Reviews for August 14th, 2026
American Doctor is a timely, eye-opening and emotionally engrossing documentary about three American doctors who have traveled to Gaza to treat patients in hospitals during the Israeli–Palestinian conflict. Director Poh Si Teng follows the doctors, namely Dr. Feroze Sidhwa, a Pakistani Parsi trauma surgeon, Dr. Thaer Ahmad, a Palestinian American emergency physician, and Dr. Mark Perlmutter, a Jewish American, as they prepare to travel to Gaza while dealing with all the bureaucratic red tape that it takes to get there. Once they arrive, their life remains at risk because of all the bombings by the IDF. You would think that the IDF wouldn't target hospitals and that they're safe havens, but the harsh reality is that they do indeed bomb them while claiming that terrorists are hiding underneath the hospitals in tunnels or that a Hamas terrorist is being treated there, claims which have yet to be proven beyond a reasonable doubt.
Dr. Feroze Sidhwa laughs at how the so-called evidence of those tunnels, shown through 3D animation, is so flimsy. American Doctor delves a little into the private lives of the three doctors. e.g. Dr. Sidhwa's bad luck in his love life, but, for the most part, it focuses on their work, their frustrations, and their human rights activism as they travel to Washington, D.C. to discuss with congressmen about their experiences in Gaza. Those discussions weren't filmed, but it doesn't appear to the doctors that any of them were truly listening to them. The film includes some unflinching images and footage of wounded people including children which might make some audiences squeamish, shocked, sad and uncomfortable. To be fair, though, that's part of the point, and if they weren't included or censored, that would've been irresponsible journalism. There's nothing sugarcoated about American Doctor, so be prepared to be emotionally devasasted.
Kudos to Dr. Sidhwa, Dr. Perlmutter, and Dr. Ahmad for allowing director Poh Si Teng to film them, for being candid, for being intelligent critical thinkers, and for showing compassion for other human beings regardless of their religion, gender, ethnicity or nationality. They're fighting for truth, justice, human rights and, above all, democracy which are no easy tasks because, contrary to what a politician's son once had no shame in telling me, democracy is very easy to lose and very hard to regain. In a way, the three doctors are like soldiers and deserve to be honored for their courage during a time of conflict when they know that they could die at any moment. American Doctors ultimately finds just the right balance between entertaining the audience and provoking them emotionally as well as intellectually just like every truly great documentary should. At a running time of 1 hour and 31 minutes, it opens at Angelika Film Center via Watermelon Pictures.
Number of times I checked my watch: 1
The Bend in the River is a gently moving and thought-provoking documentary about good friends who had taken a rafting trip on the Colorado River back in 1978. It's the final part of the trilogy that began with the documentary short Riverdogs (1982) and then continued with The Same River Twice (2003). Director Robb Moss checks in with those lifelong friends of his, namely, Jeff, Danny, Cathy, Jim and Barry, who are now in their seventies. It's fascinating to watch how they look back on their lives, talk about old age, their regrets, their memories and their epiphanies. In some ways, they haven't changed, but in other ways, they have, e.g. by becoming wiser with more emotional maturity and introspection. Moss incorporates archival footage from the rafting trip, so watching the two previous docs in the series isn't essential, but it'd be helpful to get a better understanding of how those five friends have evolved throughout the years---much like the subjects in Michael Apted's The Up Series. Although The Bend in the River isn't as powerful as Apted's classic documentary series, it's nonetheless profound enough to nourish your heart, mind and soul while thinking about your own memories and how you might've matured. The film's title can be seen as a metaphor for a new chapter of one's life if life were a river. At a running time of 1 hour and 22 minutes, Bend in the River opens at Film Forum.
Number of times I checked my watch: 2
U.S. President Ronald Reagan (Jeff Daniels) meets with Russia's President Mikhail Gorbachev (Jared Harris) during the Reykjavík Summit of 1986 to convince him to reduce nuclear arms in The Brink of War. J. K. Simmons plays U.S. Secretary of State George Shultz, Hope Davis plays Nancy Reagan, and Branka Katic plays First Lady Raisa Gorbacheva. Writer/director Michael Russell Gunn has made a stuffy, stodgy and dry political drama with a solid ensemble cast. Unfortunately, despite being based on an iconic and pivotal historical event in world history, The Brink of War isn't very exciting or cinematic for that matter. Sometimes two people conversing and debating within the same location can be engrossing and even riveting like in the recent political drama Pressure about meteorologists trying to predict the weather on D-Day to decide whether or not to postpone it. The stakes in this film are just as high, but there's very little palpable tension. The performances are decent without anyone getting a chance to shine despite strong roles. No one manages to rise above the shallow screenplay or to breathe life into their role, so The Brink of War falls flat on an emotional level. Is it too much to ask for some comic relief or some form of levity other than shots of the natural landscape of Reykjavík outside of the summit?
