“A Big Bold Beautiful Journey” Review: Cosmic Romantics, You Have Reached Your Destination

Kogonada, director of “Columbus” and “After Yang,” returns with a beguiling and frustrating fantasy.
“Caught Stealing” Review: The Dispassion of Darren Aronofsky

Frisky fun from a director who’s at his most exuberant when he’s frolicking in the dark.
Bennett’s Summer 2025 Best-to-Worst Movie List

These are the movies I watched this season, presented in order of preference.
Astonishing, Uncanny, Extreme: An Oral History of “X-Men” (2000)

A chronicle of the 25-year-old film’s chaotic origin, based on more than 30 accounts.
“Superman” Review: Joy, Silliness, and the Kryptonian Way

A palate cleanser following the gloom of “Man of Steel,” “Superman” shreds lingering questions about the character’s relevance.
“F1: The Movie” Review: Driving Into a Pitt of Motorized Propaganda

“F1” rejects satire to make speed hot, nasty, and badass again. It’s more akin to a Formula One commercial than a feature film.
“The Life of Chuck” Review: God’s Dancing Accountant Trips Over His Own Feet

Chuck is large, Chuck contains multitudes.
“Materialists” Review: Love Dies To Be Reborn In Celine Song’s 21st Century Romance

Song’s follow-up to “Past Lives” is a romantic not-comedy that is entrancing, honest, and heartfelt.
“Always Hold On To Smallville” Review: A Poignant Podcast Eclipses Its Inspiration

“Always Hold On To Smallville” is better—wiser, wittier, more emotional—than “Smallville” itself.
Last Mission: Tom Cruise, Christopher McQuarrie, and the Unfulfilled Promise of “The Final Reckoning”

“The Final Reckoning” is one of the bitterest and most baffling cinematic disappointments of my lifetime.