Mulan (2020) - SPOILER-FREE Review

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Mulan (2020) - SPOILER-FREE Review

Directed by: Niki Caro

Written by: Rick Jaffa, Amanda Silver, Lauren Hynek, Elizabeth Martin

Starring: Liu Yifei, Donnie Yen, Jason Scott Lee, Yoson An, Gong Li, Jet Li

Runtime: 115 min

Synopsis: When the Emperor of China issues a decree that one man per family must serve in the Imperial Army to defend the country from Northern invaders, Hua Mulan (Liu Yifei), the eldest daughter of an honored warrior, steps in to take the place of her ailing father. Masquerading as a man, Hua Jun, she is tested every step of the way and must harness her inner-strength and embrace her true potential. It is an epic journey that will transform her into an honored warrior and earn her the respect of a grateful nation... and a proud father.

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Mulan (1998) - SPOILER-FREE Review

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Mulan (1998) - SPOILER-FREE Review

Directed by: Barry Cook, Tony Bancroft

Written by: Rita Hsiao, Chris Sanders, Philip LaZebnik, Raymond Singer, Eugenia Bostwick-Singer

Starring: Ming-Na Wen, Eddie Murphy, BD Wong, Miguel Ferrer, June Foray, James Hong, Pat Morita, George Takei

Runtime: 88 min

Synopsis: Disney's cross-cultural retelling of a popular Chinese folk tale about a peasant girl who disguises herself as a man and takes her ailing father's place in the emperor's army turns the traditional fairy tale ending on its head. This time, the princess rescues the prince.

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The New Mutants (2020) - SPOILER-FREE Review

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The New Mutants (2020) - SPOILER-FREE Review

Directed by: Josh Boone

Written by: Josh Boone, Knate Lee

Starring: Blu Hunt, Henry Zaga, Maisie Williams, Anya Taylor-Joy, Charlie Heaton, Alice Braga

Runtime: 94 min

Synopsis: Rahne Sinclair (Maisie Williams), Illyana Rasputin (Anya Taylor-Joy), Sam Guthrie (Charlie Heaton) and Roberto da Costa (Henry Zaga) are four young mutants being held in an isolated hospital for psychiatric monitoring. Dr. Cecilia Reyes (Alice Braga), believing the teenagers are a danger both to themselves and to society as a whole, keeps a close eye on them as she struggles to teach them how to rein in their mutant abilities. When newcomer Danielle "Dani" Moonstar (Blu Hunt) joins the other patients in the facility, strange occurrences begin to take place.

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I'm Thinking of Ending Things (2020) - SPOILER-FREE Review

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I'm Thinking of Ending Things (2020) - SPOILER-FREE Review

Directed by: Charlie Kaufman

Written by: Charlie Kaufman

Starring: Jesse Plemons, Jessie Buckley, Toni Collette, David Thewlis

Runtime: 134 min

Synopsis: Despite second thoughts about their relationship, a young woman (Jessie Buckley) takes a road trip with her new boyfriend (Jesse Plemons) to his family farm. Trapped at the farm during a snowstorm with Jake's mother (Toni Collette) and father (David Thewlis), the young woman begins to question the nature of everything she knew or understood about her boyfriend, herself, and the world.

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Tenet (2020) - SPOILER-FREE Review

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Tenet (2020) - SPOILER-FREE Review

Directed by: Christopher Nolan

Written by: Christopher Nolan

Starring: John David Washington, Robert Pattinson, Elizabeth Debicki, Dimple Kapadia, Michael Caine, Kenneth Branagh

Runtime: 149 min

Synopsis: Armed with only one word - Tenet - and fighting for the survival of the entire world, the Protagonist (John David Washington) journeys through a twilight world of international espionage on a mission that will unfold in something beyond real time.

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The One and Only Ivan (2020) - SPOILER-FREE Review

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The One and Only Ivan (2020) - SPOILER-FREE Review

Directed by: Thea Sharrock

Written by: Mike White

Starring: Sam Rockwell, Angelina Jolie, Danny DeVito, Helen Mirren, Brooklynn Prince, Chaka Khan, Ron Funches, Phillipa Soo, Mike White, Ramón Rodríguez, Ariana Greenblatt, Bryan Cranston

Runtime: 93 min

Synopsis: While trapped in a cage at the Exit 8 Big Top Mall and Video Arcade, a gorilla named Ivan (Sam Rockwell) teams up with a caring elephant named Stella (Angelina Jolie) to piece together his mysterious past and hatch a cunning escape from their shared captivity.

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Project Power (2020) - SPOILER-FREE Review

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Project Power (2020) - SPOILER-FREE Review

Directed by: Henry Joost, Ariel Schulman

Written by: Mattson Tomlin

Starring: Jamie Foxx, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Dominique Fishback, Rodrigo Santoro, Colson Baker, Allen Maldonado, Amy Landecker, Courtney B. Vance

Runtime: 111 min

Synopsis: On the streets of New Orleans, word begins to spread about a mysterious new pill that unlocks superpowers unique to each user. The catch: You don’t know what will happen until you take it. While some develop bulletproof skin, invisibility, and super strength, others exhibit a deadlier reaction. But when the pill escalates crime within the city to dangerous levels, a local cop (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) teams with a teenage dealer (Dominique Fishback) and a former soldier fueled by a secret vendetta (Jamie Foxx) to fight power with power and risk taking the pill in order to track down and stop the group responsible for creating it.

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An American Pickle (2020) - SPOILER-FREE Review

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An American Pickle (2020) - SPOILER-FREE Review

Directed by: Brandon Trost

Written by: Simon Rich

Starring: Seth Rogen, Sarah Snook, Jorma Taccone, Maya Erskine

Runtime: 89 min

Synopsis: Seth Rogen stars as Herschel Greenbaum, a struggling laborer who immigrates to America in 1920 with dreams of building a better life for his beloved family. One day, while working at his factory job, he falls into a vat of pickles and is brined for 100 years. The brine preserves him perfectly and when he emerges in present day Brooklyn, he finds that he hasn't aged a day. But when he seeks out his family, he is troubled to learn that his only surviving relative is his great grandson, Ben Greenbaum (also played by Rogen), a mild-mannered computer coder whom Herschel can't even begin to understand.

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Made in Italy (2020) - SPOILER-FREE Review

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Made in Italy (2020) - SPOILER-FREE Review

Directed by: James D’Arcy

Written by: James D’Arcy

Starring: Liam Neeson, Micheál Richardson, Valeria Bilello, Lindsay Duncan

Runtime: 120 min

Synopsis: A heart-warming father-son story set in glorious Tuscany about bohemian London artist Robert (Liam Neeson), who returns to Italy with his estranged son Jack (Micheál Richardson) to make a quick sale of the house they inherited from his late wife. Neither expects to find the once beautiful villa in such a state of disrepair... Renovations go badly, with father and son soon finding themselves at odds.

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The Rental (2020) - SPOILER-FREE Review

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The Rental (2020) - SPOILER-FREE Review

Directed by: Dave Franco

Written by: Dave Franco, Joe Swanberg

Starring: Dan Stevens, Alison Brie, Sheila Vand, Jeremy Allen White, Toby Huss

Runtime: 88 min

Synopsis: Two couples on an oceanside getaway grow suspicious that the host of their seemingly perfect rental house may be spying on them. Before long, what should have been a celebratory weekend trip turns into something far more sinister, as well-kept secrets are exposed and the four old friends come to see each other in a whole new light.

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