Ideas Aren't Enough—Freedom Needs Good Stories
Good stories introduce people to liberty long before they think about policy.
Movies
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.
G. Gordon Liddy: The Hollywood Years
Friday A/V Club: How a Watergate burglar spent the '80s
The Snyder Cut of Justice League Is an Internet Fan Theory Come to Life
It’s a victory for fans made possible by the evolution of streaming technology.
Review: Judas and the Black Messiah
Daniel Kaluuya and LaKeith Stanfield revisit the horror of a civil rights battlefield of the 1960s.
The Little Things Is a Twisty Thriller About the Inner Lives of Bad Cops
It’s a comfortable throwback to 1990s crime films. Too comfortable.
Ma Rainey's Black Bottom Is a Superb Film About Power, Art, Commerce, and Race
Chadwick Boseman shines in his final role.
Effigy's German Serial Killer Drama Weaves Intoxicating—and Toxic—Tale
Need an antidote to sickly sweet holiday stories?
Sound of Metal Creates an Entire World Out of Sound
For a small production, it's a remarkable technical achievement.
The Trial of the Chicago 7
Aaron Sorkin takes on the famous trial of activists who organized an anti-war protest during the 1968 Democratic convention.
David Fincher's Mank Is a Scathing Portrait of a Smug, Out-of-Touch Hollywood
The Netflix release paints a picture of movie-industry arrogance, smugness, hypocrisy, and condescension—especially when it comes to politics.
Netflix's Hillbilly Elegy Is a Movie Afraid of the Book It's Based on
J.D. Vance's memoir was an inherently political story. The film tries to ignore its context.
Skin: A History of Nudity in the Movies
A look at how Hollywood functioned prior to contracts detailing how much breast or cheek an actress must show to earn her paycheck
The Rudy Giuliani Scene In the New Borat Movie Isn't What You Think
Trump’s lawyer was caught on camera in a hotel room...tucking in his shirt.
Reviews: Love and Monsters and J.R. 'Bob' Dobbs and the Church of the SubGenius
A good teens-and-creatures movie, and a deep dive into a glorious fake cult
Review: Possessor: Uncut
Director Brandon Cronenberg finds a terrible beauty in this terrific sci-fi horror film.
Antebellum Is Empty Social Commentary Disguised as a Horror Movie
It's a one-note, one-twist concept in search of a story.
The Iranian Coup that Led to 67 Years of Reckless Intervention
The documentary Coup 53 explores how a seemingly easy regime change wrecked U.S. foreign policy for decades.
Reviews: The Nest and No Escape
Jude Law and Carrie Coon in top form, and a little bit of torture porn lite.
Taghi Amirani: How the U.S.-Backed 1953 Coup in Iran Is Still Changing Global Politics
New documentary explains why installing the shah in 1953 led to ruinous American covert operations throughout the Cold War and beyond.
Cuties and Its Critics Both Decry the Sexualization of Children
That point seems to have escaped many people who have not actually watched the controversial film, some of whom think it should banned.
Contrary to What Ted Cruz Thinks, Prepubescent Twerking Does Not Make Cuties Illegal
The federal definition of child pornography does not encompass risqué dancing by clothed 11-year-olds.
Donald Trump, Bob Woodward, and the Noble Lie
The Reason Roundtable reads Bob Woodward, goes to the Oscars, weighs in on the NFL, and more.
The Oscars' New Diversity Rules Won't Change Who Wins Best Picture
They'll probably do more to lock out indie filmmakers than to advance real inclusion.
Disney's Mulan Is an Extravagant Mediocrity
The studio’s decision to thank repressive Chinese government authorities, meanwhile, makes it something far darker.
Trump's Struggle To Win the Gary Johnson Vote
Sadly for the president, 2016 Libertarians are not "all Republican voters." Sadly for us, his opposition to "endless wars" doesn't translate into ending them.
Disney Thanks Chinese Labor Camp Authorities in Mulan Credits
Plus: California is burning because of a "gender reveal" party, Irish brothel law backfires, and more...
Time May Not Exist Anymore, but Tenet Does, and It's in Theaters Now
Don't try to solve this time-puzzle of a movie. Just feel it.
A Summer Without Summer Movies
On missing the accessible fruits of giant corporate filmmaking
