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4/5
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Atropia
(2025)
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Patrick McDonald
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It's hard to satire the past (2006) living in our special now, but this story is sharp, witty and has something to say about the fog of war. Alia Shawkat carries the film on her back as the lead, and an all-star indie cast provides essential support.
Posted Jan 23, 2026
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2.5/5
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Mercy
(2026)
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Patrick McDonald
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Bottom line, the visual part of this film ... substantial and unusual ... should not take the precedent of a story based on using AI to distill and sentence on justice. What should have been a Kafka-esque trial became a bad police procedural. Ugg.
Posted Jan 23, 2026
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4.5/5
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The Testament of Ann Lee
(2025)
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Patrick McDonald
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By far one of the most unusual films and story structures in the last year. Amanda Seyfried is a literal force of nature as a based-on-truth religious zealot whose fire includes a tragic journey, and some song & dance. Well Shake it Up, Baby Now ...
Posted Jan 16, 2026
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4/5
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28 Years Later: The Bone Temple
(2026)
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Patrick McDonald
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Another well done entry in this series, punctuated by an outrageous set piece deception near the conclusion. Ralph Fiennes is the iodine man you can't take your eyes off of, and the Jimmy Cult sets torture porn to new level. Alpha filmmaking.
Posted Jan 16, 2026
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4/5
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Dead Man's Wire
(2025)
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Patrick McDonald
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Smart filmmaking from the iconic Gus Van Sant, with a based-on-truth story from 1977 using real footage from the incident and care in re-creating the time and place. Great and earnest performances, esp from Bill S. and Colman D. during Jimmy Carter time!
Posted Jan 10, 2026
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3/5
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Primate
(2025)
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Patrick McDonald
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If you have a horror itch, this film will scratch it, but it's not very fair to its predator ... a rabid monkey. He's a relentless and gory killer, he's got a constant rabies drool and big sharp monkey teeth in close up! Run away! I love u, Dr Zaius!
Posted Jan 10, 2026
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4/5
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The Plague
(2025)
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Patrick McDonald
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Too close for comfort for most cisgender males, nicely paced and with beautiful cinema. What stands out in this water polo 'Lord of the Dives' is the natural performances from the young boy actor, which add a determined cringe factor. Adolescence sucks!
Posted Jan 03, 2026
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3/5
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Avatar: Fire and Ash
(2025)
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Patrick McDonald
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Barest recco but just for visuals, James Cameron needs to go back to creative writing class, because his same-o themes won't carry these films forever ... especially at three hours plus. Also, the good guys always have a magic device to get out of jams.
Posted Dec 20, 2025
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5/5
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Sentimental Value
(2025)
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Patrick McDonald
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An emotional masterpiece by rising star director Joachim Trier, playing off themes of past trauma that permeates and rots the family tree. With overviews of mental health and shades of Ingmar Bergman, its value in cinema is a gold standard. Don't miss.
Posted Dec 12, 2025
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1.5/5
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Ella McCay
(2025)
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Patrick McDonald
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James L. Brooks is too old & too rich to properly comment on the political scene, and this bit of hokum plays out as complete B.S. Newcomer Mackey is completely miscast as a Lt Gov, but that's only one of many problems. Brooksie lays an egg!
Posted Dec 12, 2025
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4/5
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Hamnet
(2025)
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Patrick McDonald
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A bit too artsy ponderous, but Jessie Buckley is quite compelling in the impossible position of Shakespeare's wife ... she is an open wound during her son Hamnet's death. Art is proved to be healing in the authentic first performance of HAMLET. To be ...
Posted Nov 28, 2025
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5/5
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Jay Kelly
(2025)
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Patrick McDonald
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A George Clooney's best performance, subtle as it is "him" but more of an alternate universe version. Adam Sandler surprises in one of his best turns, and dir Baumbach does his best Fellini tribute with the similarly weird characters and settings. Cloons!
Posted Nov 21, 2025
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4/5
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Wicked: For Good
(2025)
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Patrick McDonald
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The extra half star is for the series, otherwise like the stage play the darker part two isn't as compelling as the first film. Suffers from weaker songs and shoehorning of the Dorothy entrance, favors the key friendship between two opposites. Popular!
