FILM REVIEWS

Academy Award statues standing in front of posters for the Best Picture nominees (American Fiction, Anatomy of a Fall, Barbie, The Holdovers, Killers of the Flower Moon, Maestro, Oppenheimer, Past Lives, Poor Things, and The Zone of Interest))
FILM REVIEWS

2024 OSCAR PICKS & PREDICTIONS

My choices for who will win, who should win, and who must not be allowed to win at the 96th Annual Academy Awards.

Denzel Washington breaks a guys arm in THE EQUALIZER 3
FILM REVIEWS

THE EQUALIZER 3 (2023)

Denzel Washington eats, prays, loves, maims, mutilates, and murders in Anton Fuqua's The Equalizer 3 (2023), a dumb and dour action thriller that is both unpleasant to watch and bad for the world.

A tight close-up of a menacing sloth's face and claws, from SLOTHERHOUSE
FILM REVIEWS

SLOTHERHOUSE (2023)

Godard said all you need for a movie is a girl and a gun, but did he ever really consider the cinematic possibilities of a sloth with a sword? The minds behind the horror-comedy Slotherhouse did, and we thank them for it.

Helen Mirren as GOLDA (2023)
FILM REVIEWS

GOLDA (2023)

As Golda Meir, Helen Mirren gives a showy but shallow impersonation, in a disappointing historical biopic more emotional than illuminating.

RETRIBUTION (2023)
FILM REVIEWS

RETRIBUTION (2023)

How do you continue churning out angry White man wish-fulfillment action fantasies in your 70s? If you're Liam Neeson, you make a forgettable bomb-in-a-car thriller that doesn't actually require you to move around too much.

David Harbour and Archie Madekwe in Gran Turismo (2023)
FILM REVIEWS

GRAN TURISMO (2023)

Though skillfully made, Neill Blomkamp's Gran Turismo squanders too much of what makes this true gamer-to-racer story unique, ending up a decent but overly familiar underdog sports movie.

Ben Kingsley, Jane Curtin, Harriet Sansom Harris, and Jade Quon in Jules (2023)
FILM REVIEWS

JULES (2023)

Lonely senior citizens make an alien friend in Jules, Marc Turtletaub's slight, tonally mismatched, extremely odd little misfire of a film.

Xolo Maridueña in BLUE BEETLE
FILM REVIEWS

BLUE BEETLE (2023)

A qualified success, the first live-action superhero movie with a Latino lead is deliberately derivative, surprisingly charming, and stealthily political.

FILM REVIEWS

STRAYS (2023)

Funnier and more competently constructed than most mainstream human comedies, Strays is a raunchy delight in the dog days of summer.

Agathe (Adèle Exarchopoulos) and Thomas (Franz Rogowski) dance in Passages (2023)
FILM REVIEWS

PASSAGES (2023)

Equal parts fascination and frustration, Ira Sachs' exploration of a destructive love-triangle provides a lot of heat but precious little illumination.

Daniella Carter in KOKOMO CITY
FILM REVIEWS

KOKOMO CITY (2023)

D. Smith's intensely intimate documentary Kokomo City, about Black trans sex workers, shines with humor, wisdom, and uncompromised humanity.

On a rainy night, a pale demonic figure lurks in the darkness behind a sailor on the deck of the ship in THE LAST VOYAGE OF THE DEMETER
FILM REVIEWS

THE LAST VOYAGE OF THE DEMETER (2023)

Though far from perfect, The Last Voyage of the Demeter is a good old-fashioned, wonderfully immersive, atmospheric monster movie with a genuine taste for blood.

Jason Statham races on a Jet Ski ahead of two giant shark fins in MEG 2: THE TRENCH
FILM REVIEWS

MEG 2: THE TRENCH (2023)

Friends, I've been looking forward to Meg 2: The Trench all summer, which makes this janky, joyless, shamelessly derivative dead shark of a movie 2023's biggest disappointment by far.

They're mutant turtles. They're teenage ninjas. They're teenagers. There are four of them, standing on a rooftop.
FILM REVIEWS

TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES: MUTANT MAYHEM (2023)

That the new TMNT movie is getting positive reviews must be attributed to expectations that have been seriously lowered by every other big-screen version. To the uninitiated, this one looks great, but it doesn't have much else going for it.

Sophia Wilde in TALK TO ME
FILM REVIEWS

TALK TO ME (2022)

With a smart screenplay and a brilliant central performance from newcomer Sophie Wilde, the Philippou Brothers' debut feature Talk to Me is the best, most genuinely disturbing horror movie of the year.

