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Bilge Ebiri

Movie Critic
See all their articles from across New York Magazine

Bilge Ebiri is a film critic for New York and Vulture. His work has appeared in The Village Voice, the New York Times, Rolling Stone, and the Criterion Collection.

  1. movie review
    Sorry, But Avatar Still RulesJames Cameron’s 2009 blockbuster is back in theaters to remind us how special and spectacular it is.
  2. remembrance
    Everyone Has Their Own GodardFor all his godlike splendor, there is no other filmmaker over whom so many people can claim ownership, each in their own distinct manner.
  3. biennale cinema 2022
    About That Blowjob Scene in BlondeThe Blonde cast and crew seem surprised at the film’s NC-17 rating. It’s pretty clear to anyone who has seen it that this scene is the reason why.
  4. biennale cinema 2022
    Lars von Trier Has No Final ReassurancesThe final season of The Kingdom is twisted and distressing, yet returning to the series’ confines is like slipping into a warm embrace.
  5. biennale cinema 2022
    The Whale Is a Perfect Comeback Role for Brendan FraserProsthetic or no, it’s hard to imagine anyone else in the part, frankly.
  6. biennale cinema 2022
    The Iñárritu Wars Begin AgainAlejandro Gonzalez Iñárritu’s much-hyped and achingly sincere Netflix movie Bardo arrived at Venice, only to be swiftly panned.
  7. biennale cinema 2022
    Believe Everything You’ve Heard About Cate Blanchett in TárShe is sensational in Todd Field’s film, playing an imperious chief conductor. But she has to be sensational.
  8. biennale cinema 2022
    Ath-e-na, Ath-e-na, Ath-e-naRomain Gavras’s electrifying new film turns an uprising in a French housing project into a brutal, riveting Greek tragedy.
  9. a long talk
    ‘Come Back Tomorrow Night and I’ll Tell You’George Miller on the healing and destructive powers of language and storytelling.
  10. biennale cinema 2022
    Noah Baumbach Turned White Noise Into a 1980s Spielbergian Spectacle (Sort of)Yet this black comedy may be too bizarre to be appreciated by those waiting for a big, star-studded festival oomph.
  11. movie review
    … And a Bullet to Balance the ScalesIn The Good Boss, Javier Bardem plays an affable company owner whose desire for calm and control drags him toward corruption and cruelty.
  12. movie review
    One of Our Greatest Fabulists Is Back With Three Thousand Years of LongingGeorge Miller’s modern-day fable, starring Idris Elba and Tilda Swinton, is about the power of stories to seduce and entrap.
  13. let’s do it again
    The 102 Best Movie Sequels of All TimeWho in the world wanted a Top Gun sequel? Not even Tom Cruise, but that didn’t stop Maverick from getting made and soaring in our ranks.
  14. movie review
    ‘Traveling Light’ Is a Dreamy, Harrowing Return to Our First COVID SummerBernard Rose and Danny Huston have spent the past two decades exploring the vapid desolation of Los Angeles. This might be their darkest work yet.
  15. movie review
    Beast Is the Very Model of a Tight, Tense ThrillerIdris Elba is quite compelling fighting both a lion and his own private demons.
  16. remembrance
    Farewell to Wolfgang Petersen, and to the Sincere Action MovieThe director turned silly melodramas into works of pure catharsis, and defined a generation of American action films in the process.
  17. is this hell?
    Event Horizon Gets Better With AgePaul W.S. Anderson made a gruesome sci-fi film with mostly practical effects. 25 years later, he knows it looks terrific.
  18. the dumping ground
    Hollywood Forgot About the August MovieStudios have been understandably cautious in 2022, but the decision to not extend their great comeback summer is a strategic miscalculation.
  19. a long talk
    Wes Studi Traveled His Own Road HereOn his time in Vietnam, his activism in the American Indian Movement, and his first romantic lead role in A Love Song.
  20. movie review
    Run Me Over, Bullet TrainDavid Leitch’s film is all manipulation and extended cinematic sleight of hand. It begs you to surrender logic and simply enjoy it.
  21. movie review
    In A Love Song, Dale Dickey and Wes Studi Finally Take Center StageIt’s the simplest of tales, but there’s a complex universe of longing contained within it.
  22. movie review
    Good Luck Sleeping After Seeing ResurrectionRebecca Hall and Tim Roth are both perfect in Andrew Semans’s incredibly tense psychological thriller.
  23. movie review
    Where the Crawdads Sing Eats Itself into NothingnessThe movie is largely faithful to the novel’s story, but it’s lacking in atmosphere.
  24. movie review
    The Sea Beast Plays Like an Old-fashioned Live-action AdventureNetflix’s latest animated film is so thoroughly immersive and tactile it might make you believe in sea monsters.
  25. movie review
