Daily coverage of Criticism by Vulture

Criticism

  1. movie review
    The Tragedy of Macbeth Is Basically One Phenomenal Denzel Washington PerformanceJoel Coen’s stark Shakespeare adaptation could have gone even more minimalist and had a cast of only two, to be honest.
    By Alison Willmore
  2. theater review
    Bond and Costanzo, Emotions Laid Bare, in Only an Octave ApartIf you clap hard enough — and you’d better — you’ll hear their encore, a mash-up of “Walk Like an Egyptian” and Philip Glass’s Akhnaten.
    By Helen Shaw
  3. tv review
    Foundation Is a Very Beautiful Sci-Fi ScreensaverThe big-budget science-fiction adaptation from Apple TV+ is stunning to watch, even when it fails to stick emotionally or narratively.
    By Kathryn VanArendonk
  4. tv review
    Midnight Mass Provokes More Thoughts Than ScreamsHamish Linklater’s performance makes this Mike Flanagan’s best Netflix series to date, even if it’s a less frightening experience altogether.
    By Jen Chaney
  5. tv review
    The Handsome Tragedies of Y: The Last ManThe FX on Hulu show poses spiky questions about gender, family, and human nature in the midst of trauma. Does it have the skill to answer them?
    By Angelica Jade Bastién
  6. album review
    Lil Nas X Deserves a Better IndustryBuried under all the frustrating discourse is Montero, a short, sweet album about learning to love yourself and demanding respect.
    By Craig Jenkins
  7. theater review
    Sanctuary City Isn’t Always a RefugeAn undocumented-immigration story that takes a sharp turn.
    By Helen Shaw
  8. movie review
    Dear Evan Hansen Walks Through the Uncanny Valley, Ascends AnywayWhen the movie Dear Evan Hansen works, it’s working against the original musical’s platitudes and giving weight to its inherent brutality.
    By Helen Shaw
  9. podcasts
    Say You’re Sorry Explores the Art of the Public ApologyThe new podcast from Lux Alptraum asks what it is we really want when we’ve been wronged.
    By Nicholas Quah
  10. tv review
    The Emmys Need to Watch More TVIn a television landscape undergoing explosive growth, the TV Academy isn’t looking far or wide enough.
    By Jen Chaney
  11. movie review
    Let Nicolas Cage Guide You Through the Madness of Prisoners of the GhostlandIn Japanese director Sion Sono’s eye-popping postapocalyptic Western-samurai-sci-fi epic, the actor gets to play hero, villain, and clown.
    By Bilge Ebiri
  12. movie review
    The Eyes of Tammy Faye Is All Eyelashes, No TeethJessica Chastain goes big as the disgraced televangelist’s wife, but the movie doesn’t know what to make of Tammy Faye beyond her outrageous style.
    By Alison Willmore
  13. book review
    The Magician Resists the Shallow Gestures of the Hollywood BiopicColm Tóibín’s new novel about Thomas Mann reaches for depths in its subject that mainstream film wouldn’t bother with.
    By Rumaan Alam
  14. tv review
    The Morning Show Is Silly, Melodramatic, and Undeniably CaptivatingIn season two of the Apple TV+ series, characters make choices that make no sense whatsoever, with a regularity that’s half the show’s appeal.
    By Kathryn VanArendonk
  15. movie review
    Copshop Is a Nasty, Nutty SlaughterfestGerard Butler continues to do the lord’s work.
    By Bilge Ebiri
  16. book review
    In Chang-rae Lee’s My Year Abroad, There’s No Escaping the SelfThe novel by Chang-rae Lee turns a coming-of-age trope into something much more bleak and strange.
    By Jennifer Schaffer-Goddard
  17. movie review
    Clint Eastwood’s Lovely, Awkward Cry Macho Is As Fragile As Its 91-Year-Old StarThe picture doesn’t always work, but it works when it has to.
    By Bilge Ebiri
  18. tv review
    The Premise Is FlawedB.J. Novak brings you an anthology series determined to take viewers into the hot-take zone.
    By Jen Chaney
  19. theater review
    Twelfth Night: Richard Nelson’s Rhinebeck Cycle Comes to a CloseIn the twelfth and final play in the series, the extended Michael family gathers overseas.
    By Helen Shaw
  20. album review
    Kacey Musgraves Further Divorces Expectation on star-crossedHer fifth album suggests the intention was never to leave country behind but rather to devise a more balanced and varied approach to it.
    By Craig Jenkins
  21. movie review
    Queenpins Somehow Makes a Coupon-Scam Caper a DragThe new movie ping-pongs between buoyant caper, farce, and female empowerment drama without ever lingering long enough to make an impact.
    By Jen Chaney
  22. tv review
    Oscar Isaac and Jessica Chastain Give Life to Scenes From a MarriageThe HBO remake of Ingmar Bergman’s miniseries is an extraordinarily well-acted, often affecting meditation on what bonds and divides two people.
    By Jen Chaney
  23. tv review
    LuLaRich Is Another Perfectly Adequate Docuseries About Scam CultureThe new four-part Amazon series is LuLaReliable and LuLaRewarding, but not LuLaRadical.
    By Kathryn VanArendonk
  24. album review
    Everything Is Exactly the SameCertified Lover Boy is a patient trickle of Drake lore and fan service that could have come out as is at almost any point along the last decade.