Posted Nov 21, 2025
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3.5/5
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In Your Dreams
(2025)
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Patrick McDonald
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Reminded me of LITTLE NEMO IN SLUMBERLAND, an old timey comic strip. The strength is the script, very funny and very accessible to modern times. But the old "be careful what you dream you just might get it" trope has been done better elsewhere. WAKE UP!
Posted Nov 14, 2025
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3/5
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The Running Man
(2025)
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Patrick McDonald
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Barest recco, just b/c I dig Edgar Wright. I think the size of this one got to him, though, and the jury is out for Glen Powell leading man, w/the whitest teeth in Dystopia. However the Wright cinema stuff is there, and Michael Cera is a highlight. RUN!
Posted Nov 14, 2025
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4.5/5
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Stiller & Meara: Nothing Is Lost
(2025)
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Patrick McDonald
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Fantastic job by Ben Stiller, taking a deeper dive into his comedy duo parents than any outsider could. The revelations were not so much on the history of their show biz as the history of their relationship, and how it affected Ben. So grows the twig.
Posted Nov 08, 2025
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3/5
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Predator: Badlands
(2025)
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Patrick McDonald
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Bare recco but Elle F. was great & the film looked amazing. My beef is ALWAYS having to develop a "family," like FAST/FURIOUS, & avoiding the R Rating by making all the blood a different color during the decapitations. But a new standard for "nice legs!"
Posted Nov 07, 2025
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3.5/5
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Hedda
(2025)
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Patrick McDonald
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Not as on-board as the early reviews ... due to the stiffness of the theatricalities ... but Tessa Thompson is luminous, & clearly enjoys the duplicitous seducing powers of Hedda. The Da Costa update is good, with all angles paying off eventually. Gabler!
Posted Oct 31, 2025
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3/5
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Frankenstein
(2025)
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Patrick McDonald
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Barest nod for a version that looks fantastic, but is handicapped by the mix of the source novel, other films and just made up stuff about Dr. Frank and his Creature. Also the story has a gothic dreariness that needed some oomph. Am I right, Guillermo?
Posted Oct 31, 2025
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4.5/5
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Bugonia
(2025)
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Patrick McDonald
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Yorgos & Emma are creating a muse language that is both unusual and nicely symbolic. Basically the whole cast delivers ... with Aidan Delbis doing a star is born turn ... and that makes the whole scenario ardently believable. Bugonia is not a flower.
Posted Oct 26, 2025
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4/5
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Springsteen: Deliver Me from Nowhere
(2025)
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Patrick McDonald
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The pacing is off, & it seems more like a European film, but Bruce through his honesty re: mental health struggle, while speaking his truth through art, was fairly powerful. Jeremy Allen W. was the perfect choice to interpret that introspection. Bruuuuce!
Posted Oct 24, 2025
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3/5
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After the Hunt
(2025)
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Patrick McDonald
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The film is a mess but the theme is provocative. I felt that the actors couldn't handle the shifts that the script gave them, & revealed little about the motivations or implications of the situation portrayed. The ending also seemed tacked on, a reshoot?
Posted Oct 17, 2025
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3.5/5
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Good Fortune
(2025)
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Patrick McDonald
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Sarcastic & amusing rather than laugh-out-loud funny, this debut writer/director effort from Aziz Ansari has strong casting & a decent "lessons learned' story. Angel Reevesl was a bit off-putting to me, doing a method job with it, but angels are worn out.
Posted Oct 17, 2025
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4.5/5
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Kiss of the Spider Woman
(2025)
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Patrick McDonald
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The musical part is magnificently compelling, with vet Bill Condon in his best MGM musical mode. Jennifer Lopez is a passionate trouper, & the big song from Kander & Ebb deliver the power of the stakes. Mitigating ... the prison sequences are overlong.
Posted Oct 11, 2025
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4/5
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TRON: Ares
(2025)
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Patrick McDonald
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Probably helps that I don't have much of a stake in the previous films, but this one reminded me of thinking-person-sci-fi like BLADE RUNNER & 2001. Visuals are spectacular, the audio (NIN) is sublime, and Leto makes a perfect android who doesn't belong.
