The AI Doc: Or How I Became an Apocaloptimist, co-directed by Daniel Roher and Charlie Tyrell, is a timely, engaging and stylishly edited, but undercooked and underwhelming documentary that bites off more than it could chew. The filmmakers investigate the potential risks and benefits of Artificial Intelligence. They interview many experts like Daniela and Dario Amodei, the co-founders of the AI company Anthropic,  Sam Altman, the CEO of OpenAI,  Demis Hassabis, the CEO of DeepMind technologies, Ajeya Cotra, an AI risk expert, and Yuval Noah Harari, an author, historian and philosopher. There's a broad range of perspectives which makes the film balanced, but Roher and Tyrell play it too safely by not having longer conversations with their very knowledgeable subjects or by questioning them in a way that encourages critical thinking instead of just taking what they're saying for granted. The film loses its focus when it shifts to Roher and his reactions, observations and candid feelings about becoming a new father. He wonders whether now would be a good time to have a child given the introduction of AI. Should he be scared or hopeful? Or perhaps he should be an "apocaloptimist", a term that Jason Mathenym CEO of RAND comes up with, but doesn't elaborate on; Roher merely comments excitedly that it might be part of the title of his new film.

      The pace moves briskly---too briskly at times as though the filmmakers don't trust the audience's patience, so it feels somewhat exhausting because it rarely slows down to let the audience absorb everything. The AI Doc: Or How I Became an Apocaloptimist doesn't have any surprising insights or revelations, though; just a lot of oversimplifications and a lot of different perspectives, but not nearly enough analysis of those perspectives as a whole. So, while the film does entertain the audience and occasionally provoke them emotionally, it doesn't provoke them intellectually enough.  It would be an interesting double feature with the more focused and illuminating doc Deepfaking Sam Altman. At a running time of 1 hour and 44 minutes, The AI Doc: Or How I Became an Apocaloptimist opens in theaters nationwide via Focus Features.  

      Baseball: Beyond Belief is a slickly edited, but shallow, undercooked, oversimplified and preachy documentary about the similarities between religion and baseball, based on the book Baseball as a Road to God: Seeing Beyond the Game by John Sexton, Peter J. Schwartz, and Thomas Oliphant. Director John Scheinfeld combines talking-head interviews with archival footage and structures the film with different chapter titles. So, while the information is well-organized and presented in a way that's concise, it's also repetitive, doesn't dig deep enough in each chapter, and lacks balanced perspectives. Every coin has more than two sides: there's the edges, the corners and so forth. This documentary merely looks at one side of the coin. Too much of what's said is obvious and nothing surprising or revelatory. Baseball: Beyond Belief ultimately fails to find the right balance between entertaining the audience and provoking them emotionally as well as intellectually. It feels like an overlong infomercial. At a running time of 1 hour and 41 minutes, Baseball: Beyond Belief opens at Village East by Angelika via Paulist Pictures and Crew Neck Productions.

Number of times I checked my watch: 4




 

       Hai Linh (LyLy), the host of a talk show called Shoulder Sister, questions the fidelity of her husband, Phong (Trần Lê Vĩnh Đam) after a guest on the show, Nhat Ha (Pháo) a.k.a. Bunny, claims that she's his mistress in Bunny!!. Writer/director Trấn Thành and co-writer Thao Nguyen have made a suspenseful, provocative, unflinching and genuinely heartfelt psychological thriller with surprising twists and turns. The tension escalates gradually as Linh uncovers more truths about her husband and Bunny, who's also his assistant. Linh and Phong seem like a happy couple initially. He's a successful businessman and she's hosting a popular talk show where she gives romantic advice to guests. Figuring out how to untangle the mess after discovering that Phong might have cheated on her with Bunny turns out to be more difficult and frustrating than she could ever have imagined. Phong, of course, denies the affair. Although Bunny!! does a fair share of psychological thrills, Bunny!! focuses more on the relationships and on the emotional struggles of Linh, Phong and Bunny which makes the film an honest portrait of a dysfunctional marriage. The filmmakers have a great command of exposition which means that the audience knows as much as Linh does and that they can feel the same way that she does every step of the way, especially when she's confused about what's actually going on.