Rosario Dawson, Tiffany Haddish, LaKeith Stanfield, and Owen Wilson in HAUNTED MANSION
FILM REVIEWS

HAUNTED MANSION (2023)

Perhaps Disney accountants can use a crystal ball to find out where $150 million went, because no film that stinks this bad should cost so much.

A black and white close up of Cillian Murphy as Robert Oppenheimer in OPPENHEIMER
FILM REVIEWS

OPPENHEIMER (2023)

Men will literally destroy the world instead of going to therapy. That's the lesson of Christopher Nolan's Oppenheimer, a small and narrowly focused psychological study dressed up like a big historical epic.

From atop her dream house, Barbie (Margot Robie) surveys her candy-colored realm in BARBIE (2023)
FILM REVIEWS

BARBIE (2023)

Greta Gerwig's Barbie turns out to be a far more interesting film than we had any right to expect, but not necessarily the film Barbie and her fans deserved.

A Ukrainian girl, about five years old, sits huddled and crying in a bomb shelter in 20 DAYS IN MARIUPOL.
FILM REVIEWS

20 DAYS IN MARIUPOL (2023)

Mstyslav Chernov's almost unbearably brutal documentary is vital reporting, but it is also an essential work of art, universal in its application and beautiful in its fury.

Maggie Smith and Kathy Bates in THE MIRACLE CLUB
FILM REVIEWS

THE MIRACLE CLUB (2023)

Some very good actresses board the bus for The Miracle Club, but crash headfirst into a tonal pile-up where the darkest subplots meet the silliest paddywhackery.

BLACK ICE
FILM REVIEWS

BLACK ICE (2022)

Hubert Davis's documentary Black Ice (2022) is a moving indictment of widespread racism in hockey, but sometimes feels like it's skating on the surface of a much larger problem.

Nahuel Pérez Biscayart as Gilles in PERSIAN LESSONS
FILM REVIEWS

PERSIAN LESSONS (2020)

Despite strong central performances, Vadim Perelman's Holocaust story Persian Lessons (2020) feels not just implausible, but badly misjudged.

Richard E. Grant in THE LESSON
FILM REVIEWS

THE LESSON (2023)

The lesson of The Lesson—a disappointingly dumb "smart" thriller—is that everybody involved should have studied harder.

Ty Simpkins in Insidious: The Red Door
FILM REVIEWS

INSIDIOUS: THE RED DOOR (2023)

First-time director Patrick Wilson sees a red door and decides to paint it a dull, forgettable grey, in a pedestrian sequel to the already lackluster Insidious franchise.

Stephanie Hsu, Sabrina Wu, Ashley Park, and Sherry Cola in JOY RIDE
FILM REVIEWS

JOY RIDE (2023)

Sex-positive, drug-appreciative, diversity-embracing, and oddness-accepting, Adele Lim's Joy Ride is one of the funniest movies of the year.

Virginie Efira in REVOIR PARIS (2022)
FILM REVIEWS

REVOIR PARIS (2022)

The hero-detective of Alice Winocour's lovely existential noir Revoir Paris (2022) searches for (and finds) meaning in the aftermath of violence.

Sean Saifa Wall in EVERY BODY.
FILM REVIEWS

EVERY BODY (2023)

Julie Cohen's excellent new intersex documentary Every Body is informative and infuriating, but also empowering, entertaining, and surprisingly joyful.

RUBY GILLMAN - TEENAGE KRAKEN (2023)
FILM REVIEWS

RUBY GILLMAN, TEENAGE KRAKEN (2023)

Ruby Gillman, Teenage Kraken is a thing that exists. Of all the animated movies available this summer, Ruby Gillman, Teenage Kraken is inarguably…one of them.

Aubrey "Po" Powell in Squaring the Circle - The Story of Hipgnosis (2022)
FILM REVIEWS

SQUARING THE CIRCLE (THE STORY OF HIPGNOSIS) (2022)

Anton Corbjin's documentary is more than the story of the design firm behind some of music's most iconic album covers. It's also a funny and moving tribute to people, arts, and times now lost.

Jennifer Lawrence and Andrew Barth Feldman in NO HARD FEELINGS
FILM REVIEWS

NO HARD FEELINGS (2023)

Jennifer Lawrence's attempt at an '80s-style sex comedy is slightly subversive, better than expected, and nowhere near as good as it might have been.

Greg LeMond celebrates his Tour de France victory in THE LAST RIDER
FILM REVIEWS

THE LAST RIDER (2022)

The real-life facts of cyclist Greg LeMond's story are dramatic enough, but the film about him could stand a little more Hollywood fakery.