Posted Oct 11, 2025
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4/5
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Anemone
(2025)
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Patrick McDonald
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An art film with more themes of redemption than a narrative, but all the performances deliver, & the beauty/symbolism of the cinema is defintely worth absorbing. Daniel D-L gives a virtuous effort in the lead role for his son the director & co-writer.
Posted Oct 03, 2025
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4.5/5
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The Smashing Machine
(2025)
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Patrick McDonald
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Unusual that the glacier pace eventually pays off, in the type of coda that is orchestral in its final notes. The Rock proves his Oscar worthiness portraying a life that he uniquely knows and interprets accordingly, And, let's be Blunt ... she's great!
Posted Oct 03, 2025
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5/5
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Strange Journey: The Story of Rocky Horror
(2025)
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Patrick McDonald
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TODAY (9/26/25) is the 50th Anniversary of a film legend. The story of ROCKY HORROR is a magical one, and as a cultural touchstone it has no equal. From one man's idea/perspective to stage/film/phenomenon was the world's coming out. Don't dream it, be it!
Posted Sep 26, 2025
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5/5
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One Battle After Another
(2025)
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Patrick McDonald
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Besides all the ripped-from-the-headlines layers, the absurdist Dr. Strangelove vibe & satire of both the right & the left, this film works especially as an adventure/thriller with each part of a well-structured/performed nail-biter vibe. "I can walk!"
Posted Sep 26, 2025
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3.5/5
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Another End
(2024)
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Patrick McDonald
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Pretty funky-but-complex sci-fi, but once the situation becomes clearer it has an emotional vibe that I hadn’t really seen in a story before, the dinner with "Zoe," Sal and her family is uniquely awkward. The duo characters by Reinsve is also a highlight.
Posted Sep 20, 2025
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4/5
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A Big Bold Beautiful Journey
(2025)
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Patrick McDonald
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Each part of the journey is contemplative, for most of us have experienced the life moments that the couple experiences, and the way they handle those situations then becomes reflected back to us. And I'd watch Waller-Bridge read the phone book. Woo hoo!
Posted Sep 20, 2025
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4/5
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Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale
(2025)
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Patrick McDonald
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Appropriate send-off to the Brit gentry & their servants, framed with the signature English wit, extreme gaiety (wink wink nudge nudge), and soap operatic twists by series creator Julian Fellowes. Absorbing and actually touching, Goodbye Mr. Carson.
Posted Sep 13, 2025
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4.5/5
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The Baltimorons
(2025)
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Patrick McDonald
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This is just a great character study within the holiday spirit, and both actors deliver the scenario with just enough hilarity and pathos to minimize the schmaltz. Strassner is a reminder of prime John Belushi, and Larsen connects with joy. Duplass! Xmas!
Posted Sep 13, 2025
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3.5/5
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Caught Stealing
(2025)
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Patrick McDonald
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A lotta disbelief to suspend, plus a body count that makes Son of Sam blush, but Austin Butler proves his movie star credibility by carrying the film on his back, and story gets more fascinating as the layers are piled on ... but why so much violence?
Posted Aug 29, 2025
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4.5/5
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The Roses
(2025)
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Patrick McDonald
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What is best is what is underneath the surface of the film ... twists of fate, the inability for the couple to work on themselves (thus blaming the marriage), and the American capitalism and excess that steals time from their lives, and all our lives.
Posted Aug 29, 2025
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4.5/5
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Boys Go to Jupiter
(2024)
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Patrick McDonald
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Julian Glander creates a universe that reflects our reality, thus it must be set in Florida, featuring an America of survivalists, crass capitalists and soft hearted hustlers ... this animation will have you beatboxing to the sound of its different drum.
Posted Aug 15, 2025
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4.5/5
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Highest 2 Lowest
(2025)
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Patrick McDonald
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Felt both like Lee's older appointment films and alive with freshness. Particular was the constant jazz soundtrack, which gave the action a rhythm of artistry. Denzel Washington expertly plays out both sides of the title, this Spike Lee Joint is jumping!
Posted Aug 15, 2025
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3.5/5
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Weapons
(2025)
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Patrick McDonald
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This was intricately stylish in visual form and creep factors, but I wish it would have stuck more to the psychological backlash re: the disappearance incident depicted, rather than relying more toward the supernatural ... which felt easier than madness.