      Who should she trust? Who should the audience trust? Is Phong or Bunny gaslighting her? Or perhaps they're both gaslighting her? There are even more characters like Bunny's live-in boyfriend, Linh's sister and her brother-in-law which add more emotional depth and complexity to the film. Moreover, the performances by LyLy, Trần Lê Vĩnh Đam and Pháo are superb and emotionally convincing. Everything from the costume design, hair & makeup, production design, editing and cinematography provide both style and substance, i.e. a small detail like Bunny's hairstyle that eventually resembles Linh's hairstyle.  Prepare for an emotional roller coaster ride with a shocking and intense third act. Bravo to the filmmakers for not being afraid to go into dark territory. It's one of the most wildly entertaining thrillers since Send Help and The Housemaid and Parasite, so it'd be best to watch it with a large crowd. At a running time of 2 hours and 7 minutes, Bunny!! opens at select theaters nationwide via 3388 Films.  

Number of times I checked my watch: 1




 

      A lonely young man, Sam (Matthew Shear), babysits the kids of a lonely woman, Dianne (Amanda Peet), who's unhappily married to David (Alessandro Nivola) in Fantasy Life. Oh, and she's the daughter of Sam's psychiatrist (Judd Hirsch). Writer/director Matthew Shear has made a tonally uneven, sugar-coated and clunky dramedy with very little palpable chemistry between the leads. Would it surprise you that Sam and Dianne kiss and consider having an affair? She seems emotionally immature, insecure and lacks the concept of boundaries.  What does she see in Sam to begin with except someone who she can confide in? It's no surprise that their secret affair is doomed to fail from the beginning.  The contrived and dull screenplay omits too many essential parts of Sam's life, so it does a poor job of incorporating the right amount of exposition. The abrupt editing, i.e. between the second act and the third act, doesn't help either.  Unfortunately, there aren't enough laughs that would've turned this into a breezy sitcom---the one big laugh, though, is when a stranger confuses Dianne, a faded actress, for Lake Bell.

      Fantasy Life barely scratches the surface of its topics ranging from loneliness to happiness and love, marriage, aging and self worth. The Substance, which has a more far-fetched premise, tackled those issues with more insight and depth. Also, Sam clearly needs a lot of therapy and introspection, not a girlfriend, so there aren't nearly enough scenes with him and his therapist, and his character arc doesn't feel organic. This would be the inferior B-movie in a double feature with the superior Ordinary People where Judd Hirsch also plays a therapist. It's just as disappointing and poorly written as Alan Alda's directorial debut, The Four Seasons. At a running time of 1 hour and 30 minutes, which feels more like 2 hours, Fantasy Life opens at Angelika Film Center via Greenwich Entertainment.  

Number of times I checked my watch: 4




 

      Apple (Lili Reinhart), Fig (Alexandra Shipp) and Cherry (Victoria Pedretti), are secretly part of a witches' coven that meets in the basement of the mall that they work at in Forbidden Fruits. When Pumpkin (Lola Tung) becomes their newly recruited member, she causes conflicts within the coven that threaten to break it apart. Writer/director Meredith Alloway and co-writer Lily Houghton has made a delightfully twisted horror comedy that's wickedly funny and campy, but uninspired and lacking in satiric bite. The opening scene sets the tone with Apple seducing a guy who, according to his license plate, happens to be a "#1 Dad"., at the mall parking lot, watches him masturbate in his car, and then throws her hot latte drink at his crotch. She's clearly a mean girl---yes, the film does cite its homages with a line that compares Apple to Regina George from Mean Girls. There are no consequences for Apple's actions because she doesn't get into any legal trouble for her crime. So, Forbidden Fruits obviously doesn't aim for realism nor does it have anything to say about men, women or friendship. What does it aim for then? Just lots of mindless entertainment with some tongue-in-cheek and dark humor. The film is at its best when it's not trying to take itself too seriously and just embraces its campiness which happens more often than not.

