When is a taut thriller with brains to match its brawn a disappointment?

When it’s from the director of “Backcountry,” one of the best outdoor thrillers in recent memory.

Director Adam MacDonald...

David Schurmann’s “My Penguin Friend” is a refreshing alternative to the late summer movie lineup.

The adorable one sheet provides a hilarious contrast to the “Alien: Romulus” poster hanging...

Michael Keaton can do almost anything on screen, even bringing parts of “The Flash” to life.

Can he resurrect his oddest screen incarnation, a zombie-fied ghoul who made the afterlife hip in 1988’s...

It’s increasingly hard to bring R-rated sex comedies to the screen.

We can stream almost any type of debauchery, but the cultural overlords wince at teens acting like … teens.

Too much: White...

The Great Communicator cried out for a biopic all his own.

Until recently, we’ve had a Showtime miniseries eager to deflate President Ronald Reagan and projects capturing glib takes on the 40th president.

Dennis...

Baseball is more than a game, and the best sports movies lean into that hard truth.

“Eight Men Out.” “Bang the Drum Slowly.” “Field of Dreams.” They all had more to say than who struck out...

John Glen’s “License to Kill” (1989) is an easy candidate for the most underrated James Bond thriller.

It’s also among the most unusual.

The film’s brutal, risk-taking story made it the first...

There’s a reason “Harold and Maude” is both a cult classic and darn near impossible to remake.

The May-December template is tricky in modern times. Swap the genders and you’re supporting The...

W.D. Richter’s “The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai: Across the 8th Dimension” (1984) is among the definitive cult movies, a secret handshake of science fiction, comedy, horror, metaphysics, comic...

Imagine “The Purge” as a Bidenomics satire!

We’ll get comedy maestro Paul Feig of “Bridesmaids” fame to direct and lasso Awkwafina and John Cena to headline. 

What could go wrong? Try absolutely...

Feminist horror cuts both ways.

The Hulu original “Fresh” showcased real-world gender imbalances with a slick genre twist.

“Blink Twice” hopes its cringe brand of feminism will make us forget...

In space, no one can hear you say, “Remember how cool the first ‘Alien’ was?’

Hollywood heard it anyway, which is why we’re getting “Alien: Romulus” despite modest U.S. returns for 2017’s...

Roger Corman’s “Frankenstein Unbound” (1990) is a fascinating work that deserves rediscovery, and not simply because we lost Corman this year and this was the last film he ever directed.

While...

“Ocean’s Eleven” spoiled us for heist films.

We expect movie thieves to be dashing, debonair and oh, so good at their job.

Not “The Instigators.”

The quasi-buddy comedy follows crooks who...

Abbott and Costello. Laurel and Hardy. Wilder and Pryor.

Reynolds and Jackman?

The stars of “Deadpool & Wolverine” have done just one film together, but their debut pairing is as funny as any...

Remakes are hardly new, but Hollywood is increasingly impatient about cinematic do-overs.

The recent “Mean Girls” updated the 2004 comedy, but at least it added musical numbers to the Burn Book formula.

“The...

Glen Powell wears a cowboy hat in “Twisters,” the spiritual sequel to the 1996 hit.

How unnecessary.

His swagger and old-school machismo make such headgear moot. And he’s a perfect fit for this...

Some movies define their genre in ways time can’t touch.

Go ahead and make a killer shark movie. You won’t lap 1975’s “Jaws.” The same holds for 1973’s “The Exorcist” (possession thrillers)...

“Fly Me to the Moon” hijacks the mother of all conspiracy theories for our rom-com age.

The ’60s-era film follows a love story entangled in a fake moon landing scheme.

Sound silly? It is until...

Terry Gilliam’s “The Adventures of Baron Munchausen” (1989) became one of those legendary movies that was noted more for its troubled production than the quality of the film itself.

Like “Heaven’s...