Posted Aug 08, 2025
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4/5
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My Oxford Year
(2025)
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Patrick McDonald
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Well done & ardent romance with two impossibly beautiful lead actors ... Mylchreest looks like a British Tom Cruise ... with fun characters, the adventure of Oxford, British swank & the reminder that even the best of circumstance can be fleeting. Poetry!
Posted Aug 01, 2025
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3.5/5
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Oh, Hi!
(2025)
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Patrick McDonald
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I enjoy a lens into young adult attitudes toward coupling & this quirky film fills the bill. I've been a Molly Gordon admirer as well, but her "off-beat or not?" act was a bit forced. When witchcraft becomes a plot point, the creative well is running dry.
Posted Jul 26, 2025
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3/5
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Daniela Forever
(2024)
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Patrick McDonald
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Barest of recommendations, essentially because of its cinematic beauty. The story was too vague, though, and Beatrice Grannó wasn't charismatic enough to evoke a woman that you'd want to conjure in dreams. Henry Golding was successful in complete emoting.
Posted Jul 11, 2025
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4.5/5
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M3GAN 2.0
(2025)
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Patrick McDonald
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To me, this was the weirdness of DR STRANGELOVE Meets the villainy of JAMES BOND Meets Blake Edwards goofy via THE TERMINATOR. A sharp satire encased in a decent thriller about government overreach at a time we all understand. Plus MANY decent laughs!
Posted Jun 27, 2025
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3.5/5
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F1 The Movie
(2025)
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Patrick McDonald
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The old timey "Movie Star Movie" lives, with the story giving Pitt's character just enough backstory for the Bradster to run with it. The effects of being in the race are seamless, an incredible tech achievement in a world of wonder. Pull into the Pitt!
Posted Jun 27, 2025
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4.5/5
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28 Years Later
(2025)
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Patrick McDonald
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The horror genre leads the way in the symbolism of our times. This gritty thriller is at its heart the story of a son wanting to cure his mother in a dystopia, but getting frustrated at every turn. Yeah we live in the times depicted ... non symbolically.
Posted Jun 20, 2025
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4/5
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Elio
(2025)
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Patrick McDonald
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Eye candy extremis in this latest Disney/Pixar joint, with beautifully fluid outer space characters and set pieces that defy art gravity of our earthly bounds. But the redundancy of yet another orphan story needs work. For animation.. 5. For story ... 3.
Posted Jun 20, 2025
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4.5/5
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Materialists
(2025)
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Patrick McDonald
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Writer/director Celine Song (PAST LIVES) does it again with her subtle & magically effective take on human relations. What's notable is Dakota Johnson's centerpiece performance & the audience potential to step back and think about their own relationships.
Posted Jun 13, 2025
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4.5/5
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How to Train Your Dragon
(2025)
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Patrick McDonald
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A sure adaptation of the 2010 animation, with a moral clarity that I didn't catch back then. Mason Thames does a powerful job in a Clark Kent becomes Superman story, & the flying sequences are rad! One problem, overweight warrior rides overweight dragon.
Posted Jun 13, 2025
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5/5
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The Phoenician Scheme
(2025)
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Patrick McDonald
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Back to the Fab 1950s for Wes A, taking his star-studded cast through a journey that comments on authoritarianism, religion, the patriarchy, the government & the weirdness of a bygone era, in a hilarious package that constantly surprises. Reverse lay-up!
Posted Jun 06, 2025
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2.5/5
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Ballerina
(2025)
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Patrick McDonald
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This film wastes the ever-intriguing John Wick universe on another shoot-em-up, the most boring aspect of the assassin's life. Ana de Armas can't project the ruthless killer she's suppose to be. But I'd love to be a mortician in this universe KA-CHING!
Posted Jun 06, 2025
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5/5
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Bring Her Back
(2025)
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Patrick McDonald
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The Phillippou bros have a deep instinct for mining the human psyche of fear with their highly symbolic and highly frightening authentic horror. I'm not a H genre fan, but a great movie is a great movie, and Sally Hawkins' performance "Brings It Home."
Posted May 29, 2025
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