Chicago Tribune

Spielberg and Koepp dive into the spiritual and the existential with this political alien flick, and while the destination isn’t as exciting, the journey itself is deeply moving and brilliantly executed.

It’s a thrill to watch this kind of original, adult movie that are all too rare these days, and Roher hits all the right notes with this move into narrative filmmaking.

Boring? Never. Thrilling and history-making? Indeed. Maras and Haig easily rise to the challenge to make the weather worth watching.

Conceptually, and in execution, “Power Ballad” is so light, it feels like it might blow away with a puff of wind. The beat goes on, but this one just doesn’t have the staying power of Carney’s other hits.

For such heavy political themes and rallying cries to action, Riley makes it wildly entertaining, with eye-popping visuals, and a circus-inspired score by Tune-Yards. What’s most important is that among all the mishaps and misadventures, his message never loses its clarity: Liberation is for everyone, and, most importantly, it should be fun.

Grogu’s cuteness may be a powerful force, but it’s not enough to sustain this big-screen leap, especially in a blockbuster this bloated, and frankly, dull. If it feels like a serial, maybe it should have stayed a series.

Equally enchanting and disturbing in its unique blend of magical and social realism, “Is God Is” is a highly stylish and daring announcement of a new cinematic talent in Harris, who has been allowed to fully express her vision, uncompromising and entirely hers.

The story isn’t complicated, and it’s one we know well, rendered with spooky, atmospheric aesthetics and intensely gnarly violence that provide cover for the thin premise, nagging plot holes and flimsy characterization in the script, which traffics in poorly explained archetypes. It’s sufficient enough, but the strength of the filmmaking is not in the writing, but in Barker’s command of style, pace and performance.

What you might not expect is how moving this whole story actually is. It’s not just the fun of figuring things out among this cast of colorful characters, rendered with a storybook look, it’s actually a tale about the importance of finding, and tending to, a flock.

The costumes are giving Halloween, the sets and props are giving Xena: Warrior Princess and the story and performances aren’t giving anything at all. Mortal Kombat II seems destined to go the way of the ‘90s sequel Mortal Kombat: Annihilation — directly into obscurity.