Andy Serkis on Animal Farm, Authoritarianism, and Humanizing Monsters
"If Orwell were writing that story now, what would his targets be?" the Animal Farm director asks Reason's Nick Gillespie.
Movies
Supergirl Is a Bafflingly Grim, Violent, and Depressing Take on the Superhero Movie
A drunk, depressed young woman fights personal demons and an interstellar sex trafficking gang. Isn’t this supposed to be fun?
Adam Schiff Wants Federal Tax Credits for Movie and TV Production
Studies repeatedly show the credits aren't worth the cost.
Steven Spielberg's Disclosure Day Has Some Strange Assumptions About the Media
The best way to release secret footage of alien life is…local TV news?
Graham Platner Wins, Backrooms, and Church and State
Politics, religion, movies, and generational gripes collide in a wide-ranging conversation that ends with Robby Soave preparing for his trip to Ukraine.
Review: A Sci-Fi War Movie About the Pentagon's Inscrutable Budget
The Pentagon's budget is so vast that a soldier believes the extraterrestrial machine shooting lasers at them might be taxpayer–funded.
CIA Whistleblower Reveals COVID Lab Leak Cover-Up
Robby Soave and Christian Britschgi discuss the latest developments on the origins of COVID-19 and also the flimsy accusations against Rep. Thomas Massie.
AOC Hates Billionaires, Heritage Americans, and Ranking Christopher Nolan Movies
Robby Soave and Christian Britschgi tear apart AOC's belief that billionaires don't earn their wealth.
How Mortal Kombat Went From National Panic to Nostalgic Camp
Even with copious gore, the new movie is too tame to be a controversy. There's a lesson in its trajectory.
Is The Devil Wears Prada 2 the Great Millennial Journalism Movie?
This 20-years-later sequel traces a generation's economic fortunes through the decline of magazine journalism.
Andy Serkis: What Orwell Understood About Tyranny
Andy Serkis discusses the corrupting nature of power, what Animal Farm says about modern authoritarianism, and whether technology expands or diminishes human creativity.
Swarms of Termite Moviemakers Have Made Cinema More Personal
Screens have become less passive, more participatory, and more open to all kinds of moving pictures.
Michael Is a Brutally Dull Biopic With Nothing to Say About Michael Jackson
This one's no thriller.
The Zendaya Romance The Drama Is Weirder and More Uncomfortable Than You Expect
A movie about marriage, memory, and the difficulty of knowing another person.
Birthright Citizenship, Noem Family Circus, and Project Hail Mary
A wide-ranging episode of Freed Up covering foreign policy, legal battles, internet stupidity, airport misery, and a few unexpectedly spirited culture debates.
Social Media Is Not Tobacco
Plus: Hollywood is over, the war in Iran is not, Democrats are fighting about affordability, and more...
Project Hail Mary Is Another 'You Can Just Do Things' Story From Sci-Fi Novelist Andy Weir
A dazzling, ridiculously charming sci-fi adventure from the author of The Martian
Review: A Period Drama About the Price of Progress in the American West
Train Dreams follows a logger in the Pacific Northwest during the age of westward expansion.
The Bride!: A Feminist Frankenstein That Plays Like a Lost Remnant of Woke Culture
A cinematic time capsule from before the vibe shift.
Wuthering Heights Is a Kinky, Revisionist Fever Dream
A problematic hyperpop romance that collides with the manosphere
Epstein Files Drama, Bad Bunny Drama, and More A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms Drama
Robby Soave and Christian Britschgi react to Pam Bondi’s explosive testimony, weigh in on A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms, and argue over which state would be most libertarian if it seceded.
From Georgia's Film Subsidies to Intel's Collapse, Industrial Policy Keeps Failing
Such attempts try to engineer outcomes while acting like political favors can substitute for market incentives.
The Rip Is a Just-OK Miami Cop Thriller That's Really About Netflix
Matt Damon and Ben Affleck play Florida police officers who stumble into a giant cash stash.