ASTEROID CITY (2023)
FILM REVIEWS

ASTEROID CITY (2023)

What happens when you recognize a filmmaker as great, but still don't like their movies? With Asteroid City, I'm finally forced to work through my Wes Anderson issues.

Ember and Wade in ELEMENTAL
FILM REVIEWS

ELEMENTAL (2023)

Pixar used to be perfectionists about their stories. Based on the underbaked and underwhelming Elemental, they should go back to that philosophy.

Melvin Gregg, Grace Byers, Antoinette Robertson, Sinqua Walls, Jermaine Fowler, Dewayne Perkins, and Xochitl Mayo in The Blackening.
FILM REVIEWS

THE BLACKENING (2023)

Every national holiday needs its movies. Smart, funny, and socially-pointed, The Blackening is America's first great Juneteenth comedy.

Teo Yoo and Greta Lee in PAST LIVES.
FILM REVIEWS

PAST LIVES (2023)

Arriving in theaters during the popcorn-movie season, Celine Song's delicate, devastating debut feature is the kind of art that lasts.

Ezra Miller, Ezra Miller, and Sasha Calle in THE FLASH
FILM REVIEWS

THE FLASH (2023)

A very troubled young person with extraordinary talents makes terrible decisions and causes a lot of damage. That's the story of The Flash, and it's also the story behind The Flash.

LYNCH/OZ: An image of Sheryl Lee as The Good Witch in David Lynch's WILD AT HEART
FILM REVIEWS

LYNCH/OZ (2023)

Alexandre O. Philippe’s new documentary is an entertaining but frustratingly limited exploration of cinema's "quintessential American dreamland" between The Wizard of Oz and David Lynch's films.

Aline Küppenheim & Nicolás Sepúlveda IN CHILE '76
FILM REVIEWS

CHILE '76 (2022)

A strong lead performance is squandered in a frustratingly sparse, emotionally empty political thriller set in the Pinochet dictatorship.

Optimus Primal (a big robot gorilla) in TRANSFORMERS: RISE OF THE BEASTS
FILM REVIEWS

TRANSFORMERS: RISE OF THE BEASTS (2023)

The new Transformers movie is slightly better than the last one, which is sort of like having a slightly better case of the clap. It's an improvement, to be sure, but still best avoided altogether.

An image from SPIDER-MAN: ACROSS THE SPIDER-VERSE shows Miles Morales and Gwen Stacy sitting upside down on a ledge looking over the city.
FILM REVIEWS

SPIDER-MAN: ACROSS THE SPIDER-VERSE (2023)

Across the Spider-Verse is a masterpiece: nearly overwhelming in its creative stimulation of the senses, but with a real emotional and narrative method to the madness.

Sophie Thatcher as Sadie in THE BOOGEYMAN
FILM REVIEWS

THE BOOGEYMAN (2023)

My Summer of Summer Movies gets underway with a derivative (but reasonably effective) monster-under-the-bed movie from director Rob Savage.

Posters for upcoming movies arranged in a grid.
BLOG

MY SUMMER OF SUMMER MOVIES, 2023

After a long sabbatical, I'm returning with a vengeance, and an insane plan to see and review every movie released between Memorial Day and Labor Day.

Taron Egerton in ROCKETMAN (2019)
FILM REVIEWS

ROCKETMAN (2019)

Dexter Fletcher's Rocketman is endearingly goofy, and occasionally moving, but only rarely transcends the shallow limitations of a jukebox musical.

Lupita Nyong'o in US (2019)
FILM REVIEWS

US (2019)

Jordan Peele's triumphant sophomore effort is a smart and terrifying cinematic ordeal, and a disturbingly dark mirror held up to America.

Julianne Moore in GLORIA BELL
FILM REVIEWS

GLORIA BELL (2019)

The race for the Best Actress Oscar begins here, with Julianne Moore's remarkable portrayal of an unremarkable woman.

Joanna Kulig in Cold War
FILM REVIEWS

COLD WAR (2018)

Rapturous and resonant, Pawel Pawlikowski's new film is a deceptively simple cinematic masterpiece.

KiKi Layne and Stephan James in If Beale Street Could Talk
FILM REVIEWS

IF BEALE STREET COULD TALK (2018)

Lush, lyrical, and deeply romantic, Barry Jenkins celebrates the sustaining beauty in one of James Baldwin's darkest stories.

