Cancel Culture Monkeys and Military Industrial Menaces: James Gunn's Superman Is a Silly Delight
Superman is not "Superwoke."
Hollywood
F1 Is a Perfect Summer Movie
A roaring, swaggering, immensely entertaining throwback to the Jerry Bruckheimer Dad Action Movies of yore.
28 Years Later Is Terrifying and Life-Affirming
The film unfolds as a travelogue that culminates in a terrifying vision of a post-apocalyptic authoritarian society, man's true nature let loose by the collapse of civilization.
Wait, Lilo & Stitch Is About Medicaid and Family Separation?
A strange sort of policy logic powers the new Disney remake.
Lawrence Wright: America's Misadventures in Wars, Cults, and Panics
The Pulitzer Prize–winning author discusses the enduring roots of Middle Eastern conflict, the rise and fall of cultural panics, and why Texas may be the blueprint—and battleground—for America's future.
Andor Is a Star Wars Show About the Brutality of Bureaucracy
Tony Gilroy's series reminds us that an empire doesn't need dark magic to be evil.
Trump's Foreign Film Tariffs Could Stick Us With Nothing but Disney Movies
Tariffs on creative media are barriers not just to goods, but also to ideas.
Trump's War on Foreign Films
Plus: Alcatraz reopening, Bukele corruption scandal, assisted suicide, and more...
Thunderbolts* Is a Therapy Session for the Marvel Movie Universe
The latest installment of the MCU is a movie about superhero has-beens fighting a depressive episode.
In Praise of Zeppo and Shemp
Two new biographies tell the stories of the unsung members of the Marx Brothers and the Three Stooges.
The Accountant 2 Is a Shaggy, Silly Bro-Hangout Movie
More murder, less math, in Ben Affleck's odd but amiable sequel.
With Sinners, Ryan Coogler Delivers an Unevenly Excellent Vampire Gothic
After years in the Marvel mines, the Creed director returns with a bloody genre musical.
Forget Woke Snow White. Disney's Remake Is More Like Socialist Snow White.
The long-delayed remake is a flat, limp, relentlessly boring film, strung along by bland, uninspiring songs.
Mickey 17 Is a Misbegotten Sci-Fi Trump Satire
Robert Pattinson stars as spacefaring multiples in director Bong Joon-ho's disappointing follow-up to Parasite.
The Oscars Loved Anora. Did Sex Workers?
Anora has won five Oscars, ample praise, and some criticism.
The Role Where Gene Hackman Was State Violence Personified
Hackman's performance as "Little Bill" Daggett in Unforgiven is an unflinching portrayal of how far the state will go to protect its corrupt monopoly on violence.
The New Captain America Film Has Important Lessons for Trump and Biden Stans
In Captain America: Brave New World, a power-hungry president makes reckless choices and withholds vital information—but even he looks competent compared to Biden and Trump.
In Companion, the Killer Robot Is the Hero
An AI sexbot undergoes a feminist awakening in this clever sci-fi thriller.
Steven Soderbergh's Presence Is a Stylish, Experimental Ghost Story
In this POV haunted house film from the Ocean's 11 director, the camera plays the ghost.
Wicked and the Importance of the Public Domain
Movies like Wicked draw on classic works no longer under copyright protection.
It's Been a Big Year for Feminist Body Horror
Nightbitch and The Substance both tackle female aging with gross-out horror-movie metaphors.
Gladiator II Is a Lavish, Empty Spectacle
Ridley Scott heard you liked Gladiator, so he thought he'd give you some more gladiators with your gladiator.
Sean Baker's Anora Is a Riotous Celebration of Working-Class Life
It's Pretty Woman for the modern age, and one of the best movies of the year.
In Juror #2, Clint Eastwood Puts American Justice on Trial
The famed filmmaker's likely final film is an exploration of the jury system and its flaws.
Venom: The Last Dance Is a Camp Buddy Comedy Disguised as a Comic Book Movie
The series ends with an oddly sweet romp about a mismatched couple on a zany road trip across the American West.
If You See the Trump Biopic Before Election Day, Thank Citizens United
At its core, the oft-denigrated decision revolved around whether the government can censor information leading up to an election.
Joker: Folie à Deux Is a Miserable Musical Slog
The comic-book sequel is a dull, dismal, event-free recap of its predecessor.
Megalopolis Is a Mega Mess
Francis Ford Coppola's clumsy passion project is an ambitious misfire.
A Movie Mirrors the Stranger-Than-Fiction Reality of Civil Asset Forfeiture
The outrageous seizure at the center of Rebel Ridge resembles real-life cash grabs.
With Deadpool & Wolverine, Marvel Has Lost the Plot
A sad, shallow, and pandering movie that shows the MCU has no real stories left to tell.
Fly Me to the Moon Is a NASA Rom-Com that Fails To Launch
Channing Tatum and Scarlett Johansson star in what may be the first romantic comedy about government funding disputes.
Kevin Costner's Neo-Western Horizon: An American Saga—Chapter 1 Is an Interminable Slog
Costner stars, directs, and writes in what amounts to a three-hour prologue for a better movie.
A Brief, Biased History of the Culture Wars
Kliph Nesteroff's book Outrageous turns into a screed against conservatives.
Is Inside Out 2 Secretly About Helicopter Parenting?
In the sequel to 2015's Inside Out, letting kids grow up means relinquishing control.
Furiosa Is a Glorious Apocalyptic Epic From Mad Max Director George Miller
More philosophical and more Shakespearean than Fury Road, it's another ambitious action extravaganza.
Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes Is Just a Lot of Monkeying Around
The latest movie in the Apes franchise gestures at interesting ideas about politics and civilizational conflict, but it doesn't develop them.
No, Unions Aren't Having a Resurgence—and That's Good for Workers
Private unions have every right to exist, but that doesn't mean they're actually beneficial on net.
The Fall Guy Is a Crowd-Pleasing Homage to Silver Screen Stunt Work
It's not a great movie. But it is a great time at the movies.
Rob Long: God is Good, Drugs Are Better
The former Cheers producer talks faith, ayahuasca, and what it’ll take to bring back the blockbuster comedy.
Where Do Libertarians Stand on the Campus Wars?
Plus: A listener asks the editors about the magical thinking behind the economic ideas of Modern Monetary Theory.
Challengers Is the Horny Tennis Movie Hollywood Needs
A witty, erotically charged three-way love story about tennis, sex, and ambition.
Civil War Is a Brutal, Intense No-Sidesing of American Political Divisions
Alex Garland's latest post-apocalyptic thought experiment is a war movie without a take.
Monkey Man Is No John Wick. But It's Invigorating, Politically Potent Action Cinema.
Dev Patel's action debut is a righteous, wild revenge film.
Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire Is Epically, Enjoyably Stupid
A dumb, loud movie that delivers the promised monster beatdowns.
Patrick Swayze's Road House Defined the So-Bad-It's-Good Movie. The Remake? Not So Much.
A just-good-enough remake fails to live up to its predecessor.
Problemista Is a Magical Realist Fable About the Absurdity of America's Immigration System
A story about a young man who just wants to legally work, if only the system would let him.
Oscar-Nominated Robot Dreams Is a Gentle Animated Love Story About Dogs, Robots, and 1980s New York
A charming story of love, friendship, and impersonal urban bureaucracy.
