Time Bandits has too much time on its hands and the irony is that it will take some time to warm up to the new Apple TV+ show. Theres a clever burst of expanded wonder and delight by the end of Episode 5 that offers new momentum as this first-ever television adaptation of the beloved cult classic movie of the same name sails toward its tenth episode. Terry Gilliam fans take note: this series, while compelling at times, may be cut from the same creative cloth of the 1981 original film, which the acclaimed director helmed, but it feels a tad watered down in this streaming iteration ..read more

Rock 'n' roll isn't dead, and neither are good ol' fashioned debates. The latest presidential one may have been a bust and led to our current Head of State withdrawing from the upcoming election, but in general, a juicy back-and-forth about hot topics like politics or, say, religion have always reliably stirred the pot in any setting. If anything, 'debate bro' culture has gone a bit too far, making social media even more toxic than before. On the big screen, though, debates can make for gripping drama. With a dashing and smooth-talking gent like Patrick Fabian representing one-half of your deb ..read more

Deadpool & Wolverine weaves the Fox, Marvel, and Disney universes together into an epic, hard-R journey of heart, humor, and heroism. It is an unabashed filet mignon of fan service that delightfully skewers corporate buyouts while lauding beloved comic book characters. Cameos galore give well-deserved props to classic favorites who missed the billion-dollar blockbuster boat of the Kevin Feige era. But it is the marquee dynamic duo of Ryan Reynolds and a tortured, stupefyingly awesome Hugh Jackman that take their winning chemistry to glory. The empty-calorie feeling of it all is an issue, a ..read more

Widow Clicquot tells the empowering true story of an indomitable woman who overcame grief, war, and an oppressive patriarchy to leave a legacy that continues today. She was underestimated and misjudged on a purely sexual basis despite being thoughtful and clever. Haley Bennett gives a nuanced performance over a layered narrative that unfolds too quickly in a relatively short, 90-minute runtime. Events from the first act are seen in a different light as harrowing truths are revealed. The film engrosses despite an excessive flashback structure ..read more

Seeing double? Well, someone in Oddity isn't seeing at all, but that won't stop her from literally taking names seeking the truth, justice, and a whole lot more. It's a wild tale that showcases the vast talents of Irish actress Carolyn Bracken (star of the Oscar-nominated The Quiet Girl) as twin sisters, one of whom meets her fate too darn early and thus kickstarts a wild ride that will tickle the fancies of horror-thriller fans everywhere ..read more

Rome 79 AD never looked this good. But Those About to Die, the epic new Peacock drama set in Ancient Rome, never reaches fully great status. That doesnt mean we should turn away from the unique project by creator Robert Rodat (Saving Private Ryan) and acclaimed director Roland Emmerich (Independence Day). Embrace it. Its hard to dismiss the grand scale of this series, which was shot over the course of 230 days. Like Game of Thrones before it, the series wins points for stellar world building. Its just that there are far too many moving pieces, and, over time, you tend to feel a bit lost in its ..read more

My Spy: The Eternal City gets edgier and naughty in a serviceable sequel with a legitimate whopper reveal. The original cast returns on an Italian mission that pits Dave Bautista and Chloe Coleman against a mysterious nuclear terrorist. But the dynamic duo faces an equally formidable opponent, adolescence, which threatens their cherished bond. Teenage girls go boy crazy, demand their space, and don't want to be lectured by lame parents. Being an elite spy just isn't as cool when hormones are raging for a dreamy classmate with an impressive high falsetto ..read more

In Nuked, a podcast host and her husband throw a birthday party while they're trying to conceive; the consequences are explosive. Nuked tickles the funny bone with raunchy humor, obscene language, and silly sight gags, but also delivers heartfelt truths about being honest in relationships. A likable ensemble cast overcomes the script's glaringly predictable aspects. There's no doubt about the overall conclusion once the characters are introduced and the premise takes hold, but good chemistry and the slapstick laughs go a long way ..read more

You might have scoffed at Twisters' title when its teaser trailer dropped during this year's Super Bowl. "Really? They just added an 'S' and called it a day?" And yes, seeing acclaimed actors like Daisy Edgar-Jones, Anthony Ramos, and Glen Powell who have thrived off edgier projects appear to "sell their souls" to star in a big-budget summer popcorn pseudo-sequel to the Warner Bros. and Universal Pictures tag-team blockbuster from almost 30 years ago is enough to spike the blood pressure in highbrow cinephiles everywhere ..read more

With so many historical dramas and fantasy series releasing these days, you'd be forgiven for mistaking the new MGM+ series, Emperor of Ocean Park, as one of them, but don't let the title fool you. Created by Sherman Payne (Shameless, Legacies), this new show takes you through modern-day America, and it only flashes us as far back as the 1990s. So fret not, this is no fantasy effort, like the countless other genre projects out there these days. This is a conspiracy thriller grounded in the common issues America has faced for decades ..read more