Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day (2014)

It's good for your film viewing needs, but isn’t going to shake your world. Demonic is trippy sci-fi fun, and that’s about it. And that's pretty cool.

The Last Duel is about rape. Although the film delves into rape culture in medieval Europe, there are many striking similarities to modern rape culture.

Him is visually stunning—all concrete cathedrals and bone-rattling impact shots that look like a nightmare highlight reel. Marlon Wayans is magnetic as this legendary quarterback who's basically selling salvation with a smile that never quite reaches his eyes. But the story keeps running in circles: more tests, more cryptic pep talks, more ritualistic drills. The sports-as-religion metaphor beats you over the head when subtlety would've been more effective. The middle drags, and that finale chooses spectacle over substance. It's undeniably stylish, but left me cold. Also worth noting: despite the Monkeypaw connection, this isn't actually a Jordan Peele film—he didn't write or direct.

I write for a diversity-focused film review blog, so I’ll be honest: I really wanted to like Pretty Lethal. Starring Maddie Ziegler, Lana Condor, Iris Apatow, Avantika, and Millicent Simmonds, Amazon Prime’s new thriller seemed like it would be a girl power movie about dancers with a horror action twist. Sort of a Suspiria for teens. But with shallow and unlikeable characters, a confusing plot, an overreliance on violence, and cringey dialogue, any fun the movie started out with was quickly lost. What was left was a faint echo of greater horror movies about dancers made before. 

'Zombieland: Double Tap' was entertaining and fun at times, but not very evolved. It had poorly developed female characters and stereotypical characters of color.

A young girl named Hailey Mays sings a country song that is named after the film's title.