If you're not into history, chances are that you'll have a tough time sitting through this. If you love history, chances are that you're already familiar with the Reykjavík Summit and won't discover anything new, profound or revealing about it. Moreover, the pace often moves slow and there's nothing exceptional about the cinematography that would've made the film a must-see on the big screen. That said, the Icelandic scenery looks breathtaking and picturesque while becoming more captivating than the scenes with Reagan and Gorbachev. At a running time of 1 hour and 57 minutes, The Brink of War opens nationwide via Angel Studios. It would be an interesting double feature with Robert Altman's provocative Secret Honor featuring a career-best performance by Philip Baker Hall as Richard Nixon that also takes place in one location.
Number of times I checked my watch: 3
Denise (Anne Hathaway) and her husband, Greg (Ewan McGregor), and her two children, Audrey (Maisy Stella) and Brian (Christian Convery), end up in prehistoric times with dinosaurs when their entire neighborhood travels through a portal in The End of Oak Street. Writer/director David Robert Mitchell has made an outrageously funny and wildly entertaining slice of mindless entertainment despite being asinine, repetitive, cringe-inducing, bonkers and silly. It's nothing more than a well-produced B-movie with great CGI effects and intentional as well unintentionally humor. If you could imagine a dumbed-down Donnie Darko crossed with Sharknado, Lake Placid, Jurassic Park and Back to the Future with less world-building and imagination, it would look something like The End of Oak Street. The plot is low on exposition and quickly becomes preposterous while the dialogue remains dull, witless and on-the-nose. There's a distracting, underdeveloped and unnecessary subplot involving their stale marriage and his unemployment that belongs in a different movie. Why add that conflict when the main plot already has enough conflict?
Anne Hathaway and Ewan McGregor are both miscast and lack chemistry together as husband and wife. Christian Convery and Maisy Stella fare better as their son and daughter. If only the film were to focus more on their perspectives, it would've been slightly more engaging. If only Betty White were still alive to be cast in a supporting role to provide comic relief like she does in Lake Placid. Does it make you laugh to watch dinosaurs having sex out-of-the-blue? Or seeing the remnants of their excrement in someone's backyard? If so, this might be just the film for you. You'll probably enjoy The End of Oak Street a lot more if you see it with a loud and rowdy crowd while high or slightly drunk. At a running time of 1 hour and 39 minutes, The End of Oak Street opens nationwide via Warner Bros. Pictures. It would be the inferior B-movie in a double feature with Donnie Darko or Back to the Future.
Number of times I checked my watch: 2
Kuve (Ibrahim Joseph), a documentary filmmaker, visits Umata along the coast of Africa to shoots a documentary with Mumbi (Shandra Apondi), who later becomes a princess when she marries a prince (Samson Waithaka) in Memory of Princess Mumbi. All three of them end up in a love triangle while Princess Mumbi challenges Kuve to make his film without using AI. Writer/director Damien Hauser has made an unconventional, bold and delightfully bizarre blend of mockumentary, drama, sci-fi and romance. It's set in the year 2093 after a war raged in the region. Like with Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma, Memory of Princess Mumbi often goes bonkers and can't be easily classified in one genre or even adequately described. It would probably be best just to sit back and experience it if you're an open-minded audience member who's comfortable watching experimental films that incorporates AI creatively and provocatively.
Writer/director Damien Hauser shows restraint by not stretching his concept too thinly. If it were 2 hours or longer, it would've been exhausting. If you prefer something conventional, this film will probably be frustrating and tough for you to sit through. At an ideal running time of 1 hour and 20 minutes, Memory of Princess Mumbi opens in select theaters.
Number of times I checked my watch: 3
Tommy (Mason Thames), the leader of the band Analog Dogs, travels with his fellow friends and bandmates, Fred (Kylr Coffman) and Chad (Ryan Foust), from Kansas City to Los Angeles under the impression that they're going to be the opening band at a Green Day concert on New Year's Eve in Nimrods. Little does he know that his older brother, Wayne (Keen Ruffalo), played a phone prank on him by pretending to be a Green Day band member. Jenna Fischer plays Tommy's mother, and Mckenna Grace shows up as Olivia, a young woman he meets along the way who becomes his love interest.
