Movie reviews of Jeffrey Rex Bertelsen

Sorcerer is absolutely shattering stuff perhaps especially because of the human fallibility of its unheroic suicide squad at the center of it all. This should be more widely loved because it is definitely a classic. Review

The solid cast, the location, the atmosphere, as well as the distinctive but somewhat dated visual aesthetic help to make this film still feel really nice to rewatch. Review

While it is a well-composed, designed, and acted adult drama fascinated by intimacy, it is also a little bit too lean to fully envelop its viewers in the character complexities of the narrative. Review

Francis Lawrence’s The Hunger Birds: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes is an often engaging and exciting return to the world of Panem, even though it really ought to have been split into two distinct parts because here it often feels unevenly paced. Review

Blue Beetle feels like an uninspired assembly line product based on a pre-defined threadbare formula. Frustratingly, the few interesting ideas that this film has are underdeveloped and do not get the focus they merit. Review

Although David Fincher’s The Killer is not likely to be one of his most iconic efforts due to the generic nature of the premises, it is a thrilling piece of filmmaking that emphasizes that Fincher has his finger on the pulse and that he is still one of the world’s finest filmmakers. Review

I do think this is a tale of two halves, with the first half not being as successful as the second, which ended up really winning me over. But once it finds its legs (and it does), it is both laugh-out-loud funny, sweet, and warm. Review

There are some leaps in logic, the product placement is sometimes quite grating, and it is tonally confused, but Paul Rudd and Carrie Coon do a good job of keeping some of the adult comedy in the series, while Mckenna Grace makes for a solid new star for this franchise to follow. Review

The intoxicatingly beautiful Babylon features a splendid cast with notable A-listers, but it is relative newcomer Diego Calva who plays the pivotal central part. Review

Joachim Trier’s The Worst Person in the World is a work of art that possesses infectious feelings of excitement at the beginning of new love, but, at the same time, it is a complex film in that it is also so much more than just a romantic drama — it is thoughtful about turning thirty, i.e. turning a corner in life, and what that means in our time with unending options at our fingertips. Review

Asteroid City snuck up on me. I expected it to be as stylized, charming, and witty as it is. But what I really warmed to about this multilayered Wes Anderson film was how it surprisingly carried this undercurrent of emotional heft to its themes. Review

With Killers of the Flower Moon, Martin Scorsese asks us to interrogate our understanding of American history and those who are allowed to tell it with a film that is as sharply made, reflective, and concerned with morality as the ones he made his name with to begin with. Review

Pearl is phenomenal and one of the most stunning horror films I’ve seen in quite some time. Review

Flora and Son is still the kind of soft and sweet crowdpleaser that John Carney has such expertise in through his use of musicality. It is a real charmer, and I think of it as a nice, warm blanket to cuddle up with. Review

David Gordon Green’s The Exorcist: Believer is a disappointing legacy sequel that doesn’t know what to do with its legacy characters, doesn’t have an actual exorcist as a priority inclusion, and ultimately fails to be anything more than yet another copycat of the original film, and — just to be clear — there are several better and less trite possession-centric films out there. Review

Bastarden is a gorgeous-looking film that is never dull. It represents a sharp and entertaining return to form for Arcel after his less-than-ideal time in Hollywood... Review

I could go on and on about Charlotte Wells’ Aftersun and the rich experience of watching it. It absolutely is utterly shattering, but it is also undeniably human — and I think anyone can find something with which they can deeply relate here. Review

The film often relies on Kaitlyn Dever to be sufficiently expressive, and, as expected, Dever delivers. The rising star turns in a performance that ought to earn her positive comparisons to other sci-fi heroines. Review

Branagh captures a spooky atmosphere with his camerawork, his horror elements, and his authentic location, and, honestly, I think the only major thing holding it back is its uneven pacing. Review

I do think there is a way to take the delicate issues and problematic story and handle it all in a way that feels appropriate, and I think there is a way to handle the balancing act better while still pairing the excellent music with the kind of visuals the music merits and making it a successful musical. Review

The Nun II is a bloated mixed bag. It is spookier than the first film and includes some well-set-up scares, but it is also unevenly paced and tends to cut away from the horrific payoffs too quickly. Review

I thought it was a deeply fascinating film that manages to be in deep conversation with stuff like The White Lotus and the surging eat-the-rich cinematic trend but does so in violent and uncensored ways that won’t be accessible to everyone. Review

At its best, it reminded me of David Fincher’s Gone Girl and Alfred Hitchcock’s Psycho, and Cassandra Naud’s magnetic performance especially pulls you in. It’s well-shot, well-acted, and well-written — this could be one of the better surprise finds of the year. Review

It just isn’t as funny as the first one. The film bets on you as an audience member really enjoying the characters of the first film, which I did, but it isn’t enough to make the largely unfunny Vacation Friends 2 anything more than a clear step down from the relatively enjoyable first film. Review