Daily coverage of Criticism by Vulture

Criticism

  1. movie review
    Alphaville ForeverJean-Luc Godard’s wildly influential 1965 film is restored and back in theaters. There’s still no other movie like it.
    By Bilge Ebiri
  2. movie review
    See Wim Wenders’s Anselm in 3-D So You Can Be Extra DisturbedThe director’s beautiful new film about Anselm Kiefer is more an experience than a documentary.
    By Bilge Ebiri
  3. theater review
    When the Play’s Not the ThingToo often, great performances and stagecraft are let down by the script behind them.
    By Sara Holdren
  4. movie review
    Chicken Run: Dawn of the Nugget Is No Chicken Run, But Really, What Is?Playing on Netflix, Aardman’s sequel to its 2000 animated hit might not fully capture the magic of the original, but it’s still fun.
    By Bilge Ebiri
  5. endings
    The Crown Says the Quiet Parts Out LoudPeter Morgan’s final word on Elizabeth’s reign hits with all the subtlety of a two-by-four to the face.
    By Kathryn VanArendonk
  6. movie review
    In Priscilla, She’s the Girl Who Has Everything — Except Actual PowerSofia Coppola’s film, based on Priscilla Presley’s memoir, is a wish-fulfillment dream that loses momentum when its subject wakes up.
    By Alison Willmore
  7. close read
    Collecting Fargo’s DebtsA showdown between two embodiments of privilege unlocks the season’s perspective on a construct that corrupts.
    By Roxana Hadadi
  8. cliffhangers
    The Buccaneers Couldn’t Leave Well Enough AloneThe last 30 seconds of the season finale chose (narrative) violence.
    By Kathryn VanArendonk
  9. best of 2023
    The Year in CultureThe best shows, movies, albums, books, and more, as chosen by our critics.
    By Vulture Editors
  10. album review
    Nicki Minaj Locks the GatesPink Friday 2 drips with the irritating realization that running a kingdom means defending its walls.
    By Craig Jenkins
  11. theater review
    The Too-Steady Charm of How to Dance in OhioA winning cast of autistic actors elevates a rote concept.
    By Jackson McHenry
  12. best of 2023
    The Best Anime Series of 2023Revisit the shows that supercharged the year with action, artistry, and robots.
    By Kambole Campbell
  13. movie review
    Days of Heaven and the Things That Don’t LastTerrence Malick’s 1978 wonder, maybe the most beautiful film of all time, is back in theaters.
    By Bilge Ebiri
  14. movie review
    The Seductive Eileen Flirts With DisasterAnne Hathaway goes Hitchcock blonde and Thomasin McKenzie is deceptively mousy, but the real MVP of this Ottessa Moshfegh is Marin Ireland.
    By Alison Willmore
  15. movie review
    Leave the World Behind Doesn’t Know What to Do With the ApocalypseSam Esmail’s thriller takes a lot of liberties with Rumaan Alam’s novel, but its changes are all for the worse.
    By Bilge Ebiri
  16. best of 2023
    The Best Animated Movies of 2023An all-time great year for feature animation.
    By Eric Vilas-Boas
  17. best of 2023
    The Best Theater of 2023A play that’s not not about Fleetwood Mac, the return of Merrily and Purlie, and the agony of high-school test prep.
    By Sara Holdren and Jackson McHenry
  18. best of 2023
    Exhilarating Reactions to a Troubled WorldPlus Sondheim old and (for the final time) new.
    By Sara Holdren and Jackson McHenry
  19. timmy wéek
    Timothée Chalamet Has Been Playing Great Bad Boyfriends Since HomelandHis performance as Finn Walden was a sign of roles to come.
    By Roxana Hadadi
  20. best of 2023
    The Best Comedy Books of 2023From memoirs by beloved performers to exhaustive looks at towering comic phenomena.
    By Brian Boone
  21. best of 2023
    The Best New York Art Shows of 2023Queer cutouts, portable candies, and a retrospective of an American master.
    By Jerry Saltz
  22. best of 2023
    John Waters’s Best Movies of 2023The not-so-secret New York resident on the films you should have seen this year.
    By John Waters
  23. best of 2023
    The Best Podcasts of 2023Despite a tough year for the industry, the podcast world remains vast in its pleasures.
    By Nicholas Quah
  24. best of 2023
    The Best Memoirs of 2023These 10 books explore what it means to be a person.
    By Arianna Rebolini
  25. best of 2023
    The Best Comedy Specials of 2023The best hours reached for transcendence — through gravity and sheer goofiness, often at the same time.
    By Kathryn VanArendonk
  26. best of 2023
    The Best Songs of 2023A year of revenge fantasies, odd interpolations, and psychedelic journeys.
    By Justin Curto and Alex Suskind
  27. theater review
    Reflections on Lost Lands: Manahatta and Life & Times of Michael KOnstage, the commoditization of Lenape land and the reclamation of a South African farm.
    By Sara Holdren
  28. album review
    Peter Gabriel Is Trying to Keep It Togetheri/o is a series of lofty ideas for the future.
    By Craig Jenkins
  29. best of 2023
    The Best Video Games of 2023The offbeat indies, consecrated remasters, and long-gestating sequels you need to play.
    By Luke Winkie
  30. best of 2023
    The Best Books of 2023Ten authors whose original ideas challenged our preconceived notions of the world.
    By Maris Kreizman
  31. best of 2023
    The Best Albums of 2023The year’s top releases surveyed disorder, sought companionship, and offered glitzy escapism.
    By Craig Jenkins
  32. theater review
    A Decent Docent: Gavin Creel’s Walk on ThroughA tour from a “museum novice” that’s also an autobiography.
    By Jackson McHenry
  33. movie review
    The Silence Is the Loudest Part of Renaissance: A FilmNo star is better at positioning themselves as apolitical than Beyoncé.
    By Angelica Jade Bastién
  34. best of 2023
    2023 Had an Era for EverythingOnline trends that marked the passage of time.
    By Kate Lindsay
  35. best of 2023
    A Year of Movie EndingsIn 2023, there were plenty of onscreen climaxes, but some of the industry’s most interesting denouements happened offscreen.
    By Bilge Ebiri and Alison Willmore
  36. best of 2023
    All About the AlgorithmTV in 2023 explicitly and subliminally cast doubt on the sparkling future of streaming television.
    By Kathryn VanArendonk, