L.A. Weekly

John Powers L.A. Weekly Oct 20, 2026 Kubrick tries to make too much of a virtue out of what his movie isn't: Even as he strips away the conventions of the war movie, he doesn't replace them with any fresh ideas. Go to Full Review Full Metal Jacket (1987) 84% 94%

Ginger Varney L.A. Weekly Oct 19, 2026 Watching Kubrick's movie is like witnessing an amputation at a long remove. You don't know it's your own arm being cut off 'til you start feeling the shock -- in the severed nerves. Go to Full Review The Shining (1980) 75% 90%

Michael Dare L.A. Weekly Oct 6, 2026 How many innocent, good-looking young people is that scumbag Jason going to kill before they stop making repetitive, repetitive and repetitive movies abut him? Go to Full Review Friday the 13th Part VII: The New Blood (1988) 21% 37%

John Powers L.A. Weekly Oct 4, 2026 Even better than Friday the 13th, Part VII. Go to Full Review Friday the 13th Part VI: Jason Lives (1986) 39% 53%

Michael Dare L.A. Weekly Oct 2, 2026 The only thing that gave me any pleasure was imagining all the horrible things that happen to these characters happening instead to the makers of this film. Go to Full Review Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter (1984) 20% 51%

Ron Stringer L.A. Weekly Sep 28, 2026 A note to fans of the series: it's not scary, it's not funny, it's not even gruesome. Go to Full Review Friday the 13th Part VIII: Jason Takes Manhattan (1989) 8% 27%

Mary Beth Crain L.A. Weekly Sep 23, 2026 The film itself suffers from the modern-day curse of superficiality, never delving into anything in depth... But Hogan's creation of Mick Dundee is part man, part myth and all charm. Go to Full Review Crocodile Dundee (1986) 87% 59%

Ernest Hardy L.A. Weekly Sep 19, 2026 Pure escapist bliss. Go to Full Review The First Wives Club (1996) 56% 68%

Michael Dare L.A. Weekly Sep 14, 2026 A new beginning is better shot than the others, which means that it's even more worth avoiding. Go to Full Review Friday the 13th Part V: A New Beginning (1985) 11% 26%

Paul Malcolm L.A. Weekly Sep 9, 2026 As the theater lights dimmed it hit me that I might be in over my head. Go to Full Review Jason Goes to Hell: The Final Friday (1993) 11% 24%

Hazel-Dawn Dumpert L.A. Weekly Aug 19, 2026 Written and directed by James Merendino, SLC Punk! is ultimately a wiser and truer film than its crass and cartoony beginnings would have us believe... Go to Full Review SLC Punk (1999) 65% 89%

John Powers L.A. Weekly Aug 15, 2026 Mann's stylistic preening makes Manhunter a formal shambles, a film student's wet dream, a demonic gibber of a movie. Mann may know all the tricks in the book, but he doesn't understand the book. Go to Full Review Manhunter (1986) 82% 78%

Ginger Varney L.A. Weekly Aug 14, 2026 It's well-planned, well-photographed, well-lighted, well-directed and mostly well-acted. Go to Full Review An American Werewolf in London (1981) 80% 81%

John Powers L.A. Weekly Aug 10, 2026 The end result is Cronenberg's most perfect film to date. Go to Full Review The Fly (1986) 82% 83%

Manohla Dargis L.A. Weekly Aug 10, 2026 Fast, furious fun, Zu features a multitude of bodies in extraordinary motion, jaw-dropping exploits, ingenious set pieces, and enough nuggets of Chinese cosmology to keep the whole picture truly and wonderfully off-center. Go to Full Review Zu, Warriors From the Magic Mountain (1983) 100% 77%

Helen Knode L.A. Weekly Aug 8, 2026 Lee can direct, no question. He can write, although he writes himself the best lines. And he can act. His Mars Blackman, suitor to Nola, is the film's wittiest portrayal. Go to Full Review She's Gotta Have It (1986) 91% 72%

Manohla Dargis L.A. Weekly Aug 4, 2026 Of course it's diverting; too bad it's also instantly forgettable. Go to Full Review Escape From L.A. (1996) 45% 39%

Ella Taylor L.A. Weekly Jul 30, 2026 The House Mothers provide the stabilizing glue to a community that has remade its own society, its own families and supports, and lent dignity and optimism to the dispossessed amid a cesspool of violence and danger. Go to Full Review Paris Is Burning (1990) 99% 89%

Manohla Dargis L.A. Weekly Jul 28, 2026 The film tries hard to obscure the fact that it's a comedy about how wretched adults are when it comes to children, and fails. Go to Full Review Matilda (1996) 90% 73%

Michael Dare L.A. Weekly Jul 28, 2026 This movie takes everything that was special about Howard and turns it into mind-mush. Go to Full Review Howard the Duck (1986) 14% 38%