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Alien: Romulus
(2024)
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Chris McCoy
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[It] isn’t the product of a visionary mind like Alien, nor a thrilling left turn like Aliens. But it is a tightly executed genre exercise with some memorable images and no shortage of visceral thrills. It’s a working-class film that gets the job done.
Posted Aug 21, 2024
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MaXXXine
(2024)
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Chris McCoy
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Yes, these films are in conversation with the past’s lowbrow classics, but they never lose sight of their primary mission: Make it kick ass.
Posted Aug 16, 2024
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Longlegs
(2024)
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Chris McCoy
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It’s once again proof that when you hire Nicolas Cage, you always get your money’s worth.
Posted Aug 16, 2024
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Twisters
(2024)
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Chris McCoy
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Unfortunately, I’m here to tell you that Twisters is no Aliens.
Posted Aug 16, 2024
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Deadpool & Wolverine
(2024)
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Chris McCoy
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Isn’t getting snarky about Marvel movies my job?
Posted Aug 16, 2024
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Kinds of Kindness
(2024)
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Chris McCoy
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As with all of Lanthimos’ films, this isn’t for everyone. But if you’re already on board with his unique, often disturbing world view, you will find Kinds of Kindness ranks with the director’s best work.
Posted Jul 03, 2024
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Inside Out 2
(2024)
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Chris McCoy
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I wish I had Inside Out when I was young.
Posted Jun 25, 2024
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Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga
(2024)
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Chris McCoy
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As the traumas pile up, and the flamethrowers roar, she slowly comes into focus. Will she be a monster, like Dementus, or a protector, like her mother?
Posted May 24, 2024
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Challengers
(2024)
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Chris McCoy
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If Guadagnino’s purpose is to show how a life focused solely on competition is an empty existence, punctuated by hot but ultimately unsatisfying sex, then he wins game, set, and match.
Posted May 21, 2024
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The Fall Guy
(2024)
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Chris McCoy
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Gosling and Blunt are breezy and charming, and the supporting cast all understand the assignment.
Posted May 21, 2024
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Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes
(2024)
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Chris McCoy
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The new installment of the venerable franchise continues its recent winning streak.
Posted May 21, 2024
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Civil War
(2024)
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Chris McCoy
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Civil War is as brilliant as it is harrowing.
Posted May 21, 2024
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Love Lies Bleeding
(2024)
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Chris McCoy
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Glass’ direction is confident and occasionally daring, and her two leads sizzle off the screen.
Posted May 21, 2024
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Bob Marley: One Love
(2024)
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Chris McCoy
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Kingsley Ben-Adir shines as the misunderstood reggae legend.
Posted May 21, 2024
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The Zone of Interest
(2023)
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Chris McCoy
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The question Glazer’s remarkable film raises in the viewer is, “What atrocities do our comfortable lives allow us to ignore?”
Posted May 21, 2024
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Dune: Part Two
(2024)
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Chris McCoy
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Denis Villeneuve finds the humanity at the core of this sprawling sci-fi epic.
Posted May 21, 2024
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American Fiction
(2023)
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Chris McCoy
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Jeffrey Wright skewers racial stereotypes in Cord Jefferson's brilliant comedy.
Posted May 21, 2024
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Origin
(2023)
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Chris McCoy
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Ava DuVernay asks big questions about race, humanity, and hatred.
Posted May 21, 2024
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Thanksgiving
(2023)
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Chris McCoy
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Eli Roth gives the holiday the bloody horror comedy it deserves.
Posted May 21, 2024
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Napoleon
(2023)
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Chris McCoy
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Scott’s depiction of Napoleonic warfare is equal parts beautiful and brutal.
Posted May 21, 2024
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Past Lives
(2023)
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Chris McCoy
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Told with remarkable economy, and perfect performances...
Posted May 21, 2024
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May December
(2023)
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Chris McCoy
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Delicate hothouse dramedy around a core of three fantastic actors.
Posted May 21, 2024
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Godzilla Minus One
(2023)
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Chris McCoy
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The big guy dazzled in Godzilla Minus One by getting back to his roots — punishing mankind’s hubris with cleansing atomic fire.
Posted May 21, 2024
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Poor Things
(2023)
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Chris McCoy
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Emma Stone is fearless as a creature searching for her humanity in this twisted retelling.
Posted May 21, 2024
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Priscilla
(2023)
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Chris McCoy
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From Lost in Translation to Marie Antoinette to Somewhere, Coppola keeps returning to lonely young women who see beauty in the world that others miss. In Priscilla, she has found her perfect subject.
Posted May 21, 2024
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The Marvels
(2023)
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Chris McCoy
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No amount of body-switching gimmickry can save this film.
Posted May 21, 2024
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No One Will Save You
(2023)
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Chris McCoy
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Like all good horror films, No One Will Save You plays with your existing fears by mapping them onto some external threat.
