Luca Is Another Beautiful, Overstuffed Pixar Sob Sandwich
Pixar’s latest film, Luca, is so chock-full of twists and turns, it reveals just how much that once-little animation studio has helped shape our current “bingeworthy” narrative standard.
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Summer of Soul Is an Enthralling and Emotional Concert Film 50 Years in the Making
With historic performances by everyone from Stevie Wonder and Gladys Knight to Nina Simone and Sly and the Family Stone, Questlove’s documentary about the 1969 Harlem Cultural Festival is a moving portrait of black music and a radical political and cultural moment.
Black Widow Could’ve Been Worse
Black Widow is a dumb movie that recycles the same Russophobic Cold War narrative Hollywood has been using for years. But it’s just dopey enough and supplies just enough laughs that I couldn’t be mad at it.
Anthony Bourdain Deserved a Realer Documentary Than Roadrunner
From staging its emotional finale to deploying AI-generated simulations of Anthony Bourdain’s voice, Roadrunner’s director has undercut the reliability of the entire project.
Old Had Immense Potential — But M. Night Shyamalan Squandered It
Insufficiently developed characters, awkwardly acted scenes, embarrassing dialogue: M. Night Shyamalan has made some awful movies in his day, but Old is one of his worst.
Chaos and Breakdown Are at the Heart of Kanye West’s Wild Ride
The new documentary series Jeen-yuhs keeps Kanye’s recent tabloid absurdities out of the picture. But such turbulent antics and generalized disorder are an essential piece of the remarkable — and remarkably chaotic — career he has built.
Meet Scott Seiss, TikTok’s “Angry Retail Guy”
Comedian Scott Seiss on how his viral TikTok character “Angry Retail Guy” gave voice to the rage of the 21st-century chain store worker.
A Portrait of the Val as a Young Kilmer
Sourced from decades of the Hollywood star’s private home videos, the new documentary Val depicts the rise and fall of infamously “difficult” actor Val Kilmer with charm and intimacy — even if it’s a self-serving portrait.
The New Candyman Plays It Too Safe for Real Scares
Nia DaCosta’s Candyman reboot is a hit, but unlike the strange and haunting 1992 original, it’s a by-the-numbers horror flick.
When Malcolm Met Ali
A new Netflix documentary, Blood Brothers, offers a moving look at the friendship between Malcolm X and Muhammad Ali, two of the 20th century's most dynamic figures. When black-and-white photos of the pair grace the screen, it practically vibrates with energy.
In Clint Eastwood’s Cry Macho, Even the Rooster Is Bad
Clint Eastwood is back in a starring role at age 91 in Cry Macho. But if this is to be his final film, it’s an awful way for a legend to say goodbye.
Respect Is a Weak Portrait of the Hellaciously Strong Aretha Franklin
Aretha Franklin was a legend. But the new Franklin biopic, Respect, is a forgettable film that avoids the darker and more difficult parts of her life.
No Time To Die Is a Disappointing Finale for Daniel Craig’s James Bond
The new James Bond movie, No Time To Die, is so disappointing that I don’t see how the iconic franchise can be reformed simply by creating a more woke 007.
The Sopranos Goes Phantom Menace on Us
We asked our film critic — who has somehow never seen The Sopranos — to watch HBO’s new prequel film The Many Saints of Newark to see if it could work on its own merits.
The Velvet Underground Brings Back the Thrills of the 1960s Avant-Garde
Todd Haynes’s excellent new documentary on legendary rock band the Velvet Underground reminds us of just how daring both music and film once was not that long ago.
It’s Time to Put the Halloween Reboots Out of Their Misery
The second film in David Gordon Green and Danny McBride’s Halloween reboot can’t hold a candle to their 2018 installment — let alone the original.
The New Dune Is Too Somber for Its Own Good
I can’t help but wonder what Denis Villeneuve's new Dune movie might have been had it chucked those handsome but cold visuals and embraced a wilder approach.
Nostalgia for Swinging London Haunts Last Night in Soho
British filmmaker Edgar Wright’s knack for mixing and matching subgenres finally leads him off the deep end — and into incoherence — with Last Night in Soho.
Wes Anderson Goes Gallic in The French Dispatch
The French Dispatch tips the director’s trademark, Francophile style into overdrive — no doubt pleasing his fans while infuriating his detractors.
RIP Dean Stockwell, a 70-Year Hollywood Renegade
Forced to support his family as a child star of the 1940s, Dean Stockwell embraced the counterculture of the 1960s while cutting his own path through eight decades in Hollywood.