       Apple and Pumpkin's backstories are mentioned briefly without flashbacks and feel somewhat tacked-on as though they were merely expository plot devices included merely to lead to a sudden twist later in the third act. More exposition and world-building about The Fruits and their coven would've made the film more interesting. A lot goes under-explained, especially how they formed and what their goals are other than making other people suffer out of jealousy and spite to feel better about themselves. Gabrille Union plays the girl's store manager who remains off screen until a mid-credits scene where you finally see her. At a running time of 1 hour and 44 minutes, Forbidden Fruits opens nationwide via Independent Film Company and Shudder.  

Number of times I checked my watch: 4




 

       Three nuns, Mary (Jacki Weaver), Luke (Miriam Margolyes), Agnes (Judy Davis) embark on a road trip through New Zealand to save their convent after being threatened with eviction in Holy Days. Brian (Elijah Tamati), a young boy who's grieving the death of his mother, joins them. Writer/director Nat Boltt has made a mildly engaging dramedy that's family friendly and harmless, but not moving, exhilarating or funny enough to rise above mediocrity. Based on the novel by Dame Joy Cowley, the screenplay bites off more than it could chew and only has a few brief moments of wit. For the most part, though, the tone feels all over the place with too much silly humor that falls flat that's awkwardly juxtaposed with the heavier subplot of Brian who's struggling to cope with his recently deceased mother. Moreover, Mary, Luke and Agnes seem more like caricatures rather than fully-fleshed human beings. They're even somewhat annoying at times. The screenplay doesn't design enough of a window into their heart, mind and soul to breathe life into them. In turn, Jacki Weaver, Miriam Margolyes and Judy Davis remain undermined by the shallow screenplay and fail to rise above it. None of them gets the chance to shine which is disappointing. Holy Days is one of those films with a premise that makes it sound like it could be a funny and sweet adventure, but it ends up being poorly executed and forgettable with rarely a beat that actually lands. At a running time of 1 hour and 41 minutes, Holy Days< opens in select theaters nationwide via Blue Fox Entertainment.  

Number of times I checked my watch: 3




 

        John Lilly and the Earth Coincidence Control Office, narrated by Chloë Sevigny, is a mildly engaging and fascinating documentary about John C. Lilly, a neuroscientist, psychonaut, physicist, philosopher and more. He called the brain a "biocomputer", studied the altered states of consciousness, researched dolphin intelligence and even injected dolphins with LSD as part of an experiment. Co-directors Courtney Stephens and Michael Almereyda do a decent job of introducing the audience to Lilly, so if you've never heard of him before, you'll be amazed at his beliefs that went against the grain and at his critical thinking skills. Fortunately, the filmmakers avoid hagiography by including Lilly's flaws, i.e. he wasn't very scientific at times, according to his coworkers who witnessed his impatience and lack of professionalism. The documentary doesn't delve enough into his life beyond his work, so it feels somewhat dry and incomplete, even with plenty of archival footage, clips from Altered States and The Day of the Dolphin contemporary interviews. It also covers a lot of ground while biting off more than it could chew. Nonetheless, those are minor issues. It's beyond a reasonable doubt that Lilly is man who wore many hats during the counterculture movement and deserves to be better known. At a running time of 1 hour and 30 minutes, John Lilly and the Earth Coincidence Control Office opens at DCTV's Firehouse Cinema by Angelika via Oscilloscope Laboratories.  

Number of times I checked my watch: 2




 

        La Scala: The Force of Destiny is a fascinating and illuminating documentary about the preparations and rehearsals for The Force of Destiny, an Italian opera, held in La Scala, an iconic theater in Milan. Director Anissa Bonnefont opts for a fly-on-the-wall approach without interviews or backstories of any of the cast or crew members. She merely follows them as they go about their work in the days leading up to the premiere of the opera in 2024 during the annual televised event known as "La Prima." It's the kind of documentary that Frederick Wiseman would make if he were alive today because it's thorough and very informative just by the audience sitting back and observing the behind-the-scenes footage. Bonnefont deserves a lot of credit for gaining the trust of everyone involved in the opera who allow her to capture the hard work and tremendous skills as well as some of the stress and struggles of the crew, especially Leo Muscato, the stage director. If, like Timothée Chalamet, you're not a fan of opera, chances are that you won't be as engaged by the film, but if you're a big fan of opera or at least somewhat curious about it, you'll be rewarded by an eye-opening journey, and you'll appreciate all of the hard work that it takes to stage an opera production. You might even be compelled to visit Milan to experience the opera season at La Scala in person. At a running time of only 1 hour and 30 minutes, La Scala: The Force of Destiny opens at Quad Cinema via Juno Films.  

