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Bombshell
(2019)
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Jason Bailey
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An absolute toilet fire of a movie, a sub-HBO-movie effort comprised of winking storytelling tricks, 'SNL'-level celebrity impersonation, and kiddie pool-deep interrogation of the figures at its center.
Posted Dec 26, 2019
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Knives Out
(2019)
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Jason Bailey
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It's pure pleasure.
Posted Nov 30, 2019
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Doctor Sleep
(2019)
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Jason Bailey
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Flanagan attempts to make both a faithful adaptation of King's new book and a direct descendant of Kubrick's film. But the two works are fundamentally incompatible, and in trying to accomplish both feats, 'Doctor Sleep' does neither one successfully.
Posted Nov 07, 2019
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Gemini Man
(2019)
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Jason Bailey
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Perhaps what's most impressive about 'Gemini Man' is how it performs the magic trick of taking $138 million and turning it into a low-budget made-for-Cinemax thriller.
Posted Oct 14, 2019
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The Irishman
(2019)
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Jason Bailey
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As with many of his earlier works, it's a film fascinated by the mechanics of organized crime. But there's a pervading sense that, with this picture, Scorsese wants nothing less than to put the gangster movie into its grave - quite literally.
Posted Sep 30, 2019
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Ad Astra
(2019)
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Jason Bailey
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'Ad Astra' plays like a critique of its blockbuster brethren - films that marshal the limitless budgets and resources of the studio system, all at the service of filmmakers with nothing whatsoever to say, or feel.
Posted Sep 19, 2019
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Where'd You Go, Bernadette
(2019)
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Jason Bailey
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Basically a miscalculation from end to end, full of bizarre narrative turns and inexplicable craft decisions. Yet there's never any question that Linklater is fully committed, and it's hard to consider a movie "bad" that's made with this much care.
Posted Sep 15, 2019
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Dora and the Lost City of Gold
(2019)
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Jason Bailey
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Parents who take their kids to see it will enjoy the in-jokes and little nudges, and will have a far better time than at the likes of, say, your average skull-crushing Illumination Entertainment nightmare.
Posted Aug 10, 2019
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Once Upon a Time... In Hollywood
(2019)
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Jason Bailey
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Tarantino has become such a pro at telling these big-canvas stories, you barely notice he's picked up the pace until it's fully cranking.
Posted Aug 05, 2019
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Tig Notaro: Boyish Girl Interrupted
(2015)
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Alison Herman
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Simply surviving what Notaro has is inspirational in and of itself, of course. But Boyish Girl Interrupted puts the machinery required to translate those experiences into great comedy on full display. It's almost awe-inspiring. But mostly, it's funny.
Posted Aug 02, 2019
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Knock Knock, It's Tig Notaro
(2015)
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Pilot Viruet
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It's fun, it's weird, and it's a must-watch.
Posted Aug 01, 2019
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Hannibal Buress: Comedy Camisado
(2016)
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Alison Herman
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Comedy Camisado is a reminder that underneath it all, Buress is one of the best stand-ups working today, with a relaxed, beta-male vibe that belies his near-total unflappability.
Posted Jul 09, 2019
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Shaft
(2019)
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Jason Bailey
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The blaxploitation hero's new reboot/revamp/retcon is the most depressing movie of the year.
Posted Jun 30, 2019
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Booksmart
(2019)
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Jason Bailey
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They're colorful and funny, and believably written and played (these characters are types for a reason). Most importantly, the writers complicate the types, giving them unexpected complexities and sympathetic elements.
Posted May 27, 2019
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The Apollo
(2019)
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Jason Bailey
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Williams eventually pulls his strands together, with an effective and moving juxtaposition of words, images, and history in the closing moments.
Posted May 09, 2019
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Pet Sematary
(2019)
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Jason Bailey
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King's simple and elegant premise has been transformed into secondhand claptrap.
