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Movies Thru the Spectrum

Movies Thru the Spectrum is not a Tomatometer-approved publication. Reviews from this publication only count toward the Tomatometer® when written by the following Tomatometer-approved critic(s): Al Alexander.

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Rating Title | Year Author Quote
B+
Late Shift (2025) Al Alexander What Volpe delivers is jaw-dropping, while drawing on every ounce of empathy for an idealistic young nurse possessing incredible patience for a host of patients, most of them either battling or about to succumb to cancer.
Posted Mar 20, 2026  Edit critic review
B
Tow (2025) Al Alexander My only complaint, besides the wispily drawn supporting characters, is that the second half of the movie feels rushed and ham-handedly edited, with characters and incidents lacking sufficient context or explanation. Not Byrne, though. She's fabulous.
Posted Mar 20, 2026  Edit critic review
A
Mr. Nobody Against Putin (2025) Al Alexander The Oscar-winning "Mr. Nobody Against Putin" is everything a documentary should be: timely, informative, entertaining and most of all relatable. Oh, yeah, and fronted by a hugely likeable narrator in Pavel ''Sasha' Talankin.
Posted Mar 20, 2026  Edit critic review
B-
Slanted (2025) Al Alexander The bones of what’s here have been recycled from "Mean Girls," "Watermelon Man," "Black Like Me," and, of course, "The Substance." But there’s just enough originality to stand on its own.
Posted Mar 13, 2026  Edit critic review
B
The Optimist: The Bravest Act Is Truth (2023) Al Alexander As their bond deepens, so does your investment in the duo, as they discover that communication is not just a release but a solid foundation for an unbreakable friendship.
Posted Mar 10, 2026  Edit critic review
C
For Worse (2025) Al Alexander The disarming coda succeeds in leaving you less resentful for having wasted 90 minutes of your precious life on something so inane. But not enough to lessen the urge to abandon this dud at the altar.
Posted Mar 06, 2026  Edit critic review
C+
Youngblood (2025) Al Alexander It’s not a bad movie, per se, but it is a labored one that consistently undermines its social conscience-raising aspirations with an array of sports movie clichés culminating with the cocky, insecure rookie learning to play within his abilities.
Posted Mar 06, 2026  Edit critic review
A-
Heel (The Good Boy) (2025) Al Alexander It’s sure to set tongues and tails wagging.
Posted Mar 06, 2026  Edit critic review
C-
THE BRIDE! (2026) Al Alexander The tone throughout is decidedly tongue-in-cheek. And there are a few chuckles to be had, but once Frank and Ida, er, The Bride, consummate their post-crypt romance, there’s nowhere for the movie to go. And there’s still more than an hour left to fill.
Posted Mar 06, 2026  Edit critic review
B-
Dreams (2025) Al Alexander Franco throws it all away with a third-act twist that is as ugly and cruel as it is wrong-headed. It also betrays his characters, who, up until that point, had displayed cunning, for sure, but nothing as dark and merciless as what they become.
Posted Feb 27, 2026  Edit critic review
B+
The President's Cake (2025) Al Alexander This is a must-see for any movie lover who cherishes outstanding storytelling. Go on, treat yourself to a slice of "Cake."
Posted Feb 27, 2026  Edit critic review
B
K-Pops! (2024) Al Alexander What draws you in is .Paak, as he sings, dances and acts his way into your heart. It’s a debut performance that doesn’t just put the soul in Seoul, it also fortifies the notion that dads are never too old to grow up.
Posted Feb 27, 2026  Edit critic review
B
Paul McCartney: Man on the Run (2025) Al Alexander It fails to rival last year’s "One to One: John & Yoko" in terms of relativity. But it does have that unmistakable McCartney charisma going for it. Maybe you’re not amazed, but you’ll definitely want to listen to what the man said.
Posted Feb 27, 2026  Edit critic review
B
Redux Redux (2025) Al Alexander Einstein’s fingerprints are all over this thing, as the McManus brothers borrow from his theory of relativity to break the plane of the plain and ordinary to land Irene in a much better place than where she began.
Posted Feb 20, 2026  Edit critic review
B+
2026 Oscar-Nominated Short Films - Documentary (2026) Al Alexander The three standouts deal with deadly violence visited upon innocents. They range from the slaughter of children in American classrooms and international warzones, to a photojournalist senselessly murdered for no other reason than doing his job.
Posted Feb 19, 2026  Edit critic review
B
2026 Oscar-Nominated Short Films - Animated (2026) Al Alexander The nominees range from the Holocaust dramas "Butterfly" and "The Girl Who Cried Pearls," to the lighthearted "Retirement Plan," about big dreams that will never come true. None of them is transformative, but four of the five are well worth your time.