Number of times I checked my watch: 1




 

      Balthazar (Jaeden Martell) suspects that Solomon (Asa Butterfield) could be plotting a mass shooting at a school, so he catfishes him and confronts him in Our Hero, Balthazar. Writer/director Oscar Boyson and co-writer Ricky Camilleri have made a captivating, provocative, audacious and heartfelt satire with a plot that's afraid to go to dark and unexpected places and to deal with sensitive, timely topics. The less you know about the plot beforehand, the better because you'll probably won't be able to guess what happens after Balthazar meets Solomon in person. The filmmakers have a pretty great command of tone and don't waste too much time with unnecessary subplots or excessive exposition. Jaeden Martell and Asa Butterfield give career-best performances while finding the emotional truth of their complex roles. To be fair, the third act feels a little rushed with an ending that's somewhat abrupt, but leaves enough room for interpretation. Kudos to the filmmakers for trusting the audience's emotions and intelligence without veering into preachy or sappy territory. At a running time of 1 hour and 36 minutes, Our Hero, Balthazar opens at Regal Union Square via Picturehouse.  

Number of times I checked my watch: 1




 

        Revelations of Divine Love is a biopic on Julian of Norwich (Tessa Strain), a 14-Century theologian and Catholic anchoress who wrote the first surviving English-language book by a woman.  Writer/director Caroline Golum and co-writer Laurence Bond capture Julian's religious awakening as she experiences visions and, eventually, townspeople visit to seek advice from her. What follows is an unconventional, bold and experimental biopic with stylish production design, but not very engaging on an emotional level. The set designs are more interesting than what Julian says and it's the only aspect that stands out. None of the supporting characters are memorable or developed well enough to come to life. Revelations of Divine Love eventually becomes monotonous and somewhat exhausting with diminishing returns in its visual style. Why keep the audience at such a cold distance from Julian of Norwich. At a running time of 1 hour and 15 minutes, which feels like 2 hours, Revelations of Divine Love< opens at Anthology Film Archives via Several Futures.  

Number of times I checked my watch: 3




 

      Anna (Alexandra McVicker), a trans woman, moves in with her sister, Dakota (Charlotte Chimes), and develops a romance with Gen (Avalon Fast), a tattoo artist, who shares the same supernatural powers in The Serpent's Skin. She somehow has summoned a demon through the tattoo of a serpent that Gen had given her. Writer/director Alice Maio Mackay has made a bold and unconventional amalgam of sci-fi, horror, romance and drama that ultimately bites off more than it could chew and suffers from style over substance. Mackay eschews a first act because Anna has already left her transphobic home at the beginning and moved in with her sister. Before you know it, she's getting a tattoo and has supernatural powers that gives her the strength to stop a robbery at her new workplace, a record's store. Unfortunately, the performances are mediocre at best and don't help to breathe life into the roles or to invigorate the film. The audience remains at a cold distance from both Anna and Gen, so it's hard to care about whether or not their romance will endure. Then there's a subplot involving vampirism and a demon that makes the plot feel needlessly overstuffed without adding emotional depth or complexity. The Serpent's Skin is one of those genre-bending films that tries, but fails to be an elevated B-horror movie. The potential is there, though, so it's a shame that nearly everything feels undercooked and underwritten. At a running time of 1 hour and 23 minutes, it opens at Alamo Drafthouse in Brooklyn via Dark Star Pictures.  

