We all wanted to Cruise to get back to ambitious, risky projects. Just not like this.

Director Mandon Lovett’s examination of the retired NFL wide receiver draws on three decades years of home movie footage- and is remarkably illuminating and honest.

The Jon Watts-directed ‘Star Wars’ movie may or may not be real, but the A.I. actress definitely isn’t.

Plus: The Paramount/Warner merger, I was right about Stallone and Trump, and more in this week’s notes column.

Hugh Grant and Gene Hackman starred in this medical conspiracy thriller, an also-ran from the fall of 1996, which I remember for only one reason.

The Love Hypothesis is ridiculous on various fronts, but nevertheless has some charm. || Stephen Silver

John Wilson makes his feature documentary debut with a look at the titular construction material- and every tangent you can possibly imagine.

Heart of the Beast is a forgettable thriller. || Stephen Silver

Lance Oppenheim’s film is nerve-wracking, full of outstanding performances, and refreshingly un-didactic. But if anything, it has too little to say.

There’s little doubt the Daily Wire folks would rather be movie moguls- but sadly, they’re not very good at it.

A light schedule, a new name for Tigers Park, the Yankees' private equity deal, the Kaufman Field fence experiment, update on the Clase/Ortiz prosecution, Tommy John, a weird poll, AI frat culture, an...

Plus: Robert De Niro’s opinion of Kingman’s performance, the Sydney Sweeney commercial, Snyder is cut, a strange podcast about Richard Gere, and more in this week’s notes column.

The Weight has pacing issues, but it's still a successful film. || Stephen Silver

Cregger’s film is probably the best ‘Resident Evil’ movie possible, but I’m still not sure why he made this particular movie at this particular time.

In 1986, Lynch visited some of his favorite themes in a psychosexual thriller about a wide-eyed college boy, his blond girlfriend, a sultry nightclub singer, and a violent and perverted Dennis Hopper.

A fine true-crime documentary about a case that’s very important to me.

The president's midterm convention did not outrate the NFL.

Almost no one has seen them, but everybody’s talking about them anyway.

The last minute marketing switch involving Robin Hood is far more interesting than anything that's actually in The Uprising​​​​​​​. || Stephen Silver

Also, the Tupac trial, Elon Musk vs. Alex Gibney’s ‘Musk,’ 20 years of McNabb’s Chunky Soup commercial, and more in this week’s notes column.

Practical Magic 2 is an unnecessary and lousy sequel to a movie that wasn't that good in the first place. || Stephen Silver

The Gallagher brothers’ unlikely reunion tour isn’t just a great rock doc- it does groundbreaking things with the concert film form.

Keanu Reeves and Cameron Diaz teamed up in a surprisingly violent crime film.

It might be the most cynical movie ever made about the civil rights movement, but that doesn’t make it any good.

For Labor Day, a brief fall movie preview.

Dreams in Nightmares deserves a word-of-mouth audience. || Stephen Silver

The trouble with Ali G, Trump’s tax incentives, the Iranian foreign minister watches ‘Homeland,’ ‘Days of Thunder 2’, and more in this week’s notes column.

Join Philadelphia Film Critics Circle members Rich Heimlich (Cinemotic), Steve Silver (Splice Today, SS Ben Hecht Substack), and Rich Drees (FilmBuffOnline) as they discuss the newly released Anthony ...

Ryan Reynolds and Kenneth Branagh star in the strange story of mismatched friends beyond enemy lines in the last days of the Soviet Union.

Reviews of ten new documentary features.

With the Old City theater shut down due to code violations, let’s hope Philadelphia doesn’t lose five more screens.

The Whisper Man is little more than an overlong Criminal Minds episode. || Stephen Silver

Join Philadelphia Film Critics Circle members Rich Heimlich (Cinemotic), Steve Silver (Splice Today, SS Ben Hecht Substack), and Rich Drees (FilmBuffOnline) as they discuss the newly released Anthony ...

Plus, remembering Dolly Parton, abandoning Kips Bay, why Ebert was more famous than Siskel, the Wing Bowl movie, and more in this week’s notes column.

Idiots has a decent premise but too many tonal shifts. || Stephen Silver

Still, I admire 88-year-old Ridley Scott for making something this strange.

It’s time to make your September calendar, and Philly is packed with screenings, from early Star Trek to A League of Their Own , The Silence of the Lambs…

The film, currently rolling out throughout Wisconsin, shows us the twilight of the legend of the baseball booth and far beyond.

If you’re against the merger — as I am — what Mark Ruffalo said last week wasn’t especially helpful.

Plus, the Philadelphia karate kick heard around the world, it was a pretty good August, the end of Columbia House, and more in this week’s notes column.

Will the movie be as interesting as the story behind how it was rescued from tax write-off oblivion? Almost. || Stephen Silver

Rory Kennedy’s sequel to ‘Downfall’ follows up on the aviation giant’s misdeeds, including the death of a whistleblower from the first film.

Nothing says August cinema like Statham kicking the asses of human traffickers on the high seas.

The 1986 coming-of-age classic, adapted from Stephen King, was part of the late Rob Reiner’s legendary run.

The event last Thursday in Iowa was a lot like the movie it celebrated: Corny — in more than one sense — but nevertheless unforgettable.