Bilge Ebiri Author Archive
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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. 100 scares
    The 100 Scares That Shaped HorrorFrom Frankenstein to Freddy to the “sunken place,” the terrifying moments that formed the genre (and our nightmares).
  2. movie review
    The Mercy Is Both Moving and ConfusingIt’s got Colin Firth and Rachel Weisz in top form, and The Mercy nails the emotion, but comes up somewhat short as a narrative.
  3. profile
    How Bernardo Bertolucci Found Himself“If I don’t fall in love with my characters,” said the director, “I cannot shoot.”
  4. movie review
    Creed II Is More of a Rocky Sequel, But It Still Lands Some Solid PunchesCreed II is pretty rough around the edges, in a way that the blisteringly confident and unexpectedly stylized Creed was not.
  5. movie review
    Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald Is a Tedious Slog, But It Ends WellAmid all the exposition and setup, nobody really seems to do anything.
  6. movie review
     Instant Family Is Both Utterly Heartfelt and Utterly ShamelessDon’t be surprised if the Mark Wahlberg–Rose Byrne foster-care epic makes a trillion dollars.
  7. movies
    Ansel Elgort Shows Real Range in the Otherwise Mediocre JonathanJonathan is good enough for us to want it to be better.
  8. unfinished business
    A Guide to Orson Welles’s Other Unfinished MoviesThe legendary director’s career was filled with incomplete projects, reaching all the way back to before Citizen Kane.
  9. movie review
    Jason Mantzoukas Steals The Long Dumb RoadWhere we might expect escalating lunacy, Mantzoukas and director Hannah Fidell bring … something else.
  10. movie review
    The Grinch Handles Dr. Seuss’s Classic With CareMostly, it offers a touching opportunity to enjoy the increasingly rare sight of a wicked one seeing the error of his ways.
  11. movie review
    They’ll Love Me When I’m Dead Is IntoxicatingMorgan Neville gives us a sense of just how much Orson Welles transformed over the years, both intentionally and unintentionally.
  12. movie review
    Nobody’s Fool Is a Charming MessNot caring about narrative structure means Tyler Perry can let Tiffany Haddish go to town for long stretches.
  13. movie review
    Bodied Is Dazzling, Aggravating, and FascinatingJoseph Kahn’s battle rap comedy-drama is uneven, but it has the fire where it counts.
  14. horror
    Mothra, Jigoku, Godzilla: a Postwar Japanese Horror PrimerTales of the supernatural reflected the anxieties of a society that had suffered the unthinkable terrors of war, and was still processing.
  15. horror
    What Makes a Movie Monster Scary?As technology has improved, our monsters have gotten more ornate and grotesque — but less genuinely terrifying.
  16. movie review
    A Bumbling Spy Returns in the Resoundingly Mild Johnny English Strikes AgainRowan Atkinson revives a espionage hero for another not-so-daring comedic adventure.
  17. movie review
    Sub Thriller Hunter Killer Is a Satisfyingly Clichéd Throwback to Simpler TimesGerard Butler stars in an undersea thriller filled with sub-movie hallmarks and featuring a competent American government trying to do its best.
  18. movie review
    Jonah Hill’s Mid90s Shows Promise, But Never Quite Makes an ImpactHill’s directorial debut reflects its protagonist: It’s a collection of postures, moods, and music cues, looking for a reason to exist.
  19. movie review
    Melanie Laurent’s Galveston Is Pitch Black and Paper ThinStarring Ben Foster and Elle Fanning, it not only fails to find a way to reinvent tired ideas, it also piles a few more tired ideas on top of it.
  20. space movies
    First Man, Gravity, 2001: A Space Odyssey: When Auteurs Go to SpaceThe emptiness of the cosmos, combined with the sudden malleability of time, has a way of bringing out the more experimental side of filmmakers.
  21. movie review
    Apostle Is So Batshit It Makes The Wicker Man Look Like GoosebumpsApostle is ultimately an absorbing, horrifying movie that’s maybe not as smart as it wants to be. But it’s more disturbing than you’d expect.
  22. movie review
    Goosebumps 2: Haunted Halloween Lacks the Original’s BiteThe sequel replicates the template and the atmosphere of the original, but it’s missing the invention and emotional investment.
  23. movies
    The 25 Greatest Movie Actors Who’ve Directed ThemselvesIn honor of Bradley Cooper and A Star Is Born, we look at the best movie-star–directors of all time.
