NT Movie Reviews

Maestro sees Bradley Cooper chasing Oscar glory as he assumes multiple roles in the creation of this film and the telling of Leonard Bernstein’s life story. His first directorial project since his debut with his A Star Is Born remake with Lady Gaga, Bradley Cooper has gone the route of old Hollywood with his filmmaking and along the way it can’t help but feel like this project was done with awards...

The Iron Claw is the devastating portrayal of a group of wrestling brothers who relied on one another to stay above water while their overbearing father attempted to live his life through them. It’s an unfortunate story we’ve seen before with parents who spend all their time and effort pushing their children to achieve the thing that they never could, but this story feels markedly different and mo...

The Zone of Interest is a completely unsettling experience as you witness a Nazi family make their home a paradise right outside the walls of Auschwitz. Adapted from a novel of the same name written by Martin Amis, this study of pure evil is a unique and heart wrenching take on the Holocaust as it painfully shows the willful ignorance of the Germans who sat by and pretended everything was normal....

Wonka pleasantly proves to be one of the most enjoyable films of the year, filled with lovely original music and some truly wonderful and touching performances. I’ll be the first to admit how hesitant I was towards a Willy Wonka prequel, especially in the film landscape that exist today and the number of cash grabs Hollywood chases year after year. Nothing will ever compare to Gene Wilder and what...

The Boy and the Heron is a breathtaking tale of heartbreaking loss, acceptance of life, and fighting to make the difference that you can in your own world. Japanese writer and director Hayao Miyazaki has toyed with the idea of retirement more than a few times now, each time returning after a multi-year hiatus and bringing audiences a new piece of his life every time. Even lesser engaging Miyazaki...

American Fiction is an entertaining family drama with bursts of cultural commentary that skirts the line of playing it safe and going right for the head. Billed as a comedy by most critics and even the marketing campaign, I was surprised by how little comedy there was in the film and how much more of a family focused film it became while putting its main story on the backburner. Perhaps I was hopi...

Godzilla Minus One is hands down one of the greatest Godzilla films of all time, comprised of a phenomenal story and fantastic characters who work together to defeat the monster. After what seems like a lifetime of watching new and old Godzilla films, it feels refreshing to return to the start of the creature’s origins and a look at Japan at the end of World War II. A Japanese language film with E...

Leave The World Behind offers a shockingly real look at how quickly our technology-based world can crumble after communication is cut off. This pseudo-dystopian Netflix film addresses many concerns that people share when it comes to our over-reliance on technology in our day-to-day lives. While I don’t think the film capitalizes fully on its concept, it still manages to cause some unsettling feeli...

Napoleon is a gripping historical epic examining the military career of Napoleon Bonaparte and how he came to power as Emperor of France after the revolution. Combining all the world history knowledge you accumulated in high school and all the untold behind-the-scenes marital history on Bonaparte that you never knew, Napoleon plays out like the best kind of historical documentary you could hope to...

Disney’s Wish is an enjoyable look at believing in your dreams and your ability to create them, despite falling short on the musical side with forgettable songs. Disney certainly knew what they were doing when they were making a movie called Wish during their 100-year celebration, practically the culmination of a centuries worth of inspiring animation and stories. As you sit back and think about a...

Next Goal Wins was an incredibly quirky and delightful examination of one of the world's worst national football teams and how they also helped the coach who came in to help them. Based on a true story and modified a bit for comedic and cinematic purposes, this was a story I thought I wasn’t going to enjoy nearly as much as I did and one that speaks to everyone who needs to slow down sometimes and...

The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes is a refreshing return to the world of Panem in its infancy and a reminder of how incredible moments in this series can be. A bit over a decade since Jennifer Lawrence as Katniss Everdeen won audiences over and ushered in one of the best Young Adult film series adaptations ever, we find ourselves back inside the arena taking a closer look at the...

Saltburn is a thrilling and unpredictable showcase of how wealth affects everybody and the lengths to which some will go to fit in somewhere they’ve never belonged. Dissecting the worlds of the wealthy and those less fortunate, this film doesn’t regard anyone as inherently good or bad and it really allows for the story to inform some of those titles. Playing with audience expectations, the film al...

