a ride-hail driver who must face off against a murderous passenger.<\/p>\n
From our review:<\/p>\n
\nThe recut version (on Hulu) bears little trace of its earlier form, although its life span across algorithm-driven streaming companies does cast the villain\u2019s tech preoccupations \u2014 \u201cwhoever figures out the mathematical formula determining the losers and the winners in life will rule\u201d the world, he declares \u2014 in a new, meta light.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n
Watch on Hulu<\/em><\/a>. <\/em>Read the full review<\/em><\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n
A queer period piece \u2014 but the period is summer 2020.<\/h2>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\n\n\u2018Stress Positions\u2019<\/a><\/span><\/h3>\n
After New York goes on lockdown, Terry (John Early) clashes with the other tenants of the brownstone he shares with his soon-to-be-ex-husband.<\/p>\n
From our review:<\/p>\n
\nIf some of the points seem muddy, the filmmaking is expressive and deliberate. With shimmer, shadow and verve, \u201cStress Positions\u201d \u2014 which recently closed the New Directors\/New Films<\/a> festival \u2014 captures the often hallucinatory pandemonium wrought by that \u201clong-ago\u201d moment.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n
In theaters. <\/em>Read the full review<\/em><\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n
The prince and the pauper fall in love.<\/h2>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\n\n\u2018Egoist\u2019<\/a><\/span><\/h3>\n
Ryuta (Hio Miyazawa) is a personal trainer with an ailing mother, a big secret and no cash. Can a romance with a wealthy magazine editor fix his problems, or do their differences doom their relationship from the start?<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\n\nFrom our review:<\/p>\n
\nClass is the central theme in \u201cEgoist\u201d: Kosuke and Ryuta\u2019s star-crossed romance shows us how money, and the struggle to make ends meet, can complicate even the most genuine love. But as the film leans into melodrama, it loses both its friction and frisson, and a steaming-hot premise turns into something cold to the touch.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n
In theaters. <\/em>Read the full review<\/em><\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n
There\u2019s always one more \u201cone last job.\u201d<\/h2>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\n\n\u2018Blood for Dust\u2019<\/a><\/span><\/h3>\n
Seventeen months after a theft scheme goes horribly wrong, two former colleagues-in-crime reunite for a drug-running operation.<\/p>\n
From our review:<\/p>\n
\nDirected by Rod Blackhurst, \u201cBlood for Dust\u201d is a throwback, in the sense of being exceedingly familiar. An early shot of a snow-covered parking lot inevitably evokes \u201cFargo,\u201d but \u201cBlood for Dust\u201d doesn\u2019t have a witty line or a glimmer of humor. The climactic shootout is so dimly lit that it\u2019s difficult to discern who is firing at whom. It\u2019s easy enough to guess.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n
In theaters and available to rent or buy <\/em>on most major platforms<\/em><\/a>. <\/em>Read the full review<\/em><\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n
A private world of childhood friendship, ruptured.<\/h2>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\n\n\u2018We Grown Now\u2019<\/a><\/span><\/h3>\n
Two young boys, residents of the Cabrini-Green public housing development in Chicago, confront harsh realities while also chasing whimsy (including an excursion to the Art Institute of Chicago).<\/p>\n
From our review:<\/p>\n
\nYou\u2019re immediately invested in Malik and Eric, who together have formed a private world that, like the museum, exists apart from real life, its pressures and its dangers. The sound design is particularly effective at conveying the little bubble that the children have created for themselves. The babble of outside voices and music in Cabrini never seems to stop flowing, but you never really hear what anyone says.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n
In theaters. <\/em>Read the full review<\/em><\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n
Zack Snyder serves up a chaotic stew of references.<\/h2>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\n\n\u2018Rebel Moon \u2014 Part Two: The Scargiver\u2019<\/a><\/span><\/h3>\n
The second half of Zack Snyder\u2019s space opera follows a group of interplanetary warriors as they attempt to defeat an imperial army.<\/p>\n
From our review:<\/p>\n
\nThe script by Snyder, Kurt Johnstad and Shay Hatten trips over its aspirations whenever any character talks. There\u2019s not a single authentic conversation, just exposition dumps and soliloquies. Finally, after an hour of speeches, we\u2019re treated to an hour of rousing warfare. Primal, pitiless, agonizing carnage is where Snyder excels. He\u2019ll kill anyone, even nice people, even grandmothers-turned-guerrilla warriors who just want to get back to folk dancing.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n
Watch on Netflix<\/em><\/a>. <\/em>Read the full review.<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n