Writer/director Lee Kirk has made a captivating, funny and breezy coming-of-age dramedy. What starts out as a simple road trip turns into something more as the three friends experience obstacles together throughout their journey. So, in a sense, it's not just a physical journey, but also an emotional one for them. Each of them is flawed without being very unlikable or annoying; instead they seem like lived-in characters who are following their dreams albeit with false information and some naïveté. The screenplay's main flaw is that it shows to the audience from the beginning how Tommy's older brother pranks him, so the audience knows more than Tommy, Fred and Chad do. Interestingly, despite that the film takes place in the present day, none of them seem to be active on social media---most people their age would probably be taking photos and videos nonstop and posting them on Instagram or X. Perhaps it's a good thing that they're not obsessed with social media because, instead, they interact with each other rather than with their electronic devices.
To be fair, Nimrods does have a fair share of contrivances and a third act that makes it feel like a fairytale. It's sometimes absurd and silly, yet it remains grounded in just enough realism without becoming an unflinching slice-of-life or, conversely, an over-the-top comedy like Detroit Rock City. Suspension of disbelief would be beneficial for maximum enjoyment. The performances from Mason Thames, Kylr Coffman and Ryan Foust are solid. Most importantly, they all have palpable chemistry together. The comic relief lands more often than not, and the use of Green Day songs will please fans of the band. Fundamentally, Nimrods manages to be a light and nostalgic slice of escapism as well as an uplifting tribute to Green Day. At a running time of 1 hour and 42 minutes, Nimrods opens in select theaters nationwide via Inaugural Entertainment.
Number of times I checked my watch: 1
After crashing their ship on an island inhabited by dinosaurs, The PAW Patrol including Marshall (voice of Carter Young) and Skye (voice of Mckenna Grace) team up with Rex (voice of Hayden Chamberlain), to stop Mayor Humdinger (voice of Ron Pardo) from destroying the island when they discover his plans to mine for diamonds there in Paw Patrol: The Dino Movie. Meanwhile, they try to rescue their new friend, Rhubarb, a baby dinosaur. Writer/director Cal Brunker and co-writer Bob Barlen have made a pleasantly diverting, harmless and mildly engaging, but ultimately forgettable animated film that will mostly entertain little kids. Teens and adults, though, will probably only find it to be mildly engaging because there's little to no wit. The vast majority of the humor involves silly sight gags like Rhubarb struggling to roar. The plot feels by-the-numbers as though it were part of a Saturday morning cartoon, not a first-rate animated film.
Unfortunately, the franchise seems like it has run out of steam. That said, the pace moves briskly, the animation looks colorful with some impressive photorealism (e.g. the water), and the dinosaurs won't be too scary for children. The previous films in the PAW Patrol series have managed to keep both children and adults entertained equally, but this installment panders to little kids too much. At a running time of 1 hour and 28 minutes, Paw Patrol: The Dino Movie opens nationwide via Paramount Pictures.
Number of times I checked my watch: 3
Amziah King (Matthew McConaughey), a beekeeper, mentors Kateri (Angelina LookingGlass), his estranged foster daughter who returns to him after her mother died in The Rivals of Amziah King. Meanwhile, he helps local authorities to investigate the theft of barrels of honey. Kurt Russell plays one of his rivals, Dob McCoy, who might be behind the theft of Amziah's bees as well as the honey barrels. Writer/director Andrew Patterson has made a gripping, powerful and genuinely heartfelt blend of drama, thriller and mystery. The sensitive screenplay balances the suspense and intrigue with just the right amount of comic relief and poignancy. Patterson hooks with the audience from the get-go through dark comedy that's reminiscent of the Coen brothers' and Martin Mcdonagh's type of humor. Something that transpires to one of the characters won't be spoiled here, but it prepares the audience for an unpredictable roller coaster ride of emotions. Just when you think the film will be going in one direction, it takes an unexpected turn.
A lot goes on within plot so it's fortunate that the subplots as well as the supporting characters are well-developed and feel lived-in. No one feels like a caricature. That's a testament to the strength of Patterson's skills when it comes to exposition and to seeing and treating his characters as complex, flawed human beings. There's no clunky or stilted dialogue, and no schmaltz during the tender scenes between Amziah and Kateri. There's a particularly haunting and poetic scene where he shows her how to work with bees in a way that's mesmerizing to watch and also emotionally engrossing.
