Daily coverage of Criticism by Vulture

Criticism

  1. tv review
    Too Hot to Handle Is Your New Trashy Netflix Reality ObsessionIt’s a social experiment run by a talking metal cone, but it’s also a fishbowl full of hot people being controlled by bored producers.
    By Kathryn VanArendonk
  2. tv review
    Mrs. America Isn’t Just a History LessonLed by an all-star cast, the FX on Hulu limited series is an addictive retelling of the Equal Rights Amendment fight.
    By Matt Zoller Seitz
  3. theater review
    A Play for Your Ears Only: Heather Christian’s Prime: A Practical BreviaryAn audio-only play (but not exactly a radio drama) for our particular time.
    By Helen Shaw
  4. tv review
    SNL Can Adapt to the Social Distancing Era — But Maybe Not Like ThisThis week’s “at home” experiment had its moments, but it also spoke to what the live-comedy institution can and cannot be in the midst of a pandemic.
    By Jen Chaney
  5. movie review
    Sea Fever Is Eerily Timely, But Also Just Plain EerieThere is a scary monster, but this Irish horror indie is mostly about disease and quarantine.
    By Bilge Ebiri
  6. tv review
    Killing Eve Can Still Shock in Season 3, But It Can No Longer AstonishThe jarring season premiere reveals a series that once felt like nothing else on television now using shock value as a crutch.
    By Jen Chaney
  7. movie review
    Trolls World Tour Is an Anti-Rockist Variation on Infinity WarThis time, Thanos is a hard rocker with magic guitar strings and an anti-synth agenda.
    By Bilge Ebiri
  8. tv review
    Can Making the Cut Scratch That Project Runway Itch?The similarities between the new Amazon series and Tim and Heidi’s former show are undeniable, but some key changes alter the viewing experience.
    By Kathryn VanArendonk
  9. tv review
    I Worried The Good Fight’s New Season Would Feel Out of Touch. I Was Wrong.How does a show so uncannily attuned to our current moment function with a massive chasm between it and our new reality? As it turns out, very well.
    By Kathryn VanArendonk
  10. theater review
    WrestleMania Broke MeDispatches from two full nights of WrestleContent.
    By Helen Shaw
  11. tv review
    Run Is a Next-Level Escapist FantasyA spontaneous cross-country journey with Merritt Wever and Domhnall Gleeson? In this climate? Yes, please.
    By Jen Chaney
  12. vulture guides
    So, Which Quibis Are Worth Your Time?Just because an episode is under 10 minutes doesn’t mean it’s time well spent.
    By Jen Chaney, Kathryn VanArendonk, and Genevieve Koski
  13. movie review
    In The Other Lamb, Misandry Is a Survival InstinctGiven all the godly males who’ve been steering their flocks toward certain doom, the film has a special resonance in the spring of 2020.
    By David Edelstein
  14. album review
    The Weeknd and Partynextdoor’s Dirtbag R&B Is Hard to BeatTwo of our finest R&B villains are at it again on After Hours and Partymobile.
    By Craig Jenkins
  15. docuseries
    Tiger King Is a Train Wreck — Nothing More, Nothing LessNetflix’s latest must-see series is an extreme, flawed example of a WTF docuseries that generates lots of conversation but little clarity.
    By Jen Chaney
  16. movie review
    Seriously, Why Is Vin Diesel a Star?In his latest movie Bloodshot, Diesel is like an unfinished statue, hulking and aggressively bland.
    By Angelica Jade Bastién
  17. song review
    Bob Dylan’s New JFK Assassination Epic Couldn’t Be More PrescientThe Nobel Prize for Literature awarded to Dylan in 2016 remains in good hands.
    By Craig Jenkins
  18. album review
    Dua Lipa’s Here to StayFuture Nostalgia is one of the best pop albums of the young year.
    By Craig Jenkins
  19. tv review
    Unorthodox Is a Beautiful Portrait of a Woman’s RebirthPut Netflix’s new four-episode series at the top of your “what to binge in isolation” list.
    By Jen Chaney
  20. movie review
    Crip Camp Is a Transcendent Celebration of Activist CultureIt’s a shame this Netflix movie can’t be seen with a large, boisterous audience. It’ll make you want to dance and light up a joint.
    By David Edelstein
  21. but is it good?
    A Debate About Tiger King Between Me and MyselfNetflix’s buzzy true-crime series about big cats and the criminal weirdos who keep them is undeniably absorbing. Is that enough?
    By Kathryn VanArendonk
  22. coronavirus
    Andrew Cuomo’s Daily Press Briefing Is the Most Important Show on TVThe must-see TV of the coronavirus pandemic.
    By Jen Chaney
  23. close reads
    Is There Any Hope for Picard?The series still has the potential to reach greatness, but only if it can engage the Star Trek franchise’s most essential quality.
    By Angelica Jade Bastién
  24. movie review
    Portrait of a Lady on Fire Is a Grand, Capital-R RomanceCeline Sciamma’s lesbian period film starts off as a story about looking, but its heart lies in less obvious, more suggestive cinematic elements.
    By Bilge Ebiri
  25. movie review
    The Way Back Will Make You Believe Ben Affleck’s Best Roles Are Yet to ComeAffleck is uncomfortably great in a movie that’s more about emotional repression than basketball.
