We Keep Going Back to The Matrix
How a generation was redpilled by a nerd power fantasy about defining yourself in the digital age
Movies
Steven Spielberg's West Side Story Is a Dazzling Bit of Americana
It’s a moving story about immigration and assimilation, and one of the best movies of the year.
Penny Lane: Can 75 Million Kenny G Fans Be Wrong?
The HBO documentary Listening to Kenny G brilliantly explores the gulf between market success and critical acclaim.
The Best of Cold War Culture
Books, films, and more related to the dissolution of the Soviet Union
Diversity Can't Save Eternals. It's a Cosmic Disaster.
Marvel's latest superhero epic is a boring movie about boring people.
Dune Is an Epic Love Letter to Classic Science Fiction
This is Denis Villeneuve's movie, but it's fully Frank Herbert's Dune.
The French Dispatch Is a Profoundly Great Film About the Nature of Art and Freedom
A twee, fussy, brilliant movie from a pathologically twee and fussy director.
The Last Duel Is More Than a Medieval #MeToo
Ridley Scott's jousting film is also a slyly subversive take on cultural perspectives.
No Time To Die Gives Us a Not-Quite-Woke James Bond
Daniel Craig’s final outing as 007 is a reckoning with everything that made Bond who he is.
Venom: Let There Be Carnage Might Be the Worst Movie of the Year
It's a crude, ugly derivative of a crude, ugly film.
The Card Counter Is an Unexpectedly Powerful Anti-War Film
Paul Schrader's story of an ex-military torturer is a searing tale of violence and redemption.
In the Heights
The movie tells the story of an immigrant community coming together to forge its own future through commerce.
Candyman Is a Sharp Deconstruction of Political Horror Movies
Horror filmmaking has always been political, but the new Candyman takes it to a different level.
With Free Guy, Hollywood Gives Us a Video Game Movie About the Thrills of, Uh, Labor Disputes
Ryan Reynolds stars as a video game character who discovers his whole life is a lie.
James Gunn's The Suicide Squad Is a Movie About Being Canceled (by a Giant Starfish Monster)
The most subversive thing about the movie is that the director was allowed to make it at all.
I Trapped the Devil Is as Unclever as Its Title
No, there isn’t really much more to this deservedly forgotten film.
Who in the World Wanted Snake Eyes: G.I. Joe Origins?
A dumb movie with a dumb name based on a dumb idea.
Black Widow Is a Step Back for the Marvel Cinematic Universe
Is the biggest brand in movies better off on the small screen?
The Tomorrow War Is a Tortured Global Warming Metaphor Disguised as a Dull Action Movie
Another lifeless pseudo-blockbuster goes straight to streaming.
Somehow, The Hitman's Wife's Bodyguard Is About Professional Licensing Requirements and EU Sanctions
A terrible movie about a bodyguard trying to regain an occupational certification.
Rose Island
The new film never wavers in its appreciation for these seasteading heroes as they piss off all the right people in pursuit of their slice of utopia.
In the Heights Is a Charming Musical About Immigration and Entrepreneurship
Even a critic who doesn’t love singing or dancing succumbed to its charms.
Ideas Aren't Enough—Freedom Needs Good Stories
Good stories introduce people to liberty long before they think about policy.
In Army of the Dead, a Zombie Outbreak Becomes an Excuse for a Public Health Power Grab
In Zack Snyder's latest, zombies are a public health issue, much like COVID-19.
One Night in Miami
The movie depicts the fictionalized gathering of Cassius Clay, Malcolm X, Jim Brown, and Sam Cooke, who spar over what each is doing to advance civil rights.
Review: Wrath of Man and The Columnist
Guy Ritchie returns (with Jason Statham, wisely) and a Dutch woman discovers the ultimate cure for online menacing.
A Keynesian Warmonger Gets What He Deserves in the Otherwise Awful Without Remorse
A terrible, Tom Clancy-inspired action movie that ends in a lame speech touting war as economic stimulus.
Did Politics Ruin the Oscars?
The Academy Awards are this weekend. Almost no one has even heard of the movies up for Best Picture.
