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Film Reviews

Summer Movie Guide 2025

Mission: Impossible, Karate Kid, Jurassic Park, Superman and more fill a busy summer.
By Scott Renshaw

Movie Reviews: FIGHT OR FLIGHT, SUMMER OF 69, CLOWN IN A CORNFIELD

Three new movies explore the art of the outrageous premise.
By Scott Renshaw

May special movie screenings

Blumhouse "Halfway to Halloween," Frederick Wiseman documentaries, Keaton's The General and more screen for spring.
By Scott Renshaw
Summer Movie Guide 2025
Summer Movie Guide 2025

Summer Movie Guide 2025

Mission: Impossible, Karate Kid, Jurassic Park, Superman and more fill a busy summer.
Death continues to hold a grudge against those who cheat Him in this latest installment of the "how complicated can we make someone's demise" franchise.

By Scott Renshaw May 14, 2025

Film review: THE ACCOUNTANT 2
Film review: THE ACCOUNTANT 2

Film review: THE ACCOUNTANT 2

Follow-up to the 2016 Ben Affleck action drama embraces the weird, for better or worse.
That starts with the central premise, involving a neurodivergent man named Christian Wolff (Ben Affleck) with a couple of very particular sets of skills.

By Scott Renshaw April 23, 2025

Film reviews: ONE TO ONE: JOHN & YOKO, THE WEDDING BANQUET, THE UGLY STEPSISTER
Film reviews: ONE TO ONE: JOHN & YOKO, THE WEDDING BANQUET, THE UGLY STEPSISTER

Film reviews: ONE TO ONE: JOHN & YOKO, THE WEDDING BANQUET, THE UGLY STEPSISTER

Three new movies offer fresh takes on familiar stories.
I completely understand the idea that, after 50-plus years, we really don't need another documentary about any of the Beatles—and if this one works, it's because director Kevin Macdonald kind of understands that, too.

By Scott Renshaw April 16, 2025

Movie reviews: THE BALLAD OF WALLIS ISLAND, WARFARE, THE KING OF KINGS
Movie reviews: THE BALLAD OF WALLIS ISLAND, WARFARE, THE KING OF KINGS

Movie reviews: THE BALLAD OF WALLIS ISLAND, WARFARE, THE KING OF KINGS

Wars of words, weapons and ideas drive three new theatrical releases
You can feel nearly every beat of this quirky British comedy coming from a mile away, but it's still one of those charming crowd-pleasers that squeezes every drop of potential out of its premise and its cast.

By Scott Renshaw April 9, 2025

April David Lynch Film Festival at Broadway Centre Cinemas
April David Lynch Film Festival at Broadway Centre Cinemas

April David Lynch Film Festival at Broadway Centre Cinemas

The Elephant Man, Eraserhead, Mulholland Dr., Blue Velvet and more to celebrate the late director.
This month, the Salt Lake Film Society honors Lynch with a festival of some of his most noteworthy work, including a short film program April 4-5.

By Scott Renshaw April 2, 2025

Film reviews: THE PENGUIN LESSONS, DEATH OF A UNICORN
Film reviews: THE PENGUIN LESSONS, DEATH OF A UNICORN

Film reviews: THE PENGUIN LESSONS, DEATH OF A UNICORN

Fumbling the potential-filled question of what to do when confronted with a broken system
How do you respond when you can no longer ignore that the system is broken?

By Scott Renshaw March 26, 2025

Movie reviews: THE ALTO KNIGHTS, THE ASSESSMENT, ON BECOMING A GUINEA FOWL
Movie reviews: THE ALTO KNIGHTS, THE ASSESSMENT, ON BECOMING A GUINEA FOWL

Movie reviews: THE ALTO KNIGHTS, THE ASSESSMENT, ON BECOMING A GUINEA FOWL

Disturbing characters sit at the center of three new theatrical releases.
All actors want a challenge, so maybe it sounded interesting in theory to Robert De Niro to attempt a variation on GoodFellas where he played both his character and Joe Pesci's character.

