Movie Reviews

Cosmic Circus has been covering movies and TV/streaming series for over five years now. Please take some time to read through some of our movie reviews below to find out what the writers think of past and new films.

Refer to the Stellar Picks archive to find some of our top-rated movies, shows, books, games, and more!


 

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Review: ‘Argylle’ is Pure Moviegoing Fun

Argylle, with Bryce Dallas Howard, Sam Rockwell, Henry Cavill, and more, is a ridiculously good time. It’s a stylish and fun action spy film with both heart and cheekiness that’s pure moviegoing fun. Argylle is a visionary romp that will leave you a Matthew Vaughn fan if you weren’t one before. It subverts clichéd spy movies in the most exciting way, and has enough whirlybird twists to

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‘Argylle’ is Unbridled Action and Hilarity, Matthew Vaughn’s Best Film to Date

Regarding action films and comedies, I only have one requirement for whether I enjoy the film or not. The film has to be fun. Sure, we can break it down technically, which is more important for action flicks than comedies, but even that can be forgiven if the film itself is a fun romp. If it’s exciting or makes me laugh,

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New DreamWorks’ Animated Film ‘Orion and the Dark’ Explores Overcoming Fears

DreamWorks has created some of the most beloved animated characters, spanning multiple decades. Over 20 years and counting, the studio has brought to life the worlds of Shrek, Madagascar, Kung Fu Panda, Trolls, and How to Train Your Dragon, some of the strongest franchises in the animation landscape. DreamWorks also has done some amazing work in recent years, with spin-offs and

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‘Hit Man’ Review: The Perfect Rom-Com Crowd Pleaser

The art of the crowd pleaser is a delicate craft. Trying to make something that will connect with audiences on a major scale while also maintaining artistic integrity, on a good day, might as well be near impossible. So it wasn’t difficult to look upon the rave festival reviews for Hit Man, the latest from legendary filmmaker Richard Linklater (Dazed &

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Review: ‘Alienoid: Return to the Future’ Changes the Game of Time Travel Movies

Choi Dong-hoon reinvents the language of time travel cinema through his Alienoid series. With its sequel, Alienoid: Return to the Future, now in theaters, the director takes even bigger storytelling, and aesthetic, risks to enthrall viewers.  “Don’t try to understand it. Feel it.” is the core tenet Christopher Nolan attempted to introduce its audiences within his time-travel sci-fi drama Tenet. But

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‘Freaky Tales’ Review: Genre Extravaganza Pays Tribute To 1987 Oakland

When an independent director is swallowed up into the blockbuster machine, there’s usually two paths for them. Either they stay in the machine or are never heard from again. It’s Kind of a Funny Story and Mississippi Grind directors Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck seemed destined for the latter after directing Captain Marvel when they didn’t return for the sequel or immediately

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Review: Claustrophobia Meets the Cosmos in Thrilling New Film ‘I.S.S.’

Picture this: You’ve dedicated your life to the pursuit of science and advancing mankind after you’ve had some pretty tragic things happen in your past. Your intelligence and work ethic take you through the Marine Corps and astronaut training to eventually get assigned to work on the International Space Station, 254 miles above the Earth. This frame is our way into

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Ava DuVernay’s ‘Origin’ is a Masterclass in Grief and Purpose

In a world that is inundated with film and television, some names in Hollywood stand out. From the moment you see their name attached to the project, you know exactly what you’re going to get. Ava DuVernay is one of those names. Her directorial debut might have been I Will Follow but it was with her work on Middle of Nowhere

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‘All of Us Strangers’ is a Haunting Ode to Love, Family, and Queerness

A few weeks ago, when I did the Films of 2023 Cosmic Circle podcast, there were a few films from the year that I was excited to see, but because of either time restraints or lack of showings in my area, I couldn’t before recording. At the top of that list was Searchlight Pictures’ All of Us Strangers. This film captured

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Cosmic Psychologist: ‘Wonka’ and Personal Motivations

With my day job as a psychologist, it can sometimes be difficult to switch off that part of the brain when I’m off the clock. I try my best to separate my career from my personal life, however, when reading books, watching television, or taking in a film, there’s a part of me that analyzes what is going through the therapeutic

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‘The Beekeeper’ Review: Honey-Sweet Actioner Delivers

The January movie dead zone doesn’t appear so dead. Night Swim‘s already made its budget back, Mean Girls is getting a mostly positive reception, and movies like Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom and Anything But You are gaining new box office legs. It’s an uncommonly decent January, so it really shouldn’t be a surprise that something like The Beekeeper is exceeding critical expectations. The Jason Statham action movie, directed

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Review: ‘Mean Girls’ Musical Falls Flat

The original Mean Girls is an iconic film, remaining a high school comedy favorite to this day. After spinning the franchise off into a Broadway musical, Tina Fey has adapted the stage show for the big screen once again. 2024’s Mean Girls remake tries to add a unique flair thanks to its musical trappings, but it fails to capture the magic

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