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David Edelstein

Senior Movie Critic
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  1. The Strange Ones Is an Arty But Suspenseful Drama That Evokes Serious DreadAlex Pettyfer and James Freedson-Jackson star as a mysterious pair of travelers in this paranoia-soaked, haunting film.
  2. Film Stars Don’t Die in Liverpool Is Awkward, But an Annette Bening ShowpieceThe story is too bounded, like a theater piece, but it’s a thrill to see Bening in juicy parts like this.
  3. Phantom Thread Underscores the Great Tragedy of Daniel Day-Lewis’s RetirementWe’re not so much watching Woodcock the rarefied designer as Day-Lewis the rarefied actor.
  4. With Molly’s Game, Jessica Chastain and Aaron Sorkin Prove to Be a Potent ComboAs a director, Sorkin puts you in the mood to hear actors talk very fast — and Chastain and co-star Idris Elba are virtuoso very-fast talkers.
  5. Jumanji Is Good, Clean, Slightly Bland FunYou could do worse than this one.
  6. The Post Is a Perfectly Timed, Crackling Movie — and a Meryl Streep ShowcaseSpielberg’s latest has the good fortune of coming out at a time when we’re primed for more stories of women taking the difficult path.
  7. movie review
    The Gripping In the Fade Is Anchored by a Tremendous Diane Kruger PerformanceBut it’s hard to know what to take away from this film by Fatih Akin, one of Germany’s most accomplished directors.
  8. movie review
    Michelle Williams Gives a Revelatory Performance in All the Money in the WorldA belatedly cast Christopher Plummer is getting headlines, but it’s Williams who deserves them.
  9. Star Wars: The Last Jedi Is Shockingly GoodIt feels like the first time the Force has extended to the director.
  10. I, Tonya Turns Tonya Harding From a Punch Line Into a Sympathetic CharacterThe black comedy, at times too broad, has standout performances from Allison Janney and Margot Robbie.
  11. The 11 Best Film Performances of 2017Including Margot Robbie, Brooklynn Prince, and Daniel Kaluuya.
  12. The 10 Best Movies of 2017Including Call Me by Your Name, BPM, and Valerian.
  13. The Other Side of Hope Is Tragic, Funny, Depressing, and InspiringIn Kaurismaki’s work, it’s as if the masks of comedy and tragedy don’t — as usual — face away from each other, but stare each other in the face.
  14. how to win an oscar
    Biopics Have Become Oscar Staples, But Can They Still Be Great Art?Don’t underestimate them.
  15. movie review
    The Disaster Artist Is the Ultimate James Franco ShowcaseThis is his Lincoln.
  16. Call Me by Your Name Is a MasterpieceEverything in the movie registers momentously.
  17. Jim & Andy: The Great Beyond Is an Amazing Look at the Cost to Great ArtistsThe doc brings you into Jim Carrey’s head in a way that Man on the Moon didn’t.
  18. Wonder Overflows With Empathy and HumanismJulia Roberts, Owen Wilson, and Jacob Tremblay tug insistently on our heartstrings.
  19. Justice League Tries to Lighten Up the DCU, But Droops InsteadIt’s as if the actors know they’re coming from behind.
  20. Thelma Is Like Carrie Remade by Ingmar BergmanThe psychodrama is both more mysterious and more accessible than Joachim Trier’s other films.
  21. Murder on the Orient Express Is a Mild RideKenneth Branagh’s update on the classic story is a good bet for those unfamiliar, but a bit of a snooze otherwise.
  22. One of Us is a Fascinating Look at Leaving Ultra-Orthodox JudaismCo-directors Rachel Grady and Heidi Ewing have a visceral aversion to fundamentalist religions.
  23. movie review
    Review: Three Billboards Unsettlingly Blends Eccentricity and TragedyWriter-director Martin McDonagh begins with a finely calibrated mix of melancholy and quirk, but it ultimately turns broad to the point of silliness.
  24. My Friend Dahmer Is a Fascinating Portrait of an Incipient Serial KillerMarc Meyers humanizes Jeffrey Dahmer without minimizing his monstrousness — or his mystery.
  25. Roman J. Israel, Esq., Is a Formula Movie With a Doozy of a TwistWhat diminishes the movie is the same thing that holds you: Denzel Washington’s magnetism.
