Spotlight REVIEW Review: 'Materialists' doesn't have the same punch as 'Past Lives' BRUCE R. MILLER Jun 20, 2025 Jun 20, 2025 Updated Jun 27, 2025 0 × BRUCE R. MILLER Bruce Miller, Sioux City Journal entertainment reporter, says "Materialists" had potential with its great cast, but its plot comes up short. Facebook Twitter Bluesky WhatsApp SMS Email Print Copy article link Save Marriage, apparently, can be classified as a business transaction.kAmx? 6I492?86 7@C 2 8@@5 :?4@>6[ 2 H@>2? H:== 92G6 E@ 2446AE 2 D9@CE[ 32=5:?8 >2? H:E9 =:EE=6 @C ?@ A6CD@?2=:EJ] x7 D96 H2?ED >@C6[ D96 92D E@ @776C >@C6]k^AmkAm~C D@ :E 8@6D :? “|2E6C:2=:DED[” 2? @55 =@@< 2E C6=2E:@?D9:AD E92E ?6G6C D66>D E@ 5@ >@C6 E92? D:>>6C]k^AmkAm(C:EE6? 2?5 5:C64E65 3J r6=:?6 $@?8[ H9@ 4C62E65 E96 362FE:7F= “!2DE {:G6D[” “|2E6C:2=:DED” :D =:<6 2 $2?5C2 qF==@4< 4@>65J H:E9@FE E96 4@>65J @C qF==@4<]k^Am Dakota Johnson expresses interest in Pedro Pascal in "Materialists." A24 kAm(:E9 s2<@E2 y@9?D@? :? 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VqC:56 w2C5Vk^2mk^Am kA 4=2DDlQE?4>D\:?=:?6\=:?<Qmk2 9C67lQ9EEADi^^?6HD]=66]?6E^E?4>D^2DD6E^65:E@C:2=^a__5a4ha\b4g6\d64e\g26a\`65fb35d725dQm#6G:6Hi V{:76 @7 r9F4<V 92D C62= 6>@E:@?2= 967Ek^2mk^Am Bruce Miller is editor of the Sioux City Journal. 0 Comments Related to this story Now streaming and on DVD: 'Snow White' didn't need another interpretation Like the seven dwarfs, it’s a something-for-everyone venture that sags repeatedly, even though Zegler is a bright (and fitting) choice for the… Movies in a Minute: "Materialists" Bruce Miller, Sioux City Journal entertainment reporter, says "Materialists" had potential with its great cast, but its plot comes up short. Review: Action gets in the way of Rebel Wilson nabbing laughs in 'Bride Hard' "Bride Hard" gives Rebel Wilson a chance to ply her action skills in a middling comedy with “Pitch Perfect” co-star Anna Camp. 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Now streaming and on DVD: 'Snow White' didn't need another interpretation Like the seven dwarfs, it’s a something-for-everyone venture that sags repeatedly, even though Zegler is a bright (and fitting) choice for the…
Movies in a Minute: "Materialists" Bruce Miller, Sioux City Journal entertainment reporter, says "Materialists" had potential with its great cast, but its plot comes up short.
Review: Action gets in the way of Rebel Wilson nabbing laughs in 'Bride Hard' "Bride Hard" gives Rebel Wilson a chance to ply her action skills in a middling comedy with “Pitch Perfect” co-star Anna Camp.
Review: 'Life of Chuck' has real emotional heft Director Mike Flanagan may understand Stephen King’s darker side better than most, but he also has a good handle on the author’s sentimental b…
Review: 'Ballerina' repeats familiar moves — without John Wick “From the World of John Wick: Ballerina” is a roundabout way of saying, “John Wick really isn’t in this, but we want the crowd he attracts.”
Movie review: Alfie Williams makes impressive debut in '28 Years Later' Pegged as a hunter, 12-year-old Spike is sent on a rite of passage with his father, Jamie, to the place where zombies run in herky-jerky fashi…
Maggie Q brings the heat to cold cases in 'Ballard' Actress Maggie Q says she’ll watch a serial killer documentary just before bedtime. Consider it an occupational hazard.