>
Alonso Duralde
Tomatometer-approved critic
Publications:
Critics' Group:
Movies reviews only
| Rating | T-Meter | Title | Year | Review |
|---|---|---|---|
|
|
The Killer's Game (2024) |
An action film with no thrills and a comedy bereft of laughs, The Killer’s Game plays like a tax shelter disguised as a movie. - The Film Verdict
Read More
| Posted Sep 13, 2024
|
|
|
|
Transformers One (2024) |
Fills in the backstory for the legendary “robots in disguise,” but there’s little here for viewers who come in with no investment in this universe, cinematic or otherwise. - The Film Verdict
Read More
| Posted Sep 12, 2024
|
|
|
|
The Wild Robot (2024) |
If the story sounds like it contains the DNA of earlier films like The Iron Giant, Fly Away Home, and How to Train Your Dragon, it does, but writer-director Chris Sanders finds enough grace notes to let this story stand on its own. - The Film Verdict
Read More
| Posted Sep 08, 2024
|
|
|
|
Wolfs (2024) |
And if doing a bit of genre fluff recharges their batteries for whatever serious-minded projects they have in waiting, well, movies that are far less entertaining have been made for far worse reasons. - The Film Verdict
Read More
| Posted Sep 02, 2024
|
|
|
|
The Order (2024) |
The relevant can still feel depressingly familiar, which keeps The Order from registering as anything but a slightly more competent tale of FBI agents circling in on bomb-throwing racists. - The Film Verdict
Read More
| Posted Aug 31, 2024
|
|
|
|
Babygirl (2024) |
At its core it’s a coming-out story, one where the revelation isn’t about same-sex attraction or gender identity, but instead about embracing kink, minus any pride flags. - The Film Verdict
Read More
| Posted Aug 30, 2024
|
|
|
|
Maria (2024) |
It’s a tug of war, as the demands of established biographical film form pull toward the relatively quotidian, while its own subject and star push to prove themselves something just a little more super than human. - The Film Verdict
Read More
| Posted Aug 29, 2024
|
|
|
|
Beetlejuice Beetlejuice (2024) |
Perhaps most miraculously, it represents Tim Burton getting his groove back, successfully returning to the dark comedy and outrageous visuals that marked his extraordinary early work. - The Film Verdict
Read More
| Posted Aug 28, 2024
|
|
|
|
Blink Twice (2024) |
A tense, twisty, and topical thriller that wrangles themes of trauma, class, and the fallout surrounding social and professional “cancellation” into a playfully served but serious-minded package. - The Film Verdict
Read More
| Posted Aug 22, 2024
|
|
|
|
Alien: Romulus (2024) |
The slime and the shadows and the silences are back. Horror DNA is honored rather than pointlessly duplicated. This time, at least, IP familiarity breeds contentment. - The Film Verdict
Read More
| Posted Aug 14, 2024
|
|
|
|
Cuckoo (2024) |
That Stevens is hiding a terrible secret is evident from the outset, but the film’s explanation of what’s going on and why is so muddled and baffling. - The Film Verdict
Read More
| Posted Aug 07, 2024
|
|
|
|
Trap (2024) |
Usually, the architecture of a thriller involves introducing a complicated scenario and then slowly but surely ratcheting up the tension; with Trap, Shyamalan has chosen to set it and forget it. - The Film Verdict
Read More
| Posted Aug 02, 2024
|
|
|
|
Deadpool & Wolverine (2024) |
While Ryan Reynolds still seems to be having fun playing the cheeky mercenary, both the inside-baseball comedy and the cartoonishly bloody mayhem wear out their welcomes in the film’s final third. - The Film Verdict
Read More
| Posted Jul 26, 2024
|
|
|
|
Twisters (2024) |
Offers upgraded weather-porn effects and a similar commitment to thrills over character, but this sequel comes off as a bit of an improvement, thanks mainly to Chung and screenwriter Mark L. Smith (The Revenant) expressing concern for actual human beings. - The Film Verdict
Read More
| Posted Jul 16, 2024
|
|
|
|
Despicable Me 4 (2024) |
Plays like an assemblage of note cards that have been stapled together in a rough approximation of a screenplay. - The Film Verdict
