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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
She Dances (2025) 86% C- EDIT “Real-life dance moms and gals may get a leg kick out of it, but all others might want to sit this one out.” – Movies Thru the Spectrum Mar 27, 2026 Full Review Fantasy Life (2025) 83% C- EDIT “ "Fantasy Life" isn’t a terrible film (it won the audience award at the 2025 SXSW fest), but it’s also not a very good one. It just sorta exists without purpose or meaning, rendering it less a fantasy and more a mind-numbing hallucination.   ” – Movies Thru the Spectrum Mar 27, 2026 Full Review Forbidden Fruits (2026) 76% C- EDIT “It might make sense to some, but to my ASD-geared brain, it merely left me ruing having acquired an awful tummy ache from consuming way too many overripe Fruits. Or, as Pumpkin is wont to say, it made me "vom."” – Movies Thru the Spectrum Mar 27, 2026 Full Review André Is an Idiot (2025) 96% A- EDIT “Director Tony Benna wisely spares us the gory details of how André died in favor of showing us how André lived, both before and after cancer. And what a life it was, void of convention and rife with creativity,” – Movies Thru the Spectrum Mar 26, 2026 Full Review Late Shift (2025) 96% B+ EDIT “ What Volpe delivers is jaw-dropping, while drawing on every ounce of empathy for an idealistic young nurse possessing incredible patience for a host of patients, most of them either battling or about to succumb to cancer.” – Movies Thru the Spectrum Mar 20, 2026 Full Review Tow (2025) 78% B EDIT “ My only complaint, besides the wispily drawn supporting characters, is that the second half of the movie feels rushed and ham-handedly edited, with characters and incidents lacking sufficient context or explanation. Not Byrne, though. She's fabulous.” – Movies Thru the Spectrum Mar 20, 2026 Full Review Mr. Nobody Against Putin (2025) 100% A EDIT “The Oscar-winning "Mr. Nobody Against Putin" is everything a documentary should be: timely, informative, entertaining and most of all relatable. Oh, yeah, and fronted by a hugely likeable narrator in Pavel ''Sasha' Talankin.” – Movies Thru the Spectrum Mar 20, 2026 Full Review Slanted (2025) 69% B- EDIT “The bones of what’s here have been recycled from "Mean Girls," "Watermelon Man," "Black Like Me," and, of course, "The Substance." But there’s just enough originality to stand on its own.” – Movies Thru the Spectrum Mar 13, 2026 Full Review The Optimist: The Bravest Act Is Truth (2023) 95% B EDIT “As their bond deepens, so does your investment in the duo, as they discover that communication is not just a release but a solid foundation for an unbreakable friendship.” – Movies Thru the Spectrum Mar 10, 2026 Full Review For Worse (2025) 76% C EDIT “ The disarming coda succeeds in leaving you less resentful for having wasted 90 minutes of your precious life on something so inane. But not enough to lessen the urge to abandon this dud at the altar. ” – Movies Thru the Spectrum Mar 6, 2026 Full Review Youngblood (2025) 65% C+ EDIT “ It’s not a bad movie, per se, but it is a labored one that consistently undermines its social conscience-raising aspirations with an array of sports movie clichés culminating with the cocky, insecure rookie learning to play within his abilities. ” – Movies Thru the Spectrum Mar 6, 2026 Full Review Heel (The Good Boy) (2025) 87% A- EDIT “It’s sure to set tongues and tails wagging.” – Movies Thru the Spectrum Mar 6, 2026 Full Review THE BRIDE! (2026) 58% C- EDIT “The tone throughout is decidedly tongue-in-cheek. And there are a few chuckles to be had, but once Frank and Ida, er, The Bride, consummate their post-crypt romance, there’s nowhere for the movie to go. And there’s still more than an hour left to fill.” – Movies Thru the Spectrum Mar 6, 2026 Full Review Dreams (2025) 52% B- EDIT “Franco throws it all away with a third-act twist that is as ugly and cruel as it is wrong-headed. It also betrays his characters, who, up until that point, had displayed cunning, for sure, but nothing as dark and merciless as what they become. ” – Movies Thru the Spectrum Feb 27, 2026 Full Review The President's Cake (2025) 99% B+ EDIT “This is a must-see for any movie lover who cherishes outstanding storytelling. Go on, treat yourself to a slice of "Cake."” – Movies Thru the Spectrum Feb 27, 2026 Full Review K-Pops! (2024) 87% B EDIT “ What draws you in is .Paak, as he sings, dances and acts his way into your heart. It’s a debut performance that doesn’t just put the soul in Seoul, it also fortifies the notion that dads are never too old to grow up. ” – Movies Thru the Spectrum Feb 27, 2026 Full Review Paul McCartney: Man on the Run (2025) 100% B EDIT “ It fails to rival last year’s "One to One: John & Yoko" in terms of relativity. But it does have that unmistakable McCartney charisma going for it. Maybe you’re not amazed, but you’ll definitely want to listen to what the man said.” – Movies Thru the Spectrum Feb 27, 2026 Full Review Redux Redux (2025) 97% B EDIT “Einstein’s fingerprints are all over this thing, as the McManus brothers borrow from his theory of relativity to break the plane of the plain and ordinary to land Irene in a much better place than where she began.” – Movies Thru the Spectrum Feb 20, 2026 Full Review 2026 Oscar-Nominated Short Films - Documentary (2026) B+ EDIT “ The three standouts deal with deadly violence visited upon innocents. They range from the slaughter of children in American classrooms and international warzones, to a photojournalist senselessly murdered for no other reason than doing his job.” – Movies Thru the Spectrum Feb 19, 2026 Full Review 2026 Oscar-Nominated Short Films - Animated (2026) B EDIT “ The nominees range from the Holocaust dramas "Butterfly" and "The Girl Who Cried Pearls," to the lighthearted "Retirement Plan," about big dreams that will never come true. None of them is transformative, but four of the five are well worth your time. ” – Movies Thru the Spectrum Feb 19, 2026 Full Review 2026 Oscar-Nominated Short Films - Live Action (2026) B+ EDIT “ The nominees range from the cheeky "Jane Austen Period Drama" to the savage wages of a dystopian future featured in the intriguing "Two People Exchanging Saliva." But all are consistently good, a rarity in this category over the years. ” – Movies Thru the Spectrum Feb 19, 2026 Full Review Cold Storage (2026) 79% B- EDIT “As entertaining as "Cold Storage" is, you’re likely to forget it almost as soon as it’s over. But while it lasts, you can’t help but delight in a lark intent on putting the "fun" in fungus.” – Movies Thru the Spectrum Feb 14, 2026 Full Review Nirvanna the Band the Show the Movie (2025) 98% B EDIT “ Not everyone's cup of tea. But if you enjoy quirky humor and colorful characters willing to do anything – and I mean anything – to entertain you, count on Matt and Jay’s risky schtick to consistently shock and awe.” – Movies Thru the Spectrum Feb 14, 2026 Full Review Good Luck, Have Fun, Don't Die (2025) 83% B- EDIT “The results are a story that’s nothing quite like anything you’ve seen before. And that’s both a good and bad thing, with the former narrowly edging out the latter.” – Movies Thru the Spectrum Feb 14, 2026 Full Review Sirāt (2025) 91% B EDIT “ The misfortunes we witness are shocking, but how they fit into the movie’s overall scheme is vague. Yet there’s something transfixing about how it evokes doom by holding up a mirror to a world that is rapidly tearing itself apart at the seams.” – Movies Thru the Spectrum Feb 9, 2026 Full Review
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