Wildcat review: Ethan Hawke’s latest is a muddled mix of Flannery O’Connor biography and adaptation
There’s an entire subset of bookish young women who’ve gone through a Flannery O’Connor phase (it usually comes somewhere right before or after the Sylvia Plath obsession). With Wildcat, Maya Hawke gets to channel that literary phase into a big-screen…
Finally Dawn review: Lily James steals the show in Italian mid-century drama
Lily James was made for fairy tales. The English actress, 34, who gained attention on Downton Abbey and made her first big screen splash in Kenneth Branagh’s Cinderella, channels her charms into a new kind of fairy tale in Finally…
Maestro review: Bradley Cooper’s new film has flashes of genius
There’s an eternal temptation with public figures to convince ourselves that, because we see and hear them so often, we must actually know them. But listening to someone’s musical output for decades, or watching their every TV appearance, doesn’t necessarily…
The Killer review: David Fincher’s latest is as brutal and unfeeling as its central subject
David Fincher has never been one for sentiment. From Se7en to Zodiac to Netflix series Mindhunter, his work is interested in unpacking the darkest parts of our humanity with the cold precision of an ice pick. His latest The Killer,…
Wish is cute for a feature-length Disney advertisement
It’s been 100 years since Walt Disney and his brother Roy launched the Disney Brothers Cartoon Studio, a small animation house that would grow to become the Walt Disney Company. A century later, Disney has ballooned into a corporate colossus,…
The Marvels review: One of these stars shines brighter than the others
A dying sun — that’s the very first image to appear on screen during The Marvels. It hardly needs saying that this is not exactly a happy omen about the current state of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, whose once-sterling pop…
The Color Purple review: Fantasia Barrino sings her face off in lackluster movie musical
If one can name a definitive literary classic of the late 20th century, The Color Purple is surely in contention. The 1982 Alice Walker novel became a celebrated Steven Spielberg film in 1985, introducing the world to Whoopi Goldberg and…
Wonka review: Timothée Chalamet leans into sense of pure imagination in musical prequel
Sometimes you’re craving something sweet — and if that’s all you’re looking for, Wonka offers it, wrapped up with a bow. The film, in theaters Dec. 15, is an origin story for Willy Wonka and his factory, but more pertinently,…
See who’s playing Lorne Michaels, Chevy Chase, John Belushi, and more in SNL 1975
Live from New York… it’s the story of the very first Saturday Night Live. Jason Reitman (Juno, Up in the Air) is directing SNL 1975, a film that chronicles the tense behind-the-scenes drama leading up to the first-ever SNL broadcast…
Mean Girls review: A grool musical update of the teen classic
At first glance, successfully remaking Mean Girls seemed about as likely to happen as “fetch.” But thankfully, the new iteration — complete with a fresh screenplay from Tina Fey (based on her Broadway book…based on her 2004 movie script) —…