Posted Feb 19, 2026  Edit critic review
B+
2026 Oscar-Nominated Short Films - Live Action (2026) Al Alexander The nominees range from the cheeky "Jane Austen Period Drama" to the savage wages of a dystopian future featured in the intriguing "Two People Exchanging Saliva." But all are consistently good, a rarity in this category over the years.
Posted Feb 19, 2026  Edit critic review
B-
Cold Storage (2026) Al Alexander As entertaining as "Cold Storage" is, you’re likely to forget it almost as soon as it’s over. But while it lasts, you can’t help but delight in a lark intent on putting the "fun" in fungus.
Posted Feb 14, 2026  Edit critic review
B
Nirvanna the Band the Show the Movie (2025) Al Alexander Not everyone's cup of tea. But if you enjoy quirky humor and colorful characters willing to do anything – and I mean anything – to entertain you, count on Matt and Jay’s risky schtick to consistently shock and awe.
Posted Feb 14, 2026  Edit critic review
B-
Good Luck, Have Fun, Don't Die (2025) Al Alexander The results are a story that’s nothing quite like anything you’ve seen before. And that’s both a good and bad thing, with the former narrowly edging out the latter.
Posted Feb 14, 2026  Edit critic review
B
Sirāt (2025) Al Alexander The misfortunes we witness are shocking, but how they fit into the movie’s overall scheme is vague. Yet there’s something transfixing about how it evokes doom by holding up a mirror to a world that is rapidly tearing itself apart at the seams.
Posted Feb 09, 2026  Edit critic review
B-
Dracula (2025) Al Alexander Traditionalists will no doubt be clutching their pearls and brandishing their silver stakes. But if you long for something so completely bonkers that you can’t help being intrigued, Besson’s zany "Dracula" offers just enough to sink your teeth into.
Posted Feb 06, 2026  Edit critic review
C
Solo Mio (2026) Al Alexander It’s set in Rome, but there’s a whole lot of bologna in the flavorless cold cut that’s "Solo Mio." Everything about this unfunny rom-com feels phony and phoned-in, from Kevin James’s unengaging lead performance to the erratic writing and directing.
Posted Feb 06, 2026  Edit critic review
B
Arco (2025) Al Alexander It’s very sweet, but also tragic and quite moving, even when a droid meets a gruesome end. It and its fellow Oscar nominee, the equally stirring "Little Amelie," thrive on genuine emotion and deep dives into existentialism.
Posted Jan 30, 2026  Edit critic review
B-
A Poet (2025) Al Alexander     John Dryden wrote that "rhyme is the rock on which thou art to wreck." It’s a literary quote that can literally be applied to Oscár Restrepo, the bumbling pro-vers libre hero of Simón Mesa Soto’s funny, cringy "A Poet."
Posted Jan 30, 2026  Edit critic review
B
Islands (2025) Al Alexander Although challenged, my interest never waned. But what about you? Should you skip "Islands?" Not atoll.
Posted Jan 30, 2026  Edit critic review
B-
Sound of Falling (2025) Al Alexander Despite its numerous flaws, "Sound of Falling" remains a film richly deserving of making the Oscar shortlist, even if it doesn’t always fully and meaningfully connect.
Posted Jan 26, 2026  Edit critic review
B-
H Is for Hawk (2025) Al Alexander The bond between woman and bird is touching at first, but Lowthorpe and Donoghue dwell on it to distraction.
Posted Jan 23, 2026  Edit critic review
C-
In Cold Light (2025) Al Alexander Why Helen Hunt and "CODA's" Troy Kotsur got mixed up in this discombobulated mess remains a mystery. One that I’m sure is far more interesting than the riddle Maika Monroe's ex-con is attempting to solve after being framed for murder.
Posted Jan 22, 2026  Edit critic review
B-
The Rip (2026) Al Alexander That "Good Will Hunting" chemistry is still very much in evidence, but it’s not enough to warrant arrest, let alone conviction.
Posted Jan 19, 2026  Edit critic review
B-
The Choral (2025) Al Alexander It all adds up to a spoonful of cinematic comfort food, satisfying for the moment, but soon forgotten.
Posted Jan 16, 2026  Edit critic review
B-
A Private Life (2025) Al Alexander If not for Foster, it would sink like a rock in the River Seine, further proof that the two-time Oscar-winner can turn cheese into gold.
Posted Jan 16, 2026  Edit critic review
B+
Father Mother Sister Brother (2025) Al Alexander There’s never any doubt that you are experiencing a virtuoso dedicated to making movies his way. They may not appeal to the masses, but for a select few, they are cinematic poetry.