    By Craig Jenkins
  25. book review
    You’ve Heard This One BeforeMaggie Nelson believes we react too quickly and think ungenerously. In her new book, she’s guilty of both.
    By Andrea Long Chu
  26. book review
    Sally Rooney in the StruggleBeautiful World, Where Are You is both her clearest attempt to wrestle with big ideas and her least readable novel.
    By Jane Hu
  27. movie review
    Tiffany Haddish and Oscar Isaac Are Off-Kilter Hot Together in The Card CounterWhat does professional poker have in common with enhanced interrogation? This lean, mean thriller (of sorts) from Paul Schrader.
    By Alison Willmore
  28. album review
    Kanye’s Power and Glory Finally Feel FiniteDonda’s messaging clashes as much as its music.
    By Craig Jenkins
  29. movie review
    The Power of the Dog and Jane Campion’s Triumphant ReturnHer new Western starring Benedict Cumberbatch and Kirsten Dunst may be one of her greatest films.
    By Bilge Ebiri
  30. tv review
    Impeachment Asks Us to Gaze Upon Our Own DiscomfortThe newest American Crime Story is imperfect but transfixing, pushing the familiar tale of presidential scandal into the realm of American myth.
    By Kathryn VanArendonk
  31. movie review
    Shang-Chi Treats Tony Leung As More Compelling Than Its HeroThere’s something cruel about putting Simu Liu up against a legend of Hong Kong cinema who is the very embodiment of what it means to be a movie star.
    By Alison Willmore
  32. movie review
    Camila Cabello’s Girlboss Cinderella Is Nothing to Sing AboutJames Corden’s take on the not-so-feminist tale joins a relentless advance of pandemic movie musicals.
    By Jackson McHenry
  33. tv review
    What We Do in the Shadows Is the Best Vampire Workplace Comedy on TVLook who’s the boss in season three.
    By Jen Chaney
  34. tv review
    Only Murders in the Building Is a Joyful True-Crime Parody RompThe new Hulu series co-created by Steve Martin sometimes works better in concept than in execution, but its flaws do not make it any less charming.
    By Kathryn VanArendonk
  35. theater review
    Ni Mi Madre Is a Stellar One-Man, One-Mom Show“Is he making fun? Is he paying homage? Yes and yes.”
    By Helen Shaw
  36. album review
    Halsey’s Rock Album Is Perfect AlchemyIf I Can’t Have Love, I Want Power is proof Trent Reznor could have a pop career if he wanted. It’s also the best Halsey album.
    By Craig Jenkins
  37. tv review
    Please Pay Attention to The Other TwoThe overlooked entertainment-industry satire is back on HBO Max with a second season that deserves the sort of recognition its protagonists crave.
    By Jen Chaney
  38. movie review
    Candyman Is a Soulless, Didactic ReimaginingNia DaCosta and Jordan Peele’s horror sequel gravely misunderstands the allure of the original and has nothing meaningful to say on its own.
    By Angelica Jade Bastién
  39. theater review
    In Islander, a Toxic Man Faces Off With HimselfDrama built from verbatim transcripts of an NHL star.
    By Helen Shaw
  40. animation
    Evangelion 3.0+1.0 Annihilates Its Own Animation to Reveal ItselfAnime director Hideaki Anno excavates his characters’ emotions by deconstructing the world around them.
    By Eric Vilas-Boas
  41. theater review
    Theater Review: Pass Over Reaches for the Promised LandAn ambitious play (with a rewrite to suit the changed national mood) marks Broadway’s return.
    By Helen Shaw
  42. movie review
    The Protégé Is Uninspiring Action Movie Comfort Food. But It Is Comfort Food.The fights are good, the dialogue is lousy, and it’s been a long week. No judgments.
    By Bilge Ebiri
  43. movie review
    Hugh Jackman’s Sci-fi Noir Reminiscence Is Weirdly BoringIt’s not that director Lisa Joy, the co-creator of Westworld, doesn’t have interesting ideas — but they’re all shoved to the side.
    By Alison Willmore
  44. one great story
    The Reintroduction of Lorde, Reluctant RoyalSolar Power seems anxious to shatter our expectations, to communicate that Lorde isn’t and maybe never was the figure many assumed she was.
    By Craig Jenkins
  45. movie review
    The Beautiful, Baffling Annette Dares You to Take It SeriouslyAdam Driver and Marion Cotillard bare it all, in more ways than one, for Leos Carax and Sparks’ moving, bizarre musical.
    By Bilge Ebiri
  46. tv review
    Add The Chair to Your ScheduleNetflix’s satire of contemporary academia is a gem that features an excellent performance by Sandra Oh.
    By Jen Chaney
  47. essay
    The Smith Family Legacy Was Built for WillowWillow Smith is an oddity in music, and not just because of the pedigree.
    By Craig Jenkins
  48. tv review
    Nine Perfect Strangers Is Alluring But EmptyThe promise of a strong cast and an intriguing premise isn’t enough to compensate for this limited series’s lack of identity.
    By Jen Chaney
  49. movie review
    Of Course the Murdering Rapist From Don’t Breathe Is the Protagonist NowWe love to make a horror villain into someone you’re meant to root for — the thrills of the genre make it irresistible.
    By Alison Willmore
  50. song review
    If Lizzo Still Makes You Uncomfortable, Oh WellLizzo and Cardi B use “Rumors” to remind the audience why they clap back as harshly and as routinely as they do.
    By Craig Jenkins
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