Posted May 09, 2019
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It Started as a Joke
(2019)
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Jason Bailey
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It's a warm and inviting bio-doc of Mirman, one of the funniest and most delightful people in comedy
Posted Apr 29, 2019
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Us
(2019)
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Jason Bailey
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In scene after scene he creates a mood of offhand, everyday spookiness, and then turns the screw with genuinely disturbing imagery.
Posted Mar 10, 2019
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Late Night
(2019)
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Jason Bailey
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It may be a longer and more sincere '30 Rock,' but there's heady stuff about "diversity hires" and workplace inequality ; Kaling knows how to address these issues without turning the movie into a polemic.
Posted Feb 08, 2019
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Roma
(2018)
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Jason Bailey
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What's become abundantly clear, over the course of this extraordinary run of searing films, is the degree to which Cuarón roots dramatic power in empathy and humanity.
Posted Dec 03, 2018
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The Ballad of Buster Scruggs
(2018)
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Jason Bailey
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The anthology format gives the Coens room to tinker with new tones and forms, while delivering their unique blend of comedy and dread.
Posted Dec 03, 2018
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Bathtubs Over Broadway
(2018)
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Jason Bailey
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It's about how these peculiar interests can become our obsessions, and the way that ironic detachment can develop, surprisingly enough, into genuine affection. What a delightful movie this is.
Posted Dec 02, 2018
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Suspiria
(2018)
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Jason Bailey
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Suspiria is a movie you can't take you eyes off of, even when it doesn't make a damn lick of sense.
Posted Oct 31, 2018
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Can You Ever Forgive Me?
(2018)
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Jason Bailey
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It's a wicked, witty treat, with Melissa McCarthy playing Israel as an unapologetically unlikable protagonist, and batting around some truly delicious dialogue with Richard E. Grant, as pretty much her only friend.
Posted Sep 14, 2018
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The Front Runner
(2018)
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Jason Bailey
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The Front Runner, Jason Reitman's dramatization of the three-week rise and fall of Gary Hart's 1988 presidential campaign, works best in its first half, as fleet-footed, wisecracking campaign/newsroom comedy/drama.
Posted Sep 14, 2018
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Boy Erased
(2018)
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Jason Bailey
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Edgerton's central visual metaphor is a middlebrow clunker, and the look of his movie too often confuses darkness with depth. But he's got a good eye for details -and a sure hand with actors.
Posted Sep 14, 2018
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Colette
(2018)
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Jason Bailey
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It's a frisky piece of work, asking challenging questions about monogamy and art, while reveling in the considerable charm of stars Keira Knightley and Dominic West.
Posted Sep 14, 2018
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Everybody Knows
(2018)
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Jason Bailey
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I was held rapt through its entirety.
Posted Sep 14, 2018
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Rafiki
(2018)
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Jason Bailey
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Wanuri Kahiu's Rafiki, based on the short story "Jambula Tree" by Monica Arac de Nyeko, is a vibrant, pulsing piece of work, keying off the joy of young love and unexpected discovery.
Posted Sep 14, 2018
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A Star Is Born
(2018)
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Jason Bailey
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"All you gotta do is trust me," he tells her, and when he brings her out on stage, and then brings her up to the front microphone, it raises the same kind of gooseflesh as the "When Your Mind's Made Up" scene in Once.
Posted Sep 14, 2018
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Teen Spirit
(2018)
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Jason Bailey
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Fanning is engaging - I'm low-key annoyed that on top of everything else, she can also sing - but the scene stealer here is Zlatko Buric, as the drunken fan who becomes her (surprisingly effective) manager.
Posted Sep 14, 2018
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Destroyer
(2018)
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Jason Bailey
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Kusama moves her star, and her camera, through these silky L.A. nightscapes in a style reminiscent of Michael Mann. If that doesn't sell you, I don't know what will.
