Alci Rengifo
‘Challengers’: It’s Game, Set, Zendaya in Luca Guadagnino’s Intoxicating Dive Into Obsession
Challengers • Published on April 2024
The aspirational character seeps into every aspect of a person’s life, from career choices to romance. Luca Guadagnino’s “Challengers” is a feverish love triangle that is also a portrait of aspirational tendencies…
Taylor Swift’s Cathartic ‘The Tortured Poets Department’ Intimately Aims Daggers at Heartbreak
Aaron Dessner • Published on April 2024
The arrival of a new Taylor Swift album has become a massive event. The days leading up to the release of “The Tortured Poets Department” were marked by a campaign that…
Guy Ritchie’s ‘The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare’ Kills Nazis With Serviceable Joy
Features • Published on April 2024
There are some basic formulas for World War II movies from which we get a new crop of releases every year. Gritty battle epics remind us how terrible combat is. Glossy romances add…
Park Chan-wook’s ‘The Sympathizer’ Adapts Viet Thanh Nguyen’s Acclaimed Novel Into a Stirring Tale of War, Immigration and Espionage
Features • Published on April 2024
The Vietnam War has been a topic of American movies and TV since the days of the conflict itself. Rarely, in U.S. media at least, does the story get told from a purely…
‘Sasquatch Sunset’ Hilariously Follows a Bigfoot Family With Bestial Tenderness
David Zellner • Published on April 2024
Urban legends or folktales tend to originate from some kernel of truth. Part of the appeal of the whole Sasquatch a.k.a. Bigfoot legend is that on some level, it’s easy to believe its…
Alex Garland’s ‘Civil War’ Viscerally Imagines America Turned Into a Scorched Conflict Zone
Alex Garland • Published on April 2024
For Americans, war tends to be seen as something terribly unfortunate that happens abroad, as we watch from our privileged perch in the world order. Yes, we have political instability and plenty of…
‘Housekeeping for Beginners’: Goran Stolevski Captures the True Meaning of Family in Moving Drama About Queer Life in Macedonia
Features • Published on April 2024
Goran Stolevski is quickly becoming one of those rare filmmakers who tackle different stories but each one is brimming with something personal. “Housekeeping for Beginners” continues Stolevski’s exploration of sexuality, underdogs and…
Netflix’s ‘Ripley’ Reimagines Patricia Highsmith’s Classic Novel With Sinister Elegance
Andrew Scott • Published on April 2024
Tom Ripley is an eternally alluring character, because whatever tone he takes there is something instantly relatable about him. It would be easy to switch identities, take on the role of another person…
In His Directorial Debut ‘Monkey Man,’ Dev Patel Is an Indian Action Hero Ready To Set the World on Fire
Dev Patel • Published on April 2024
Dev Patel’s “Monkey Man” has the feverish energy of a first-time director who wonders if he will get to make another movie. It is not flawless and some of its story could…
On ‘Cowboy Carter,’ Beyoncé Gallops Beyond Country Music for a Genre-Bending Exploration of Herself and America
Album Reviews • Published on March 2024
A lot is happening in the world but it all comes to a halt whenever Beyoncé unleashes something new. There has been a particular level of anticipation around the megastar’s latest LP,…
In ‘A Gentleman in Moscow,’ Ewan McGregor Gives a Refined Lesson in Resistance
A Gentleman in Moscow • Published on March 2024
Showtime’s “A Gentleman in Moscow” is a lavish showcase of dramatic restraint. Once again, here is a glossy production where the real heft is in the lead performance. Ewan McGregor gets to…
‘Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire’ Pushes the Humans Aside for Ear-Splitting Mayhem
Features • Published on March 2024
There is absolutely no need for any humans in “Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire.” If they were taken out along with any spoken language, this movie would still work as a…
‘Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire’ Offers a Few Nostalgic Delights but Fumbles on the Rest
Bill Murray • Published on March 2024
When there’s something low in audience attendance, who you gonna call? Another legacy sequel. “Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire” is the latest, determined effort at proving that this franchise somehow has the chops to…
Jake Gyllenhaal Punches Through the Absurd Joys of ‘Road House’
Amazon Prime Video • Published on March 2024
There are those movies you’re tempted to forgive because they are consciously silly. Nobody in front of or behind the camera in “Road House” is convinced they’re making anything other than a…
‘Love Lies Bleeding’ Flexes a Great Kristen Stewart and Ripped Katy O’Brian
Features • Published on March 2024
Anyone who has ever been in love or experienced heartbreak knows it is not always an easy road. It can actually be quite brutal. Ross Glass’ “Love Lies Bleeding” seems bent on…
‘Damsel’: The Only Fire in This Dragon Fantasy Is Millie Bobby Brown
Angela Bassett • Published on March 2024
The premise of Netflix’s “Damsel” seems to be that fantasies have too many damsels in distress, so we need more strong ones taking names. On that note, it is not entirely wrong.
‘Kung Fu Panda 4’: Dreamworks Franchise Delivers a Serviceable New Adventure
Awkwafina • Published on March 2024
As far as animated heroes go, Po of the “Kung Fu Panda” franchise has always been genuinely likable because he is eternally insecure. The whole premise of the original 2008 movie gained steam…
Guy Ritchie’s ‘The Gentlemen’ Colorfully Entertains With Stylish Goons and Capers
Features • Published on March 2024
If you’re searching for tips on how to dress well, then look no further than the recent work of director Guy Ritchie. In particular, Ritchie’s crime thrillers have been strutting like ready-made ads…
‘The Regime’ Puts Kate Winslet on the Throne of Power for a Dark Satire About Dictatorships
Features • Published on March 2024
In the 21st century, dictators aren’t what they used to be. You don’t get the fiery resonance of Fidel Castro or the fashion sense of Mao and Tito. Now they tend to look…
‘Spaceman’ Adam Sandler Taps Into His Melancholic Side in Dreamy Sci-Fi Drama
Adam Sandler • Published on March 2024
Adam Sandler is readily associated with goofball comedy, but when he gets serious his work takes on an admirably thoughtful quality. If one were to read the concept of “Spaceman” on paper,…