28 Years Later: The Bone Temple Delivers Anarchy in the U.K., Again
A zombie movie where mystical evil turns out to be a blonde guy named Jimmy.
No Other Choice Is a Dark Satire of Capitalism and Masculinity
Is the problem big corporations? Or the modern man?
Americans Love Individualism. So Why Does Hollywood Demonize It?
"When it comes down to it, my life belongs to me," says Timothy Sandefur, author of the new book, You Don't Own Me.
Minnesota Daycare Fraud, Mamdani's Takeover, and the X-Men Movies
Robby Soave and Christian Britschgi discuss Nick Shirley's viral video about Minnesota day care fraud, then dig deeper into how Tim Walz has little respect for American taxpayers.
With Eddington, Hollywood Finally Starts To Reckon With the Madness of 2020
Ari Aster’s pandemic satire is the movie of the year.
The Haters Are Wrong. Netflix's Glut of Christmas Movies Is Good, Actually.
The existence of options you don't personally enjoy is not a cultural failure; it's a luxury.
Avatar: Fire and Ash Is Part Spectacle, Part Retread
An eco-action film that covers too much familiar ground.
Review: Tron: Ares Reminds Us That Artificial Intelligence Is Not the Enemy
It's the humans who develop and use AI for malicious ends, not the tech itself, who should worry us.
The 2025 Libertarian Gift Guide: 28 Great Ideas for Apocalypse Preppers, Boozers, Self-Improvers—and More
Panicked about holiday shopping? Reason staffers and contributors are here to save the day.
Guillermo del Toro's Frankenstein Comes Perilously Close To Opposing Human Flourishing
In the Oscar winning director's new Netflix film, humanity is the real monster.
The Running Man Is a Shallow, Socialist Action Fantasy
A dystopian action cartoon for the Bernie bro set.
In Predator: Badlands, the Predator Takes On Toxic Masculinity
Who knew that a Predator movie could be so cute?
Review: KPop Demon Hunters Teaches Us That Harmony Thwarts Evil
A girl group battles a demon boy band in the wildly popular Netflix musical.
In Yorgos Lanthimos' Bugonia, Elites Are Alien Creatures
A bleak, absurdist take on the gap between the world of HR corporate speak and ordinary Americans
Review: Eddington Takes on the Chaotic 2020 Politics of COVID
The first half of the film comes off as libertarian but then it takes a weird turn.
When the Government Censored Dracula, Frankenstein, and King Kong
Remembering a monstrous era of American history
Can Eating More Protein Fix Our Digital Malaise?
As digital life overtakes culture, physical bodies are becoming more important than ever.
Luca Guadagnino's After the Hunt Skewers #MeToo Moral Posing
A feisty, cancel-culture provocation that isn't willing to commit.
Tron: Ares Is a Bad Movie, but a Great Nine Inch Nails Music Video
A pulsing electronic score turns a mediocre movie into a sick vibe.
Review: Dracula: A Love Tale Casts the Title Character as a Trad Religious Hero
Director Luc Besson delivers a conservative interpretation of Bram Stoker's classic vampire novel.
Americans Are Turning Against Sports Betting—But It's Not Going Anywhere
Plus: World Cup ticket prices, Michael Jordan against NASCAR, and The Smashing Machine
The Smashing Machine Looks at the Early Days of a Combat Sport Politicians Wanted To Ban
A fascinating but uneven actor's showcase for Dwayne Johnson.
Review: A Godzilla Movie About Bureaucracy
In Shin Godzilla, scientists must cut through red tape to save Tokyo.
Review: Is Weapons a Metaphor for School Shootings?
The new hit horror movie is really about adults using kids for their own ends.
Here's Why Trump's Plan To Tax International Films Won't Work
The president’s movie tariff proposal faces several legal and logistical challenges to implementation.