    The Riveting Coming-of-Age Drama Murina Is Filmmaking of the Highest OrderCroatian director Antoneta Alamat Kusijanović’s feature debut, which won an award at Cannes, heralds the arrival of a major new talent.
  26. movie review
    Minions: The Rise of Gru Isn’t Smart Enough to Be Truly StupidInspired idiocy requires wit and invention, but the latest entry in the Despicable Me franchise doesn’t quite get there.
  27. movie review
    There’s a Better Story The Black Phone Wishes It Could TellEthan Hawke and some excellent young actors are the real highlight of this horror movie from the director of Sinister.
  28. movie review
    Marcel the Shell With Shoes On Is the Gentlest of Gut PunchesIt’s the most unassuming of movies, but don’t be shocked if it leaves you an emotional wreck.
  29. movie review
    Cha Cha Real Smooth Grins and Goes NowhereYour tolerance for this movie will likely hinge on your tolerance for writer-director-producer-star Cooper Raiff as a cinematic presence.
  30. close reads
    The Best Scene in Heat Just Isn’t the Same Without These TwoIf you ever wanted to see what one of the most iconic scenes in film history would look like with, well, two other guys, now’s your chance.
  31. movie review
    Chris Hemsworth’s Career-Best Performance Elevates Netflix’s SpiderheadTop Gun: Maverick director Joseph Kosinski’s futuristic prison thriller is bizarre, thoughtful, and surprisingly funny.
  32. movie review
    The Savage and Catty Lost Illusions Only Looks Like a Stuffy Period PieceA remorselessly entertaining Balzac adaptation for our time.
  33. movie review
    Hustle Is Pure Adam Sandler Wish FulfillmentSandler’s sincere performance helps sell this Netflix sports drama, which sometimes feels like a party the actor gave so he could meet his heroes.
  34. movie review
    The Jurassic World Trilogy Has Painted Itself Into a CornerThe only wow factor in Jurassic World: Dominion is the awesome depth of its failure.
  35. movie review
    Terence Davies’s Benediction Is an Anti-BiopicA formally daring, ultimately devastating look at the life of British poet Siegfried Sassoon.
  36. exit interview
    Joseph Kosinski’s Vast, Lonely WorldsThe Oblivion and Tron: Legacy director knew just how to pitch a Top Gun sequel to Tom Cruise: “Maverick is still Maverick,” he said. “But he’s alone.”
  37. movie review
    Vengeance Is Mine, a Blast from an Unknown Past, Arrives in TheatersOriginally made in 1984, Michael Roemer’s riveting family drama is finally getting a theatrical release.
  38. summer preview
    What Will Be the Biggest Movie of the Summer?Vulture bets on five films that will break through the hottest months of 2022, in whatever ways they can.
  39. a long talk
    Gaspar Noé Is Not in ControlNoé’s films have always been about the chaos of losing control. His latest, Vortex and Lux Aeterna, seem to get bracingly personal, too.
  40. close read
    Tom Cruise’s Last StandThirty-six years after the original, Top Gun: Maverick eulogizes the actor’s entire career, and an America that may not exist anymore.
  41. movie review
    The Lifeless New Firestarter Will Leave You ColdThey took a Stephen King novel and turned it into a hostage video starring Zac Efron.
  42. this much i know to be true
    Lessons From Filming Nick Cave’s Journey Through Grief“The constant concern was just, is it grief porn? Is it exploitative? Where’s the line?”
  43. movie review
    In Memory, Liam Neeson Gets to Act More Than UsualMartin Campbell’s hitman-with-dementia film offers visceral violence and surprising anguish.
  44. movie review
    Gaspar Noé’s Vortex Is His Most Human Film. And His Cruelest.Every second of this brutal, beautiful film seethes with emotion of an intensely personal kind.
  45. let’s do it again
    A Discussion of Blade Runner 2049 in 2022What a five-year-old movie can tell us about the future of franchises and whether movies are moving backward.
  46. movie review
    How to Save a Movie Star From HimselfIn The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent, Nicolas Cage tries very hard to be Nicolas Cage.
  47. vulture lists
    The Batman Director Matt Reeves’s 10 Favorite Movie Kills“Spielberg really sets the table, to tell you that nothing is off the table. He lets you know from the beginning that there are no rules.”
  48. movie review
    Sequelitis Claims Its Latest Victim With Sonic the Hedgehog 2Jim Carrey does what he can, but this time it’s not enough. Unlike the first movie, this one feels like pure product.
  49. q&a
    Ukrainian Director Sergei Loznitsa on the ‘Absurd’ Boycott of Russian FilmsThe Donbass and Babi Yar. Context director discusses his unexpected expulsion from the Ukrainian Film Academy and the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
  50. it’s coming
    What Was It About Michael Douglas?As the go-to fall guy in erotic thrillers, the actor represented the ultimate boomer avatar: the male ego under siege.
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