*Charles MELTON is the star and I mistakenly called him Charles Wu in the audio * May December is an unusually entertaining, if often uncomfortable film that deals with a predatory relationship and how all parties involved view the situation decades later. Portraying a fictional affair that bears large similarity to Mary Kay Letourneau and her life, the film tackles subject matter that is often un...

The Marvels is one of the lighter and breezier entries in the MCU, filled with fun performances from new characters and a plot you’ll likely forget shortly after watching the movie. While it’s somewhat of a sequel to Captain Marvel (barely), the film brings Disney+ TV characters from Marvel’s shows into the story, despite not necessarily following the ending of those shows. For better or for worse...

The Killer is a solid enough spy thriller that falls short of what we know the involved talent can deliver, largely due in part to a script that never picks up steam. It’s never a good sign when general audiences aren’t aware of a new David Fincher film, let alone a Michael Fassbender starring David Fincher film. This is the guy who brought us The Social Network, Zodiac, Seven, Gone Girl, and Figh...

The Holdovers is a long-awaited return to form for Alexander Payne, who manages here to tap into the core of humanity once again in the most unexpected place with the most ridiculous of people. Payne has a knack for showing off all different sides of life in his films, allowing for some truly unique and fresh perspectives in the world of cinema and beyond. The Descendants dealt with grief and real...

Fingernails is an intriguing, yet overly long near future look at how couples interact after they’re able to test their relationship compatibility down to the percentage. The latest release from Apple Original Films streaming on Apple TV+ feels very much in line with the content they’re producing, as much of it is terrific Sci-Fi that genuinely prompts great questions. I’m not sure that Fingernail...

Anatomy of a Fall is fascinating and bewildering French murder mystery that balloons into a tense and shocking courtroom drama! Winner of the coveted Palme d’Or, the highest prize awarded at the Cannes Film Festival, I had been dying to see Anatomy of a Fall since I first peeked at the reviews. The combination of detective and legal procedural made this a standout for me, but I was more drawn to t...

Priscilla is an intimate and airy look at the life young Priscilla Presley led while Elvis was out on the road and emotionally unavailable to her. Adapted from Priscilla’s autobiography Elvis and Me , the focus here is entirely on her life and the whole story stays with her perspective only. With Baz Luhrman’s Elvis giving audiences a look at how Elvis was overworked, taken advantage of, and takin...

Pain Hustlers is an entertaining and frustrating look at the pharmaceutical world and all the ways that doctors were bribed to write higher prescriptions for a fentanyl based drug. Having seen the fallout of the opioid crisis, many would assume there would be far more regulations and oversight when it comes to doctors pushing new prescriptions. Somehow, companies still managed to incentivize docto...

Killers of the Flower Moon is Martin Scorsese’s’ latest cinematic marvel, depicting the murders of the Osage Native American’s and how their oil wealth brought vultures from all over. Similarly to what happened with HBO’s Watchmen series in how it educated audiences on the Tulsa Black Wall Street killings, Flower Moon presents a time and place in U.S. history where Osage Native Americans owned mas...

The Burial is a light-hearted courtroom drama that ends up being more enjoyable than not thanks to one engaging performance and a strong moral center. The subject of death and funeral arrangements is never a comfortable one, but it’s an unfortunate side to life that we often end up paying a good deal for when it’s all said and done. Comfort and peace of mind are huge for families, which makes this...

Passages is the examination of a two men’s marriage and how the relationship shifts when one of them begins a sexual relationship with a woman for the first time. Coming from France and earning an NC-17 rating, this film has been the topic of many discussions surrounding sex on screen and whether it was entirely necessary to advance this story’s narrative. In any event, this minimalist French dram...

Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour is the filmed experience of Taylor Swift's massively impressive and monumental multi-album concert that's dominated headlines this year! The popstar/songwriter is in full force here, putting on a 3.5 hour show that’s been edited down to an almost three-hour film full of her greatest hits. The Eras Tour has generated hundreds of millions of dollars, selling out every ven...