Number of times I checked my watch: 2




 

       Steve Zahn plays Jason, a father who shares joint custody of his teenage daughter, Claire (Audrey Zahn), with his ex-wife, Deb (Rosemarie Dewitt) in She Dances. He agrees to drive her and her friend, Kat (Mackenzie Ziegler), to a dance competition, and they bond along the way as he's still grieving the death of his son. In a less engaging subplot, he and his business partner/best friend, Brian (Ethan Hawke), try to sell their distillery. Writer/director Rick Gomez and co-writer Steve Zahn have made a surprisingly understated, tender, funny and genuinely heartfelt father/daughter story. It has moments that are sweet without being cloying. The dialogue also avoids stiltedness and has just enough wit and comic relief, i.e. when Jason gets lost at the dance competition's venue. He and Claire both feel true-to-life because the screenplay provides enough of a window into their heart, mind and soul. One of the best scenes is one when they sit down and candidly talk about their thoughts and feelings while showing signs of introspection, a very important tool in life. There are no villains here nor does there need to be; just emotionally wounded human beings trying their best to heal from their trauma. Kudos to the filmmakers for the refreshingly un-Hollywood third act and for seeing and treating the characters as complex human beings. At a running time of 1 hour and 28 minutes, She Dances opens in select theaters nationwide via EKKL Entertainment.  

Number of times I checked my watch: 1




 

      Asia (Zazie Beetz), an ex-convict, starts work as a housekeeper at a mysterious high rise called The Virgil where her estranged sister, Maria (Myha'la) was last seen in  They Will Kill You. Little does she know that the superintendent, Lilith (Patricia Arquette) and residents, Sharon (Heather Graham) and Kevin (Tom Felton), harbord a dark secret. Writer/director Kirill Sokolov and co-writer Alex Litvak  have made a bonkers, action-packed sci-fi horror comedy that's uninspired, exhausting, tedious and runs out of ideas very early. It's best watching the movie cold to not spoil the major plot twist that arrives within the first 30 minutes. That twist comes with tones that try hard to be campy and Tarantino-esque with mixed results. The biggest laugh comes from an eyeball which won't be spoiled here. The rest of the attempts at dark humor during the many action sequences don't quite stick the landing because they're repetitive.

      Sokolov and Litvak go full throttle with the over-the-top, stylized violence and gore without leaving much to the imagination. The images of blood squirting everywhere is yet another nod to Tarantino. It's too bad that the dialogue lacks the witty banter or memorable characters found in Tarantino's iconic films like Kill Bill and Pulp Fiction. So, the filmmakers know where to take their ideas from without knowing what to do with those ideas or how to take them anywhere interesting. It's yet another B-movie that would probably work better as a video game. That said, it does have a clever title card drop. At a running time of 1 hour and 34 minutes, They Will Kill You opens nationwide via Warner Bros Pictures.  

Number of times I checked my watch: 3




 

      Judy (Marisa Tomei), a psychology professor, and her friend, Diane (Sherry Cola), stalks Theo (Marco Pigossi), the fiancé of her daughter, Eva (Ciara Bravo), because she believes that he's a narcissist in You're Dating a Narcissist!. Writer/director Ann Marie Allison and screenwriter Jenna Milly have made a breezy and amusing, but sitcom-ish and contrived romcom. It suffers from a systemic issue that it doesn't recover from: Judy exhibits signs of narcissism because she's controlling, lacks boundaries, and has no shame in stalking her daughter's fiancé while jumping quickly to the conclusion that he's a narcissist.

      Could Judy be projecting? It's very possible that it's a case of the pot calling the kettle black. That would've been acceptable if the film were to address that issue honestly, but it gets Judy off too easily while the rocky relationship with her daughter gets patched up in a way that feels contrived and unconvincing. How introspective is she?  Does she realize that she's overbearing?  Does she not realize that she's crossing yet another boundary by bringing up an intimate part of her daughter's sex life with Theo? That's hard to tell because the screenplay is more interested in playing for laughs than in delving into any of the characters' heart, mind and soul. Eva even has the courage to indignantly stand up to her mother by telling her that she shouldn't be stalking Theo, but does Judy learn her lesson? It doesn't seem like she does. Imagine a less funny and witty Hallmark version of Father of the Bride except with a mother in the controlling role instead of the father and you'll get a sense of what it's like to watch You're Dating a NarcissistZ!. At a running time of 1 hour and 31 minutes, You're Dating a Narcissist!< opens at Quad Cinema via Brainstorm Media.  

Number of times I checked my watch: 2