Film Reviews
CategoryMovie Review: “Joker” is the Most Accomplished Zero-Star Movie Ever
Todd Phillips’s “Joker” is very well-made, but it’s a very bad movie — not because of what’s onscreen, but because of what’s not.
Movie Review: “Ad Astra” Puts a Very Serious Brad Pitt In Some Very Silly Situations
The action sequences are genuinely original, and director James Gray conducts Brad Pitt through a generous array of striking SF environments.
Movie Review: “The Goldfinch” Flies Free of Narrative Logic
A juicy dive into the lasting effects of childhood trauma, the finer points of antique furniture restoration, and the bankruptcy of American expansionism.
Movie Review: “It Chapter Two”: Revenge of the Pronoun
“It Chapter Two” largely follows the model of the smash-hit original. Why is this new movie, which revisits the characters in adulthood, so often boring?
Movie Review: “Toy Story 4” is a Keeper of a Caper
With this frequently funny and visually inventive caper, Pixar’s founding franchise goes four for four — and makes some new friends.
Movie Review: “Booksmart” Updates John Hughes for the Era of Corrupt Meritocracy
What better for a time when nothing makes sense than a frothy but heartfelt romp about the stage of life when nothing EVER makes sense?
Is the Apollo 11 Anniversary Inspiring or Depressing?
Two new books and a giant-screen edition of the “Apollo 11” documentary shed light on a remarkable human achievement at its half-century mark.
Movie Review: “Tolkien” Quests for the “Lord of the Rings” Backstory
A new biopic unsubtly connects J.R.R. Tolkien’s World War I experiences to the dark visions he’d later evoke in ‘The Lord of the Rings.’
Movie Review: “Wild Nights With Emily” Humanizes Dickinson
What if Emily Dickinson wasn’t a bizarre recluse who had a way with words, but a confident proto-modernist poet who also happened to be a queer woman?
Movie Review: Tim Burton’s “Dumbo” Is the Best Flying-Elephant Movie of the Year
Tim Burton’s ‘Dumbo’ feels less like a Disney animated classic than one of the studio’s live-action adventures about a pair of spunky kids and a trusty pet.
Movie Review: “Us” Proves Jordan Peele Is the Heir to Horror’s Crown
With his thrilling and wildly entertaining “Us,” Jordan Peele has crafted a worthy successor to “Get Out.” It’s a throwback to the golden era of horror.
“Climax” Movie Review: Rave Un2 the…Boy, Horrific!
Gaspar Noé’s fifth feature film, “Climax,” is an exhilarating dance movie that also happens to be a terrifying horror movie. Tune in, turn on, drop out.