By Scott Renshaw March 19, 2025

Movie reviews: Novocaine, The Day the Earth Blew Up, Control Freak
Movie reviews: Novocaine, The Day the Earth Blew Up, Control Freak

Movie reviews: Novocaine, The Day the Earth Blew Up, Control Freak

Hostage scenarios, parasitic ghosts and the literal end of the world in three new releases.
It's not entirely necessary to add a germ of effective subtext to a story that works largely as a hyper-violent action-comedy, but I have to admit that I kind of appreciate the effort.

By Scott Renshaw March 12, 2025

RULE BREAKERS, and March 2025 special screenings
RULE BREAKERS, and March 2025 special screenings

RULE BREAKERS, and March 2025 special screenings

"Battle Royales," The Wizard of Oz, Still Working 9 to 5, Dune: Parts One and Two
The "underdog competition movie" is about as tried-and-true as any genre in cinema history, but it's a little weird when you create one where the stakes may be life-and-death, but underplay it as just a feel-good story.

By Scott Renshaw March 5, 2025

Re-picking the 2005 Academy Awards winners
Re-picking the 2005 Academy Awards winners

Re-picking the 2005 Academy Awards winners

Sideways, Vera Drake, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind and other worthy replacements.
The Academy Awards are once again upon us, and once again, cinephiles of all kinds will spend the evening of the ceremony and several days afterward complaining about the worthiness of the winners.

By Scott Renshaw February 26, 2025

Feature movie review: THE MONKEY
Feature movie review: THE MONKEY

Feature movie review: THE MONKEY

Filmmaker Osgood Perkins works through the absurdity of capricious death through humor
And if you're wondering how an artist might introduce such an experience into their work, I submit to you as one possible example Perkins' The Monkey

By Scott Renshaw February 19, 2025

Feature movie review: PADDINGTON IN PERU
Feature movie review: PADDINGTON IN PERU

Feature movie review: PADDINGTON IN PERU

The latest Paddington adventure is a charming reminder that decency isn't a dirty word.
When Paddington 2 made its U.S. theatrical premiere in January 2018, we were a year into a presidency characterized by chaos, cruelty and stupidity.

By Scott Renshaw February 12, 2025

Sundance 2025 wrap-up plus February special screenings
Sundance 2025 wrap-up plus February special screenings

Sundance 2025 wrap-up plus February special screenings

Uncertainty about the future location shifts focus away from the movies
There was a weird vibe, at both Park City and Salt Lake City venues, for much of the 2025 Sundance Film Festival.

By Scott Renshaw February 5, 2025

Sundance 2025 Opening Weekend Highlights
Sundance 2025 Opening Weekend Highlights

Sundance 2025 Opening Weekend Highlights

The Perfect Neighbor, Twinless, If I Had Legs I'd Kick You
There are emotionally devastating moments here, but perhaps nothing quite so disturbing as a fixed camera on Lorincz, caught in an obvious lie, trying to speak into existence the impossibility that she could be held accountable for her actions.

By Scott Renshaw January 29, 2025

Movie reviews: Presence, The Colors Within, BRAVE THE DARK
Movie reviews: Presence, The Colors Within, BRAVE THE DARK

Movie reviews: Presence, The Colors Within, BRAVE THE DARK

Other features opening this week in mainstream theaters.
Director Steven Soderbergh and screenwriter David Koepp concoct a pretty solid gimmick for their supernatural thriller

By Scott Renshaw January 22, 2025

THE ESSENTIAL A&E PICKS FOR JAN 23 - 29
THE ESSENTIAL A&E PICKS FOR JAN 23 - 29

THE ESSENTIAL A&E PICKS FOR JAN 23 - 29

Rooftop Curling, An Evening with Fran Lebowitz, Rhonda Lauritzen: A Child in Berlin: , and more.
One of the interesting things about the Olympic Games is that they can remind us of the existence of sports we might only think about once every four years.

By City Weekly Staff January 22, 2025

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