Posted Sep 14, 2018
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American Dharma
(2018)
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Jason Bailey
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[Morris] occasionally pushes back against Bannon, in a way he didn't in the earlier films, and sort of has to - if Dharma suffers in comparison, it's because it's telling a story that's still in progress.
Posted Sep 14, 2018
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Meeting Gorbachev
(2018)
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Jason Bailey
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It's a compelling piece of portraiture, clearly done from a place of admiration and respect.
Posted Sep 14, 2018
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The Sisters Brothers
(2018)
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Jason Bailey
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Darkly funny and often deeply disorienting, with a marvel of an ending.
Posted Sep 14, 2018
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The Old Man & the Gun
(2018)
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Jason Bailey
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It's a gentle, funny crowd-pleaser with a melancholy streak.
Posted Sep 14, 2018
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First Man
(2018)
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Jason Bailey
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It's all about perspective... less concerned with history of that mission's impact than with what it was like to be him... Ryan Gosling leans into that squareness, daring us to peer in to his up-tight close-ups and find the guy inside.
Posted Sep 14, 2018
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A Prayer Before Dawn
(2017)
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Jason Bailey
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Cole is astonishingly good as Moore, in a primarily non-verbal performance; he's a convincing brawler, and even more persuasive as a self-destructive addict.
Posted Aug 10, 2018
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Minding the Gap
(2018)
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Jason Bailey
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Powerful and sensitive, and, at its best, utterly heart-wrenching.
Posted Aug 10, 2018
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Crime + Punishment
(2018)
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Jason Bailey
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Shines a much-needed light on the kind of policing that could actually make a difference in these communities.
Posted Aug 10, 2018
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Support the Girls
(2018)
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Jason Bailey
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It's so energetically acted and casually funny, you might not even notice that it never quite comes together.
Posted Aug 10, 2018
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Skate Kitchen
(2018)
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Jason Bailey
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[Director Crystal Moselle] hangs out with, and eavesdrops on, her protagonists with a documentarian's eye for detail... Her intimate style deftly captures the end-of-the-world intensity of teenage relationships
Posted Aug 10, 2018
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Madeline's Madeline
(2018)
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Jason Bailey
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It's a visceral experience... Some viewers may find it too nerve-jangling, and it's hard to blame them. But it's a must-see for risk-takers.
Posted Aug 10, 2018
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The Miseducation of Cameron Post
(2018)
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Jason Bailey
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Akhavan's movie is so many things at once - wise, witty, moving, sexy - that its occasional fumbles in tone and characterization barely register.
Posted Aug 10, 2018
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BlacKkKlansman
(2018)
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Jason Bailey
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Lee's wild tonal shifts made his work seem scattershot and unfocused, and it's not that he tamps that down here. But now, the itchiness, gallows humor, and howls of rage just feel like everyday life. Reality has finally become a Spike Lee joint.
Posted Aug 10, 2018
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Mission: Impossible - Fallout
(2018)
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Jason Bailey
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The sixth film in the surprisingly venerable series is a bit more deliberate, but delivers the expected jolts and thrills.
Posted Aug 02, 2018
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Gotti
(2018)
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Jason Bailey
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A comically terrible imitation of a biopic, directed by Kevin Connolly with all the flair and nuance of a movie-within-a-movie on 'Entourage.'
Posted Jul 03, 2018
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Ocean's 8
(2018)
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Jason Bailey
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The cast shines, but they can only do so much with their weak script and listless direction.
Posted Jun 19, 2018
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I Feel Pretty
(2018)
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Jason Bailey
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Is this stuff supposed to be funny? These scenes are cut and shot like they're jam-packed with laughs, but our audience was so quiet and uncomfortable, you'd think we were at a rep screening of 'Shoah.'
Posted May 07, 2018
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Diane
(2018)
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Jason Bailey
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Mary Kay Place is marvelous in the leading role, and her screen presence is so arm and comforting, we think we know her. Jones uses that familiarity, brilliantly.
Posted May 03, 2018
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