2018 Oscars
MOVIE LISTS & ROUNDUPS

2018 OSCAR PICKS AND PREDICTIONS

My choices for who will win, who should win, and who must not be allowed to win at the 90th Annual Academy Awards.

Best Films of 2017
MOVIE LISTS & ROUNDUPS

THE BEST FILMS OF 2017

In a very good year for cinema, I'm naming my top-five films in six categories: Drama, Comedy, Action, Horror, Animation, and Documentary.

A Gray State (2017), directed by Erik Nelson
FILM REVIEWS

A GRAY STATE (2017)

Erik Nelson's new documentary is a near perfect distillation of homegrown American crazy, and a timely look at a dark undercurrent of American culture.

Brittany Ferrell in WHOSE STREETS
FILM REVIEWS

WHOSE STREETS? (2017)

Sabaah Folayan and Damon Davis' infuriating and empowering new documentary about Ferguson is essential viewing for every American.

LOGAN LUCKY (2017)
FILM REVIEWS

LOGAN LUCKY (2017)

Steven Soderbergh is back—but have we really missed him?

ANNABELLE-CREATION (2017)
FILM REVIEWS

ANNABELLE: CREATION (2017)

Like the rest of its dishonorable and disposable ilk, Annabelle: Creation is just a fairly efficient machine for generating meaningless jump-scares.

Halle Berry in KIDNAP
FILM REVIEWS

KIDNAP (2017)

Luis Prieto's KIDNAP, starring Halle Berry, is a cheap and ugly grindhouse film for the soccer-mom set.

STEP (2017)
FILM REVIEWS

STEP (2017)

Amanda Lipitz's documentary is a rare and inspiring celebration of the love, beauty, and optimism of disadvantaged black communities.

Idris Elba in THE DARK TOWER
FILM REVIEWS

THE DARK TOWER (2017)

Nikolaj Arcel's quick and pointless adaptation of Stephen King's sprawling epic is a tepid, paint-by-numbers picture.

Nathan Davis Jr. in DETROIT (2017)
FILM REVIEWS

DETROIT (2017)

Simplistic, reductive, and perversely exculpatory, Kathryn Bigelow's DETROIT is well-executed torture-porn that irresponsibly exploits the destruction of black bodies.

Holly Hunter in STRANGE WEATHER (2016)
FILM REVIEWS

STRANGE WEATHER (2016)

Holly Hunter is always good, but Katherine Dieckmann's road-trip movie drives her down some frustratingly contrived roads.

THE EMOJI MOVIE
FILM REVIEWS

THE EMOJI MOVIE (2017)

I do not seem to have the appropriate catalog of symbols on my app to adequately express my feelings about The Emoji Movie.

Charlize Theron in ATOMIC BLONDE
FILM REVIEWS

ATOMIC BLONDE (2017)

Charlize Theron can do no wrong, but Atomic Blonde needed to either be a whole lot smarter, or a whole lot stupider, to be any fun at all.

The Bad Batch, The Little Hours, A Ghost Story, and Lady MacBeth
MOVIE LISTS & ROUNDUPS

THE BAD BATCH, THE LITTLE HOURS, A GHOST STORY, LADY MACBETH

In my attempt to see and review every new movie this summer, I've fallen a little behind. Here are shamefully quick takes on films that didn't get full reviews, including The Bad Batch, The Little Hours, A Ghost Story, and Lady Macbeth.

Regina Hall, Jada Pinkett Smith, Queen Latifah, and Tiffany Haddish in GIRLS TRIP
FILM REVIEWS

GIRLS TRIP (2017)

Funny, fearless, and full of genuine feeling, Girls Trip is the best American comedy of the summer.

Mark Rylance in DUNKIRK (2017)
FILM REVIEWS

DUNKIRK (2017)

Christopher Nolan's Dunkirk masterfully captures a key moment of human triumph, but it is not a film that's remotely interested in human beings.

Joey King in WISH UPON
FILM REVIEWS

WISH UPON (2017)

Someone should have wished for a better movie.

13 MINUTES (2015)
FILM REVIEWS

13 MINUTES (2015)

Oliver Hirschbiegel's latest film is an imperfect but intriguing exploration of a forgotten resistance hero.

FILM REVIEWS

THE JOURNEY (2016)

Nick Hamm's painfully contrived, preposterous film reduces the complexities of the Irish Troubles down to an unconvincing marital spat.

Sally Hawkins in MAUDIE
FILM REVIEWS

MAUDIE (2016)

Like its subject—embodied in a fantastic performance by Sally Hawkins—Aisling Walsh's film finds joy and color in unexpected places.