  24. movie review
    Liza, Cher, Warhol: Studio 54 and the Greatest Party You Weren’t Invited ToMatt Tyrnauer’s documentary is swift and entertaining — but later veers into odd, branded-content territory.
  25. interviews
    Peter Bogdanovich’s Complex Relationships with Orson Welles and Burt Reynolds“I liked Burt, but he was a bit of a shit. He blew with the wind.”
  26. new york film festival 2018
    High Life, The Favourite, and 16 More Movies We Can’t Wait to See at NYFFRachel Weisz and Emma Stone vying for Olivia Colman’s affection! Juliette Binoche and a sex machine!
  27. movies
    ‘Let It Burn’: Assassination Nation and the Cinema of the EndAssassination speaks to a trend in today’s movies: a sense that our current social and political trajectories make peaceful reconciliation impossible.
  28. movies
    How Does Bel Canto Measure Up As an Opera Movie?Opera is the right vessel for the changing social dynamics Bel Canto seeks to portray. But at times, the film seems to hold it at a distance.
  29. deep dives
    Will Terrence Malick Ever Really Finish The Tree of Life?We break down the differences between the original and the new cut, released today.
  30. obituaries
    Burt Reynolds’s Rare, Ramshackle HonestySomething honest always came through from Reynolds — like he’d let all of us in on a secret.
  31. vulture lists
    Every Julia Roberts Performance, RankedFrom Wonder to Pretty Woman.
  32. Will Ben Stiller’s Characters Ever Grow Up?The secret of Stiller’s success: His perennial man-children connect with a universal sense of inadequacy within us all.
  33. sundance 2016
    Movie Review: The Eyes of My MotherThe twisted dream logic keeps the film from becoming a horror cliché.
  34. lost classics
    On Gates of Fire, Michael Mann’s Stalled EpicLike the brave, doomed Spartans at Thermopylae who managed to hold off the Persians long enough, the film might have kept Zack Snyder from making 300.
  35. lost classics
    What Happens When Filmmakers Raid Dead Directors’ Unmade Projects?It’s often fascinating to watch two strong directorial sensibilities clash.
  36. getting technical
    Jack Fisk on Designing Revenant, Knight of Cups“Alejandro would say, Let’s put a forest up here! It seems crazy to be working on that scale, but we would be moving fifty-foot trees all over the place.”
  37. movie review
    Eddie the Eagle Is a Light, Fun Underdog StoryThe movie doesn’t get a medal but you might cheer for it anyway.
  38. oscars 2016
    Join Vulture’s Oscars Live Blog With Critics David Edelstein and Bilge EbiriStarting at 8 p.m.
  39. movie review
    Gods of Egypt Is Like Watching Someone Else Play a Video GameThe Gods (or whoever made this movie) must be crazy.
  40. subway week
    The Best Subway Movie Moments of All TimeThe movies love the MTA.
  41. movie reviews
    Race Works Best When It Focuses on Jesse OwensThere’s a lot of tempering going on here.
  42. movie reviews
    Risen Takes a Novel But Grim Approach to the Familiar Crucifixion TaleRisen plays out like a no-nonsense procedural.
  43. movie review
    The Overlooked Mermaid Is a Hilarious FantasyIt’s You’ve Got Mail with mermaids.
  44. movie reviews
    Mountains May Depart Is Both a Look Back and a ProphecyJia Zhangke’s films have become a part of the Chinese culture he vivisects.
  45. movie reviews
    How to Be Single Is Ready to Quietly MingleThe sometimes-raunchy movie works best when it’s tender and contemplative.
  46. movie reviews
    Jack Reynor’s Performance Holds the Bleak Glassland TogetherThis is a bleak, painful movie.
  47. chat room
    Michael Mann Looks Back on His Career, Talks Innovation, Dialogue, and Diversity“I do some of my best work when I’m on a personal frontier, pushing different ways of conveying an emotion.”
  48. movie reviews
    The Club Exists in a Place of Spiritual and Physical ExileWhat to make of a film like this?
  49. movie reviews
    Regression Is a Disappointing Genre ExerciseThis is not a return to form for Amenabar.
  50. movie reviews
    The Choice Isn’t a Good Movie, But It Has PuppiesIt’s hard to resist a goddamn Nicholas Sparks movie with puppies.
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