The Lamplight Review

Get reliable insights on upcoming films, whether they're hitting theaters nationwide or having a more limited release. Our passionate team of writers, who appreciate both blockbuster hits and indie gems, provides thoughtful reviews you can trust.

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this should've been so much better

2 weeks ago | lamplightreview.com | Kyle Wilson

This Memorial Day weekend, Apple TV+ and director Guy Ritchie hope you have adventure in your holiday plans with the release of Fountain of Youth exclusively on the streaming service. The big-budget exploits draws heavily from franchises like Indiana Jones, The Mummy, and National Treasure but never develops an identity of its own in this harmless but forgettable globe-trotting quest.
Movie Review: 'Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning'

2 weeks ago | lamplightreview.com | Kyle Wilson

Ethan Hunt (Tom Cruise) returns in what might (but it won’t) be the IMF Agent’s final mission that he chooses to accept in Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning. A clumsy script and an overstuffed cast nearly sink Cruise’s potential swan song in the role. However, the incredible stunts and edge-of-your-seat suspense, all driven by the sheer willpower and madness of one of Hollywood’s greatest action stars, are too good to be overshadowed.
a sophisticated, nostalgic conclusion

1 month ago | lamplightreview.com | Kyle Wilson

Returning for its second and final season on Disney+, Andor, a project widely considered one of Star Wars most critically acclaimed, delves into the pivotal years directly preceding the events of Rogue One: A Star Wars Story. The series charts Cassian Andor’s (Diego Luna) transformation from a resourceful rogue into the burgeoning rebel hero who eventually perishes in the Battle of Scariff, the climactic conflict that set the stage for the Battle of Yavin in Star Wars: A New Hope (Episode IV).
Movie Review: 'Freaky Tales'

2 months ago | lamplightreview.com | Kyle Wilson

Oakland 1987 is the setting for four tales that traverse the time period’s sub-cultures and film genres in the wacky sci-fi anothology Freaky Tales. Named after the song by legendary rapper Too $hort, whom shares both a role and producing credit, this goofy exploration of 80s music and pop culture doesn’t make much sense, but its gory frenetic energy and retro style are enough to make up for it.
Movie Review: 'The Ballad of Wallis Island'

2 months ago | lamplightreview.com | Kyle Wilson

Opening night of the 2025 Phoenix Film Festival charmed audiences with the premiere of The Ballad of Wallis Island. Based on an award winning short film by director James Griffith and co-written with star James Basden, the melodic tones compliment a relatable tale of love and loss that’s packed with quite a few endearing laughs in what feels like a spiritual successor in tone to the cult favorite Once.
TV Review: 'Daredevil: Born Again'

Mar 4, 2025 | lamplightreview.com | Kyle Wilson

Self-proclaimed “really good lawyer” Matt Murdock returns to the streets of Hell’s Kitchen in the aptly named revival series Daredevil: Born Again. This time, however, the series has made the jump from Netflix to its new owner, Disney+, and had some creative team shifts behind the scenes. Fans of Ol’ Hornhead need not fret though, as the overall mature tone of the series and the quality of storytelling are still intact in this intense re-introduction of the character into the broader MCU.
TV Review: 'Zero Day'

Feb 20, 2025 | lamplightreview.com | Kyle Wilson

Robert De Niro sits atop a stacked list of impressive actors and actresses in the Netflix political thriller Zero Day in his first starring TV role. Part 24, part House of Cards, the series sees De Niro playing fictional ex-president George Mullen, tasked by the current president (Angela Bassett) with tracking down the perpetrators behind a devastating cyberattack that killed thousands and caused nationwide unrest.
TV Review: 'Cobra Kai Season 6: Part 3'

Feb 13, 2025 | lamplightreview.com | Kyle Wilson

After nearly 40 years, a first season on YouTube Red (remember that?), and a Netflix revival later the story of Cobra Kai is coming to its endgame in Cobra Kai Season 6: Part 3. This soapy little nostalgic drama wasn’t always great, but it always had heart and this final stretch of episodes is everything fans could ask for in one of the more satisfying series finales in a long while.
Movie Review: 'Captain America: Brave New World'

Feb 12, 2025 | lamplightreview.com | Kyle Wilson

Captain America: Brave New World is moving the MCU’s Phase Five forward while serving as the first solo big-screen adventure for Sam Wilson (Anthony Mackie) since accepting the shield and mantle of Captain America following the events of Avengers: Endgame and the Disney+ series The Falcon & The Winter Soldier. Despite some interesting world-building and solid performances from the cast, the erratic tonal shifts and meandering storytelling hamper the overall attempt to right the Phase Five ship.
Sundance 2025 Movie Review: 'Sunfish (& Other Stories on Green Lake)'

Jan 27, 2025 | lamplightreview.com | Brent Hankins

Sierra Falconer’s debut feature, Sunfish (& Other Stories on Green Lake), unfolds like a series of postcards from a small-town summer: vivid, fleeting, and quietly profound. Through four loosely connected vignettes, Falconer captures the rhythms of life in a Michigan lakeside community, focusing just as much on the moments in between — the silences, the hesitations, the glances that go unnoticed — as the milestones of growing up, moving on, and holding onto the things that matter.