FILM REVIEWS

DESPICABLE ME 3 (2017)

The latest entry in the animated franchise is crowded, uneven, and deeply silly. But it has enough cleverness, humor, and heart to make it worthwhile.

Jason Mantzoukas, Will Ferrell, and Amy Poehler in THE HOUSE
FILM REVIEWS

THE HOUSE (2017)

Great comedies pose important questions. So, coincidentally, does this one.

Tom Holland in SPIDER-MAN: HOMECOMING
FILM REVIEWS

SPIDER-MAN: HOMECOMING (2017)

The iconic hero's introduction to the Marvel Cinematic Universe is light to the point of flimsiness, sacrificing both narrative power and emotional depth.

The Ornithologist (2017)
FILM REVIEWS

THE ORNITHOLOGIST (2017)

João Pedro Rodrigues' beautiful but increasingly frustrating film is a slow descent into surreality and obscure religious metaphor.

Jai Courtney and Lily James in THE EXCEPTION
FILM REVIEWS

THE EXCEPTION (2017)

An unconvincing love story married to a silly spy thriller, David Leveaux's The Exception is a forgettable costume drama.

FILM REVIEWS

THE BEGUILED (2017)

Sophia Coppola's beautiful but shallow remake leaches all life out of a tale that once teemed with repressed emotion and kinky Southern Gothic melodrama.

FILM REVIEWS

THE BIG SICK (2017)

Based on the real experiences of Kumail Nanjiani and his wife, Michael Showalter's film is a smart, grounded comedy about funny people dealing with serious situations.

Ansel Elgort and Lily James in BABY DRIVER
FILM REVIEWS

BABY DRIVER (2017)

Edgar Wright has channeled his pop-music, pop-culture obsessions into the perfect summer movie.

BAND AID (2017), starring Zoe Lister-Jones and Adam Pally
FILM REVIEWS

BAND AID (2017)

Zoe Lister-Jones' feature debut is a harmless enough ditty, but it's a little too shallow and slight to be a truly great love song.

Salma Hayek in BEATRIZ AT DINNER
FILM REVIEWS

BEATRIZ AT DINNER (2017)

A good director and an excellent cast can't quite rise above a script that lacks the sophistication, subtlety, and insight needed to do its premise justice.

Sam Elliott in THE HERO
FILM REVIEWS

THE HERO (2017)

It's only taken Sam Elliott 50 years to become an exciting new movie star.

FILM REVIEWS

ALL EYEZ ON ME (2017)

Reducing Tupac Shakur's legend to a series of sensationalistic incidents, All Eyez on Me is a denigrating takedown clothed as a tribute.

FILM REVIEWS

THE BOOK OF HENRY (2017)

Colin Trevorrow's new movie is horrible in unique, unfathomable, nearly unprecedented ways.

FILM REVIEWS

ROUGH NIGHT (2017)

Tired, tedious, and tame, Lucia Aniello's Rough Night (2017) lacks the courage of its pretended coarseness.

FILM REVIEWS

47 METERS DOWN (2017)

Johannes Roberts' murky, oxygen-deprived shark movie is dead in the water.

FILM REVIEWS

CARS 3 (2017)

Once, Pixar made a movie about talking cars, and it made a lot of money. So, they made another one. Now, they've made a third one.

FILM REVIEWS

I, DANIEL BLAKE (2016)

Heart-warming and soul-crushing in almost equal measures, Ken Loach's new film is a furious, funny, unfailingly humane masterpiece.

FILM REVIEWS

MIDDLE MAN (2017)

Existing at a curious nexus of buddy-comedy and crime-thriller, writer-director Ned Crowley's dark debut feature is uneven but promising.

FILM REVIEWS

IT COMES AT NIGHT (2017)

Trey Edward Shults both explores and exploits our fears of the unknown, in a stark, harrowing, disturbingly intimate horror film.

FILM REVIEWS

MY COUSIN RACHEL (2017)

Roger Michell's adaptation of du Maurier's novel is a stately exercise in indecision, and something of a cinematic Rorschach test.

FILM REVIEWS

MEGAN LEAVEY (2017)

Director Gabriela Cowperthwaite and star Kate Mara bring remarkable restraint, sensitivity, and authenticity to a feel-good story about a soldier and her dog.

FILM REVIEWS

THE MUMMY (2017)

I don't expect The Mummy to be the worst movie I see all year, but it's a banal mediocrity that bodes ill for Universal's interconnected "monster" franchise.