  26. Last Flag Flying Is Hard to Endure — But Worth ItIt’s in the uncertainties and dissonances of the film that Richard Linklater’s humanism really expresses itself.
  27. The Best Movies of 2017 (So Far)Including Get Out, Baby Driver, and The Beguiled.
  28. movie review
    Greta Gerwig’s Lady Bird Marks the Arrival of a Major Directorial TalentEverything comes together for Gerwig in her marvelous solo directorial debut.
  29. In Novitiate, Catholicism and Eroticism Go Hand in HandThe movie creeps up to the brink of “nunsploitation” but remains for the most part giggle-free.
  30. Suburbicon Is Schizoid, Sanctimonious PulpTo sum up my feelings about Suburbicon on the fly: Huh?
  31. Thor: Ragnarok’s Deadpan, Camp Comedy Elevates It Into the StratosphereTaika Waititi is a wonderful comic director, but the cookie-cutter plot brings the movie back down to Earth.
  32. Jane Is a Captivating Look at Jane Goodall’s Exploration of ‘the Great Mystery’We disagree on many things, but we can all agree on Jane Goodall.
  33. The Snowman Is a StiffTomas Alfredson’s adaptation of Jo Nesbo’s serial-killer story is a bad match of director and material.
  34. movies
    BPM Is a Vital Testament to Public ActionWe should watch BPM and ask, “How disruptive are we willing to be?”
  35. Every Todd Haynes Movie, RankedAs Wonderstruck hits theaters, we look at Haynes’s filmography, from Safe to Carol.
  36. Goodbye Christopher Robin Is Overfermented HoneyThe tale of Christopher Robin Milne’s childhood lost is decent but overripe.
  37. Woody Allen’s Wonder Wheel Is Obvious and Old-HatPerhaps Allen doesn’t think people can really transcend anything ever.
  38. Jackie Chan’s The Foreigner Is Weightier Than Your Standard Revenge DramaIt’s serious to a fault, but it’s unpredictable, and has gravitas.
  39. The Simple, Goreless Joys of Happy Death DayThe movie is no big deal, but its Groundhog Day conceit is kind of irresistible.
  40. Take My Nose …Please, a Buoyant, Troubling Look at Funny Women & Plastic SurgeryEmily Askin and Jackie Hoffman wonder whether going under the knife is empowering or a result of brainwashing.
  41. Give Yourself Over to the Ridiculous Fantasy of The Mountain Between UsIn which the beautiful Idris Elba and Kate Winslet gaze longingly at each other while subtext swirls around them like falling snow.
  42. The Death and Life of Marsha P. Johnson Is a Shattering DocumentaryThe film investigates the mysterious death of trans activist and icon Marsha P. Johnson — and the city that let it go unsolved for decades.
  43. how movies are written now
    Sequels Are Killing the Art of the ScreenplayConsider The Mummy, a textbook case of what happens when a studio’s drive to build franchises, tentpoles, and universes rearranges a screenplay’s DNA.
  44. Flatliners Is Embarrassing, Third-Rate, and UnrevivableThe new version loses the original’s most intriguing element, and turns into tidy, cornball, Sunday school moralism.
  45. Our Souls at Night Is a Contrived But Enjoyable Fonda-Redford ReunionFifty years after Barefoot in the Park, Jane and Robert give us good vibes again.
  46. Blade Runner 2049 Can’t Match Its PredecessorDenis Villeneuve’s vision is more sentimental and less striking than Blade Runner.
  47. The Most-Anticipated Movies at the New York Film FestivalIncluding Linklater’s latest, Mary J. Blige’s breakout performance in an Oscar-worthy role, and Sean Baker’s dazzling follow-up to Tangerine.
  48. Victoria & Abdul Bears a Passing Resemblance to a Good MovieStephen Frears’s touch has gotten heavier and more dodderingly tasteful, but Judi Dench has held onto her magic.
  49. Battle of the Sexes Is Buoyant Propaganda — But It’s Very EntertainingIf Battle of the Sexes is unsurprising to a fault, it’s by no means a double fault.
  50. Kingsman: The Golden Circle Is Bloated, Campy, and Thoroughly StupidA sequel was de rigueur, of course, but what a mess it is.
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