Posted May 21, 2024
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Killers of the Flower Moon
(2023)
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Chris McCoy
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Martin Scorsese's masterpiece is an epic of love, oil, and betrayal among the Osage.
Posted May 21, 2024
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Bottoms
(2023)
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Chris McCoy
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Bottoms is the best high school comedy since Booksmart, and, for my money, an instant classic.
Posted May 21, 2024
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They Cloned Tyrone
(2023)
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Chris McCoy
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Imagine if Hustle & Flow were written by Philip K. Dick.
Posted May 21, 2024
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Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning Part One
(2023)
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Chris McCoy
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The film’s dense, fast-moving cold open harkens back to the franchise’s roots as a Cold War-era spy series.
Posted May 21, 2024
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Oppenheimer
(2023)
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Chris McCoy
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Oppenhiemer is a return to form for Nolan after the fiasco of Tenet. There's a great movie hiding amidst all of the formal pyrotechnics. But I guess it's too much to ask for a lighter touch from a director who is about as subtle as an atomic bomb.
Posted May 21, 2024
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Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantumania
(2023)
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Chris McCoy
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This movie looks bad.
Posted Jul 12, 2023
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Cocaine Bear
(2023)
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Chris McCoy
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As someone who grew up in rural Appalachia during the height of the Reagan era, I can attest that bundles of drugs regularly fell from the sky.
Posted Jul 12, 2023
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Creed III
(2023)
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Chris McCoy
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Creed III can go toe-to-toe with the heaviest hitters of boxing cinema.
Posted Jul 12, 2023
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Shazam! Fury of the Gods
(2023)
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Chris McCoy
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Why do I call Shazam “down-market”? Well, in Justice League, the A-team superheroes are trying to stop the A-team super villains from destroying the world. In Fury of the Gods, Billy Batson (Asher Angel) is trying to save Philadelphia.
Posted Jul 12, 2023
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Jacir
(2022)
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Chris McCoy
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What Jacir, Jerome, and Meryl all have in common is that they are members of the disposable class that their governments and economic systems have tossed on the trash heap.
Posted Jul 12, 2023
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Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves
(2023)
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Chris McCoy
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The usual problem with adapting games into film is that there’s not enough plot to hang a story on (I’m looking at you, Angry Birds.) D&D is nothing but stories. Honor Among Thieves feels like something a dungeon master would cook up for a campaign.
Posted Jul 12, 2023
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Renfield
(2023)
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Chris McCoy
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Hear me out: Nicolas Cage deserves an Oscar nomination for his performance as Dracula in Renfield... Unfortunately, this movie is also beneath him.
Posted Jul 12, 2023
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Evil Dead Rise
(2023)
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Chris McCoy
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Remember: Magical incantation is best left to the experts, and they died a long time ago.
Posted Jul 12, 2023
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Joy Ride
(2023)
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Chris McCoy
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I would have watched an entire film of the adventures of Young Audrey and Lolo.
Posted Jul 12, 2023
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Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret.
(2023)
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Chris McCoy
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It’s the acting that sends this adaptation into greatness.
Posted Jun 30, 2023
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Fast X
(2023)
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Chris McCoy
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Fast X is elevated by the presence of Aquaman and a flagrant disregard for human constraints like “good taste.” It’s the best film in the Fast & Furious series to kind of watch out of the corner of your eye while doing something else.
Posted Jun 30, 2023
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The Little Mermaid
(2023)
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Chris McCoy
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What, exactly, is the point of trying to redo masterpieces from the golden age of Disney animation with modern CGI tech?
Posted Jun 30, 2023
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Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse
(2023)
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Chris McCoy
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Across the Spider-Verse will be viewed as a landmark in animation, and rightfully so.
Posted Jun 30, 2023
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Dalíland
(2022)
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Chris McCoy
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The biggest problem with Dalíland is that you never get to see the artist’s paintings, only his eccentricities. Other people tell you how brilliant he is.
Posted Jun 30, 2023
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The Flash
(2023)
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Chris McCoy
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2023 was the year the superhero bubble finally burst. Warner Bros. scrapped Batgirl to bet the farm on walking PR disaster Ezra Miller. They lost $200 million on what is easily the worst film of the decade so far.
Posted Jun 30, 2023
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Asteroid City
(2023)
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Chris McCoy
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You can imitate the surface with flat performance and fussed-over mise-en-scène, but the qualities that make Anderson one of our greatest living filmmakers are more elusive. His secret sauce remains secret — perhaps even from the artist himself.
Posted Jun 30, 2023
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Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny
(2023)
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Chris McCoy
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Mangold takes a lot of big swings, and most of them connect.
Posted Jun 30, 2023
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Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery
(2022)
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Chris McCoy
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Like Knives Out, Glass Onion fronts as a frothy potboiler just out for a good time. But in its heart, it’s a scathing satire of our oligarchic ruling class.
Posted Jan 27, 2023
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