Debunking the Strawman Campaign of Don’t Look Up
Don’t Look Up swaggers through tired political divisions for the sake of its out-there comedic premise. Its confidence is more impressive than its point.
Don’t Look Up swaggers through tired political divisions for the sake of its out-there comedic premise. Its confidence is more impressive than its point.
Speed Racer unconventionally adapted the comic book formula to a unique emotional high that now stands out in a crowded genre.
The Mandalorian slides into its third premiere without a strong suggestion that this will be more than a content extension for a profitable series.
Whannell drenches the action of his remake in expository relevance to cover for a lack of basic thriller rationale in the screenplay.
Avatar: The Way of Water is a monument to James Cameron’s business model but stutters on every other artistic or dramatic criterion imaginable.
Star Wars: The Last Jedi continues to be debated out of passionate frustration. This is an exploration of what’s right and wrong with this bizarre movie.
A Quiet Place Part II tries to squeeze more sequence out of a great concept. It succeeds despite straining for believability amid conflicting rules.
Invasion of the Body Snatchers remakes a great B-movie with intellectual terror. It knows that irony makes it even scarier. This is pure horror joy.
Samaritan accepts on faith that the audience thinks Stallone is a superhero. His charm, and almost nothing else, makes it sporadically watchable.
Prey expresses a strong period aesthetic powered by fresh performances but relies on a screenplay that misplaces its series’ core values.
Part V continues Obi-Wan Kenobi’s habit of steamrolling plausibility with reverse-engineered plot directions, with a small twist.
So far, Obi-Wan Kenobi seems to be relying more on Star Wars fans to be excited in the absence of creativity than on its own inspiration or technical ability.
The much-maligned Prometheus hides an epic sci-fi fable despite failing to satisfy its own ambitions. Fassbender is genre-defining.
Godzilla: King of the Monsters avoids the essence of its brand almost as aggressively as it avoids working on its script.
Interstellar’s brilliant technical filmmaking hinges on a story thwarted by melodrama. Its head is full of ideas, but its heart is empty.
Jurassic World Dominion is supposed to be the climax of decades of franchise build-up. Here are my thoughts on the trailer and how this series got here.
A response to Zack Snyder’s Man of Steel as well as to the debates about it, including both its problematic execution and its honest desire for greatness.
Superman creates a well-meaning mythology that predicts the most profitable film genre. Its many imitations are only partial, however. The original still soars.
Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker is as sloppy for its artists as embarrassing for its fans. It is brand mismanagement in visual form.
Ad Astra attempts to be a space opera and family melodrama. Failing both makes even its best intentions seem misplaced from other films.
The horror in Alien is as disquietingly personal as any sci-fi epic ever made. This is the genre’s ultimate masterclass in turning style into story.
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind is one romance that counts as all of them. Reluctance becomes the ultimate fantasy.