Posted Jan 09, 2026  Edit critic review
B
Dead Man's Wire (2025) Al Alexander Bottom line: Should you see "Dead Man’s Wire"? By all means! But it’s ultimately up to you. After all, it’s not like there’s a gun to your head.
Posted Jan 09, 2026  Edit critic review
B
Rosemead (2025) Al Alexander Lucy Liu seeks to shift the focus from her looks to legitimize her bona fide acting chops and does not disappoint, completely disappearing into the role of a mother charging a hundred miles per hour toward an abyss from which there’s no escape.
Posted Jan 09, 2026  Edit critic review
B
All That's Left of You (2025) Al Alexander Much like her breakout film, "Amreeka," Dabis isn’t so much interested in the politics of the crisis as she is advocating for compassion and understanding in a land where hatred and violence are the order of the day.
Posted Jan 09, 2026  Edit critic review
B
The Plague (2025) Al Alexander Drawing inspiration from such puberty-is-worse-than-death classics as "Carrie" and "Black Swan," Polinger cleverly probes many of the same themes, but from a male perspective. And what’s most revealing is that boys can be even more catty than girls.
Posted Jan 02, 2026  Edit critic review
C
Goodbye June (2025) Al Alexander Mirren can only do so much before June, and the movie carrying her name, succumbs to an incurable illness. Apathy.
Posted Dec 25, 2025  Edit critic review
A
No Other Choice (2025) Al Alexander If you’re desiring to be wowed by a film emblematic of these uncertain times, it’s clear to me you have no other choice.
Posted Dec 25, 2025  Edit critic review
B
Song Sung Blue (2025) Al Alexander Yes, good times never seemed so good, especially when Hugh Jackman and Kate Hudson are working their butts off selling what, in the wrong hands, might have been a schmaltzy disaster.
Posted Dec 25, 2025  Edit critic review
B-
Marty Supreme (2025) Al Alexander Subtly is not thy name. But pomposity is. And it is personified by Chalamet’s Marty Mauser, a world championship-caliber ping-pong hustler who doesn’t give a damn about how many bridges he burns so long as he gets his way.
Posted Dec 25, 2025  Edit critic review
B-
Is This Thing On? (2025) Al Alexander When Dern’s front and center, "Is This Thing On?" soars. When she’s not, it’s a sluggish ordeal.
Posted Dec 19, 2025  Edit critic review
A-
The Voice of Hind Rajab (2025) Al Alexander I can’t recall a film that stirred anger, empathy and utter helplessness quite like Kaouther Ben Hania’s emotionally devastating "The Voice of Hind Rajab."
Posted Dec 17, 2025  Edit critic review
B+
Dust Bunny (2025) Al Alexander "John Wick" meets "Annie," sans the music. And it’s alluring thanks to its two stars and the magnetic appeal they generate through exchanging snappy, quip-filled dialogue.
Posted Dec 13, 2025  Edit critic review
A-
Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery (2025) Al Alexander True, the dialogue may commit a deadly sin or two. But I swear on a stack of Bibles that you won’t be offended, just enthralled, and left hungering for more, as Craig and O'Connor miraculously finesse blasphemy into a blast.
Posted Dec 11, 2025  Edit critic review
B+
Hamnet (2025) Al Alexander "To go, or not to go?" Ah, that is the question. But given the slings and arrows of our winter of Oscar discontent, I say get thee not to a nunnery, but to "Hamnet." All that glisters is not gold, but this comes pretty damn close. 
Posted Dec 08, 2025  Edit critic review
C-
Jay Kelly (2025) Al Alexander Baumbach wagers everything on Clooney’s charisma and oversized personality. Sorry, not happening. Neither is "Jay Kelly," a wonky tale of a mecurial star imploding into an existential black hole. My advice? Don’t get sucked into it.
Posted Dec 05, 2025  Edit critic review
B
Fackham Hall (2025) Al Alexander With its plethora of dad jokes, chronic flatulence and cheesy sight gags, I desperately wanted to hate the silly "Fackham Hall." But damned if this "Downton Abbey" send-up didn’t win me over with its effusive eagerness to please.
Posted Dec 04, 2025  Edit critic review
B+
Rental Family (2025) Al Alexander There’s a naturalness to Hikari's storytelling that heightens the authenticity of the transformations. You believe in these little miracles, as do her actors.  
Posted Dec 03, 2025  Edit critic review
C
Eternity (2025) Al Alexander  Life’s too short to waste a second of it spent in "Eternity." 
Posted Nov 28, 2025  Edit critic review
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