    By Alison Willmore
  26. movie review
    Birds of Prey Gives Us a Post-Joker Harley QuinnOne thing Margot Robbie’s comic-book anti-heroine is not is a natural member of the girl-power battalion.
    By Alison Willmore
  27. tv review
    One Day at a Time Is Back and Helping Me Process the WorldThe family sitcom returns on a new network but otherwise unchanged, making it perfect for a time when the world is full of frightening unknowns.
    By Kathryn VanArendonk
  28. the heaviside layer
    A Few Thoughts on Watching Cats AloneWe are all now the cats of Cats, prowling in the shadows of our tattered culture, reliving memories in the ruined theaters of our minds.
    By David Edelstein
  29. tv review
    Late Night TV Is Reinventing Itself For the Coronavirus EraBy shooting DIY webisodes at home, Jimmy Fallon and his late night rivals are more spontaneous and relatable than ever.
    By Jen Chaney
  30. movie review
    Swallow Is About the Horrors of a Body in IsolationIn a time when we’re forced to experience new movies from the questionable comforts of our homes, Haley Bennett’s role as a woman undone hits hard.
    By Alison Willmore
  31. radio vulture
    ‘Donald Glover Presents’ Only Makes Him Even More of an EnigmaWas this thing supposed to come out or not?
    By Craig Jenkins
  32. tv review
    Little Fires Everywhere Almost Matches the Novel’s Incendiary Power. Almost.The Reese Witherspoon–Kerry Washington–starring adaptation is Hulu’s version of a page-turner, with a greater emphasis on melodrama than its source.
    By Jen Chaney
  33. tv review
    The Plot Against America Is a Devastating, Relevant Alt-History DramaDavid Simon and Ed Burns bring Philip Roth’s novel to HBO with an incisive depiction of just how personal politics can become.
    By Jen Chaney
  34. movie review
    The Hunt Is a Gleeful Exploitation Flick Ruined by Delusions of RelevanceBetty Gilpin is a delight, but this would-be satire is too incoherent to merit the controversy it drummed up.
    By Alison Willmore
  35. movie review
    Lost Girls Is an Anti-Police ProceduralThe Netflix film will make you rethink your need for a certain kind of closure in a world that has so little of it.
    By David Edelstein
  36. tv review
    Even Outside the Park, Westworld Gonna WestworldThe most frustratingly not-quite-there show on TV remains structurally bold, visually arresting, and woefully predisposed to turn subtext into text.
    By Matt Zoller Seitz
  37. theater review
    If You’re Leaving the House, Head West to TumachoPlus, 72 Miles to Go …
    By Helen Shaw
  38. album review
    Lil Uzi Vert’s Eternal Atake Should Have the Competition Taking NotesHe’s a rare rap star in a rare lane.
    By Craig Jenkins
  39. movie review
    Never Rarely Sometimes Always, an Everyday Thriller About Obtaining an AbortionIn Eliza Hittman’s new movie, state restrictions turn a teenager’s attempt to end an unwanted pregnancy into a perilous journey.
    By Alison Willmore
  40. theater review
    Every Day a Little Death: Endlings and Unknown SoldierA pair of plays that (very differently) evoke the ultimate.
    By Helen Shaw
  41. movie review
    In the Brief, Sad Hope Gap, Annette Bening Gives a Fascinating PerformanceWilliam Nicholson’s autobiographical English drama, co-staring Bill Nighy, premiered at TIFF.
    By David Edelstein
  42. radio vulture
    Why Shouldn’t Megan Thee Stallion Take What’s Hers?The idea that it’s too soon for Megan Thee Stallion to want a more fair deal is a fault in our own thinking, not hers.
    By Craig Jenkins
  43. tv review
    Hillary Looks Back at the 2016 Election With 20/20 HindsightWatching the new four-part Hulu docuseries about the life and career of Hillary Clinton can feel like poking at an old bruise. But it’s worth it.
    By Jen Chaney
  44. theater review
    That’s Really Mom Up There: Suicide Forest and SKiNFoLKTwo plays involving very present mothers.
    By Helen Shaw
  45. theater review
    Girl From the North Country Has No Direction HomeOpportunity blown; so much told and not shown.
    By Helen Shaw
  46. tv review
    Devs Takes Its Time to Blow Your MindThe FX on Hulu miniseries has all the hallmarks of a story by Alex Garland (Ex Machina, Annihilation), but that may be more of a liability in TV form.
    By Jen Chaney
  47. movie review
    Sorry We Missed You: Ken Loach’s Take on the Gig Economy Should Infuriate YouHe is perhaps Britain’s foremost cinematic chronicler of working-class angst and quotidian humanism.
    By Bilge Ebiri
  48. album review
    Bad Bunny Is Breaking All the Rules, and It’s a Thrill to WatchYHLQMDLG is an expression of Bad Bunny’s freedom both in the title and the music.
    By Craig Jenkins
  49. vulture recommends
    Babylon Berlin Is the Best Show You’re Not WatchingIf you’re not already obsessed with Netflix’s stylish, seductive German noir series, its third season will change that.
    By Kathryn VanArendonk
  50. tv review
    Better Things Season 4 Is a Rare and Precious GiftPamela Adlon’s nervy, magnificent series makes almost every other American TV show, even excellent ones, seem formulaic and timid in comparison.
    By Matt Zoller Seitz
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