Chicago Tribune

This silly-sexy slice of pop-noir art world satire serves as Araki’s manifesto about the power and creative energy of the erotic, and it just might be the hottest, and most refreshingly honest, rom-com of the summer (replete with blooper reel).

Cretton ensures that distinctive style and emotional stakes take precedence over necessary MCU groundwork. When Peter learns that he has the whole city behind him, even as an anonymous crime fighter, it’s a beautiful moment. He might be walking his own path, but he’s not walking it alone. He can be seen, and known, and just maybe he can incorporate a little more life into the balance.

At first, the dialogue-free gambit is kind of a gas. You wonder how long they’ll keep it up and how hard the first line of dialogue will hit. But they play it too long for this to be a truly satisfying story.

Whether or not the movie means anything at all beyond its surface pleasures and obviously Freudian subject matter is elusive, and it can feel like an alienating and nihilistic experience. But like every Refn movie, it is undeniably profound, deeply beautiful and perhaps deceptively deep, even as he’s playing dumb.

This is a simple story executed with singular panache, and while Horsegirls follows expected narrative beats, it’s in the moments of surprise that it works best, often thanks to Carrier and her straightforward line deliveries, which help the tone pop.

Here, Nolan manages to fit his every obsession, every thematic preoccupation, and every bit of jaw-dropping visual and sonic spectacle that he can conjure into every supersized frame of film.

It has far too many ideas for its own good, and yet no ideas that are good enough to sustain this bizarre curio of a comedy.

This live-action version is cute, and Laga’aia is an exciting new star, but it doesn’t quite pull off a convincing argument to go out when we already have “Moana” at home.

It’s propaganda in the form of a history lesson in the shape of a summer blockbuster. If only it were even slightly entertaining — maybe they’ll tackle that in the inevitable sequel.

Some of it works and some of it doesn’t, but what works here is Alcock, and all that matters is that we find some inspiration in the girl at hand, even if being good means being a little bit bad.