Read More
| Posted Jul 02, 2024
|
|
|
|
A Quiet Place: Day One (2024) |
What Day One has to offer can be found mainly in the countenance of Lupita Nyong’o, as a survivor who catches on quick that the only way to stay alive is to remain as silent as possible. - The Film Verdict
Read More
| Posted Jun 27, 2024
|
|
|
|
The Bikeriders (2023) |
Takes its inspiration from the book by legendary photographer Danny Lyon, and the result is a film that operates like a perfectly curated gallery exhibit, conveying nearly everything it has to say through images rather than the accompanying text. - The Film Verdict
Read More
| Posted Jun 21, 2024
|
|
|
|
Inside Out 2 (2024) |
Nothing in Inside Out 2 matches the gut-punch of Bing-Bong’s sacrifice in the first movie, although Riley's climactic self-image, a mixture of both Joy and Anxiety’s handiwork, brought my inner Verklempt emotion to the foreground. - The Film Verdict
Read More
| Posted Jun 12, 2024
|
|
|
|
Bad Boys: Ride or Die (2024) |
Will Smith and Martin Lawrence look like they’d rather be anywhere else, and that feeling is infectious. - The Film Verdict
Read More
| Posted Jun 04, 2024
|
|
|
|
Young Woman and the Sea (2024) |
A biopic with all sharp edges removed, the kind of non-threatening, inspirational Disney movie that teachers screen for fidgety students on the last day of fourth grade. - The Film Verdict
Read More
| Posted May 30, 2024
|
|
|
|
IF (2024) |
Simultaneously exploits childhood grief while cloyingly indulging the inner child of grown-ups. - The Film Verdict
Read More
| Posted May 17, 2024
|
|
|
|
Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga (2024) |
It’s hard to top perfection; it’s the reason why there’s no Citizen Kane, Too or Still Singin’ in the Rain. - The Film Verdict
Read More
| Posted May 16, 2024
|
|
|
|
Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes (2024) |
An intermittently entertaining but ultimately fruitless exercise in franchise expansion. - The Film Verdict
Read More
| Posted May 08, 2024
|
|
|
|
The Fall Guy (2024) |
Overstays its welcome for a bit, but the stunts, the comedy, and the spark between the film’s dynamic leads make the movie a delectable kick-off to the popcorn pleasures of the summer-movie season. - The Film Verdict
Read More
| Posted May 01, 2024
|
|
|
|
Irish Wish (2024) |
You've got a very charming Lohan, some lovely Irish scenery, and a Hallmark plot. And if that's what you're here for, you'll get it. - Breakfast All Day
Read More
| Posted Apr 24, 2024
|
|
|
|
The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare (2024) |
Fits comfortably within the wheelhouse of Guy Ritchie's favorite tropes: witty, devil-may-care, square-jawed heroes inflicting heavy doses of violence while dressed like they’re on their way to a fashion-mag photo shoot. - The Film Verdict
Read More
| Posted Apr 17, 2024
|
|
|
|
The People's Joker (2022) |
Unlike any queer film or experimental film I've ever seen. Funny and personal and experimental -- hard to describe, and that's a good thing. - Breakfast All Day
Read More
| Posted Apr 14, 2024
|
|
|
|
Challengers (2024) |
Erotically charged, intricately plotted and breathlessly stylish, Luca Guadagnino’s Challengers delivers pleasure at every turn. - The Film Verdict
Read More
| Posted Apr 12, 2024
|
|
|
|
Civil War (2024) |
If we don’t have at least a vague idea of what each side stands for, or at least a sense of the rhetoric and posturing that has led the country to all-out cataclysm, the film’s message is reduced to “war sure does suck.” - The Film Verdict
Read More
| Posted Apr 11, 2024
|
|
|
|
Monkey Man (2024) |
Patel turns each of Monkey Man’s fight sequences into a dazzling blend of choreography, cutting, and swooping camera moves; that’s a combo that, in far too many films, leads to visual chaos, but the team here crafts these moments with assurance. - The Film Verdict
Read More
| Posted Apr 05, 2024
|
|
|
|
Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire (2024) |
