She Said: The Woman’s Story
When my graduate school days in New York were winding down, I went by the career center at NYU and saw a job posting...
Wakanda Forever: Throw Up the X
When I reviewed Black Panther, I said that we hadn’t seen the limits of what Ryan Coogler could do. Surely Black Panther: Wakanda Forever represents...
Banshees: Why Can’t We Be Friends?
Martin McDonagh became famous for his stage plays set in his native Ireland such as The Beauty Queen of Leenane and The Lieutenant of...
Armageddon Time: Smoking in the Boys Room
I’ve made clear before that I don’t care much for James Gray, but I’ll say this: Armageddon Time is his best movie, in my...
Till: This Boy’s Life
Something I’ve noticed in this job: When actors whom I’ve never seen or heard of deliver a great film performance, they’re more likely to...
Tár: Lydian Mode
Sexual harassment can happen in most professions, but classical music makes it particularly easy. Teachers spend a great deal of one-on-one time with students,...
Goddamn Amsterdam
For somewhat understandable reasons, the filmmakers and studio behind Amsterdam have buried the lede. This period satire is about a group of right-wing greedheads launching...
Bros: Bobby Love
The major Hollywood studios have largely abandoned romantic comedies in the last decade or so. This seems like a giant failure of imagination. The...
Don’t Worry Darling: There Is No Victory
I don’t usually get into the particulars of how I do my job, because I don’t think you’ll find it very interesting. Today, though,...
Birdy Out of Hand
They say, “Write what you know.” I’ve never been all that sure. Lena Dunham has written what she knows: contemporary life among creative types,...