Matthew McConaughey gives one of his best performances since Mud and Dallas Buyers Club while bringing the character of Amziah to life. Angelina LookingGlass gives a raw, emotionally honest breakthrough performance. Even the supporting cast like Owen Teague, Tony Revolori, Rob Morgan, Kurt Russell and Cole Sprouse get a chance to shine here. Everything from the grainy cinematography to use of music and solid editing help to provide the film with both style and substance while making the film feel truly cinematic and, therefore, meant to be seen on the big screen. Writer/director Andrew Patterson knows how and when to trust the audience's emotions, intelligence, imagination and patience. He excels at finding the right balance between Truth and Spectacle while also finding Spectacle within the film's Truths which is no easy task. At a running time of 2 hours and 11 minutes, The Rivals of Amziah King opens in select theaters via Black Bear Pictures before expanding nationwide on August 21st, 2026. It would be a great double feature with Ulee's Gold, Mud and The Cider House Rules.
Number of times I checked my watch: 1
Cody (Will Poulter), a recovering drug addict, gets released from prison and enters rehab while his younger foster brother, Jack (Noah Centineo), gets transferred to a different rehab center farther away from their rural Ohio hometown in Union County. Writer/director Adam Meeks has made a slow-burning, tender and genuinely moving slice-of-life that also serves as an unflinching character study. Cody does has a sister, Katrina (Emily Meade), but she's not willing to provide him with emotional support and tries to keep a distance from him partially because she has to protect her young daughter from him---like any good parents, it's her job to protect their child from harm or even potential harm from others. Cody has a love interest when he meets Anna (Elise Kibler), a former drug addict. Fortunately, that subplot doesn't feel cheesy or contrived. For that matter, not a single scene rings false because Meeks achieves a sense of realism through natural dialogue which will give you the sense that you're eavesdropping on the private lives of these wounded human beings.
Bravo to Meeks for seeing and treating Cody, Jack, Katrina and Anna as complex human beings, warts-and-all, and for designing a window into their heart, mind and soul for the audience to peer through. There are no villains or one-dimensional characters here. Cody comes across as a flawed human being struggling to get back on his feet and to stay clean. He's going through a lot of emotional pain from childhood trauma, especially being raised in a dysfunctional foster home without a good role model. Moreover, Meeks doesn't judge any of the characters nor does he ask you, as a member of the audience, to judge them, but rather, he merely asks you to experience them. His empathy toward them is palpable from start to finish. He should also be commended for trusting the audience's imagination, intelligence, emotions and patience. That's quite a feat for a directorial debut. Interestingly, he uses music very sparingly while grasping the power of silence or of simply trusting the audience's emotions along with the heartfelt performances to carry the film instead.
Will Poulter gives a breakthrough performance that captures Cody's emotional pain, vulnerability and strength concurrently. It's not an easy role to play, but he manages to sink his teeth into it with so much conviction that you'll forget that you're watching Will Poulter because he disappears into the role. Danny Wolohan, who's an adult recovery court judge in real life, plays judge at the adult recovery court in the film. Similarly, Annette Deao, who plays the adult recovery court therapist, is an adult recovery court therapist in real life. All of that enhances the film's realism even further. A truly great narrative feels like a documentary without the audience feeling the wheels of the screenplay or the wheels of the performances turning. That's an impressive achievement that Union County accomplishes with flying colors. At a running time of 1 hour and 37 minutes, Union County opens at IFC Center via Oscilloscope Laboratories. It would be an interesting double feature with the emotionally harrowing narrative Christiane F. or the powerful documentary Streetwise.
Number of times I checked my watch: 1
In The Wrong Girls, Frankie (Kristen Stewart) and Molly (Alia Shawkat), two friends and roommates struggling to make ends meet, accidentally take an experimental drug that gives them telekinetic powers. Writer/director Dylan Meyer has made a wildly entertaining, outrageously funny, and delightfully zany stoner comedy. There are two talking cats (voiced by Seth Rogen and Kumail Nanjiani) who provide some hilarious observations similar to the iconic talking cat in Go, an amusing scene with the Celine Dion song "Because You Loved Me," a mad scientist, Dr. Chapman (Kate McKinnon), Frankie's doppelganger, Frances (Kristen Stewart), and a cameo by Geena Davis. The plot makes very little sense, so don't try to think too much about it or to try to attach any logic to it. It's often dumb, silly and cartoonish, but that's okay because the results include plenty of anarchic exuberance with a sprinkle of surrealism. Just sit back and enjoy some mindless entertainment.
Everyone on screen seems to be having a lot of fun in their roles, especially Kate McKinnon. LaKeith Stanfield shows up as the mysterious character Not Metal Head Dave and he's just as over-the-top as he is in the equally bonkers I Love Boosters. You'll probably enjoy The Wrong Girls best while you're high. Please be sure to stay through the end credits for a post-credits scene. At a running time of 1 hour and 39 minutes, The Wrong Girls opens in theaters nationwide via NEON. It would be a great double feature with Go, Pineapple Express, Smiley Face and One of Them Days.
Number of times I checked my watch: 2