For all its flaws, in fact, GxK is second only to the underappreciated Godzilla: King of the Monsters among the Warner/Legendary reboot of these venerable characters. - The Film Verdict
Read More
| Posted Mar 28, 2024
|
|
|
|
Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire (2024) |
One could only make the case that Kenan and Reitman are pivoting from comedy to action if either the action or the comedy played more effectively. - The Film Verdict
Read More
| Posted Mar 20, 2024
|
|
|
|
Bob Marley: One Love (2024) |
This is a real disappointment. - Breakfast All Day
Read More
| Posted Feb 24, 2024
|
|
|
|
This Is Me... Now: A Love Story (2024) |
I didn't really connect with this material. - Breakfast All Day
Read More
| Posted Feb 24, 2024
|
|
|
|
Drive-Away Dolls (2024) |
One can sense the way in which the scenes are meant to be hitting the marks of neo-screwball crime comedy and then watching in dismay as almost none of them fulfill their ambition. - The Film Verdict
Read More
| Posted Feb 21, 2024
|
|
|
|
Dune: Part Two (2024) |
After somewhat laboriously placing those chess pieces on the board in the first Dune, Villenueve and co-screenwriter Jon Spaihts send them into strategic alliances and conflicts, and the results are often breathtaking. - The Film Verdict
Read More
| Posted Feb 21, 2024
|
|
|
|
Hundreds of Beavers (2022) |
Part Guy Maddin, part Chuck Jones -- a constant delight. - Breakfast All Day
Read More
| Posted Feb 20, 2024
|
|
|
|
Madame Web (2024) |
Isn’t going to reverse the ongoing decline of superhero cinema, but unlike some of its notable contemporaries, it’s strong enough to make its intended sequels feel like promises rather than threats. - The Film Verdict
Read More
| Posted Feb 13, 2024
|
|
|
|
Lisa Frankenstein (2024) |
The smarter, sharper, funnier version of Lisa Frankenstein hovers tantalizingly over this movie without ever coming to fruition. Back to the morgue with it. - The Film Verdict
Read More
| Posted Feb 09, 2024
|
|
|
|
The Greatest Night in Pop (2024) |
It's really fascinating. - Breakfast All Day
Read More
| Posted Feb 08, 2024
|
|
|
|
Perfect Days (2023) |
This movie is just delightful. - Breakfast All Day
Read More
| Posted Feb 08, 2024
|
|
|
|
Nimona (2023) |
Its message is powerful but subtle, and I like the animation style a lot. - Breakfast All Day
Read More
| Posted Feb 08, 2024
|
|
|
|
Society of the Snow (2023) |
[The characters] didn't pop out to me as individual personalities... but as far as the craft of this movie, it's exceptional. - Breakfast All Day
Read More
| Posted Feb 02, 2024
|
|
|
|
The Sweet East (2023) |
I think there's there's a lot to like here, but it just doesn't quite gel in the way you might hope. - Breakfast All Day
Read More
| Posted Feb 02, 2024
|
|
|
|
Miller's Girl (2024) |
My worst list of 2024 starts right here. - Breakfast All Day
Read More
| Posted Feb 02, 2024
|
|
|
|
The Breaking Ice (2023) |
I think this is really gorgeous, and and I hope it finds an audience here. - Breakfast All Day
Read More
| Posted Feb 02, 2024
|
|
|
|
Argylle (2024) |
The studio has asked critics not to reveal the multiple plot twists. This is unsurprising, since those twists underscore the weakness of the screenplay: It’s constantly pulling the rug out from under viewers, only to reveal no floor underneath. - The Film Verdict
Read More
| Posted Jan 31, 2024
|
|
|
|
Fallen Leaves (2023) |
This is a movie that could be gloomy so easily, but [Kaurismäki] somehow manages to find this level of whimsy and and optimism. - Breakfast All Day
Read More
| Posted Jan 26, 2024
|
|
|
|
Monster (2023) |
It is his really beautiful film about growing up. It goes into some unexpected emotional areas that I was not ready for that that really caught me by surprise and I found very moving. - Breakfast All Day
Read More
| Posted Jan 26, 2024
|
|
|
|
The Book of Clarence (2023) |
Even if [it doesn't] always work... I didn't know where it was going to go from moment to moment, and that in itself is thrilling. - Breakfast All Day
Read More
| Posted Jan 19, 2024
|