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Al Alexander

Tomatometer-approved critic
Biography:

Al has been a film critic for The Patriot Ledger in suburban Boston since 1988, and the senior film critic there since 2001. His reviews also appear in newspapers associated with the nationwide Gannett chain. He is a member of the North Carolina Film Critics Association.

Reviews

Movies TV Shows
Dracula (2025) 54% B- EDIT “Traditionalists will no doubt be clutching their pearls and brandishing their silver stakes. But if you long for something so completely bonkers that you can’t help being intrigued, Besson’s zany "Dracula" offers just enough to sink your teeth into. ” – Movies Thru the Spectrum Feb 6, 2026 Full Review Solo Mio (2026) 80% C EDIT “It’s set in Rome, but there’s a whole lot of bologna in the flavorless cold cut that’s "Solo Mio." Everything about this unfunny rom-com feels phony and phoned-in, from Kevin James’s unengaging lead performance to the erratic writing and directing.” – Movies Thru the Spectrum Feb 6, 2026 Full Review Arco (2025) 92% B EDIT “ It’s very sweet, but also tragic and quite moving, even when a droid meets a gruesome end. It and its fellow Oscar nominee, the equally stirring "Little Amelie," thrive on genuine emotion and deep dives into existentialism.” – Movies Thru the Spectrum Jan 30, 2026 Full Review A Poet (2025) 100% B- EDIT “    John Dryden wrote that "rhyme is the rock on which thou art to wreck." It’s a literary quote that can literally be applied to Oscár Restrepo, the bumbling pro-vers libre hero of Simón Mesa Soto’s funny, cringy "A Poet."” – Movies Thru the Spectrum Jan 30, 2026 Full Review Islands (2025) 93% B EDIT “ Although challenged, my interest never waned. But what about you? Should you skip "Islands?" Not atoll.” – Movies Thru the Spectrum Jan 30, 2026 Full Review Sound of Falling (2025) 94% B- EDIT “Despite its numerous flaws, "Sound of Falling" remains a film richly deserving of making the Oscar shortlist, even if it doesn’t always fully and meaningfully connect. ” – Movies Thru the Spectrum Jan 26, 2026 Full Review H Is for Hawk (2025) 80% B- EDIT “The bond between woman and bird is touching at first, but Lowthorpe and Donoghue dwell on it to distraction.” – Movies Thru the Spectrum Jan 23, 2026 Full Review In Cold Light (2025) 48% C- EDIT “Why Helen Hunt and "CODA's" Troy Kotsur got mixed up in this discombobulated mess remains a mystery. One that I’m sure is far more interesting than the riddle Maika Monroe's ex-con is attempting to solve after being framed for murder.” – Movies Thru the Spectrum Jan 22, 2026 Full Review The Rip (2026) 80% B- EDIT “That "Good Will Hunting" chemistry is still very much in evidence, but it’s not enough to warrant arrest, let alone conviction.” – Movies Thru the Spectrum Jan 19, 2026 Full Review The Choral (2025) 68% B- EDIT “ It all adds up to a spoonful of cinematic comfort food, satisfying for the moment, but soon forgotten. ” – Movies Thru the Spectrum Jan 16, 2026 Full Review A Private Life (2025) 81% B- EDIT “If not for Foster, it would sink like a rock in the River Seine, further proof that the two-time Oscar-winner can turn cheese into gold.” – Movies Thru the Spectrum Jan 16, 2026 Full Review Father Mother Sister Brother (2025) 81% B+ EDIT “There’s never any doubt that you are experiencing a virtuoso dedicated to making movies his way. They may not appeal to the masses, but for a select few, they are cinematic poetry.” – Movies Thru the Spectrum Jan 9, 2026 Full Review Dead Man's Wire (2025) 91% B EDIT “ Bottom line: Should you see "Dead Man’s Wire"? By all means! But it’s ultimately up to you. After all, it’s not like there’s a gun to your head. ” – Movies Thru the Spectrum Jan 9, 2026 Full Review Rosemead (2025) 89% B EDIT “Lucy Liu seeks to shift the focus from her looks to legitimize her bona fide acting chops and does not disappoint, completely disappearing into the role of a mother charging a hundred miles per hour toward an abyss from which there’s no escape. ” – Movies Thru the Spectrum Jan 9, 2026 Full Review All That's Left of You (2025) 100% B EDIT “Much like her breakout film, "Amreeka," Dabis isn’t so much interested in the politics of the crisis as she is advocating for compassion and understanding in a land where hatred and violence are the order of the day. ” – Movies Thru the Spectrum Jan 9, 2026 Full Review The Plague (2025) 97% B EDIT “Drawing inspiration from such puberty-is-worse-than-death classics as "Carrie" and "Black Swan," Polinger cleverly probes many of the same themes, but from a male perspective. And what’s most revealing is that boys can be even more catty than girls.” – Movies Thru the Spectrum Jan 2, 2026 Full Review Goodbye June (2025) 65% C EDIT “Mirren can only do so much before June, and the movie carrying her name, succumbs to an incurable illness. Apathy.” – Movies Thru the Spectrum Dec 25, 2025 Full Review No Other Choice (2025) 97% A EDIT “If you’re desiring to be wowed by a film emblematic of these uncertain times, it’s clear to me you have no other choice.” – Movies Thru the Spectrum Dec 25, 2025 Full Review Song Sung Blue (2025) 78% B EDIT “ Yes, good times never seemed so good, especially when Hugh Jackman and Kate Hudson are working their butts off selling what, in the wrong hands, might have been a schmaltzy disaster. ” – Movies Thru the Spectrum Dec 25, 2025 Full Review Marty Supreme (2025) 94% B- EDIT “Subtly is not thy name. But pomposity is. And it is personified by Chalamet’s Marty Mauser, a world championship-caliber ping-pong hustler who doesn’t give a damn about how many bridges he burns so long as he gets his way. ” – Movies Thru the Spectrum Dec 25, 2025 Full Review Is This Thing On? (2025) 86% B- EDIT “When Dern’s front and center, "Is This Thing On?" soars. When she’s not, it’s a sluggish ordeal.” – Movies Thru the Spectrum Dec 19, 2025 Full Review The Voice of Hind Rajab (2025) 95% A- EDIT “ I can’t recall a film that stirred anger, empathy and utter helplessness quite like Kaouther Ben Hania’s emotionally devastating "The Voice of Hind Rajab." ” – Movies Thru the Spectrum Dec 17, 2025 Full Review Dust Bunny (2025) 85% B+ EDIT “ "John Wick" meets "Annie," sans the music. And it’s alluring thanks to its two stars and the magnetic appeal they generate through exchanging snappy, quip-filled dialogue.” – Movies Thru the Spectrum Dec 13, 2025 Full Review Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery (2025) 92% A- EDIT “True, the dialogue may commit a deadly sin or two. But I swear on a stack of Bibles that you won’t be offended, just enthralled, and left hungering for more, as Craig and O'Connor miraculously finesse blasphemy into a blast. ” – Movies Thru the Spectrum Dec 11, 2025 Full Review Hamnet (2025) 86% B+ EDIT “"To go, or not to go?" Ah, that is the question. But given the slings and arrows of our winter of Oscar discontent, I say get thee not to a nunnery, but to "Hamnet." All that glisters is not gold, but this comes pretty damn close. ” – Movies Thru the Spectrum Dec 8, 2025 Full Review
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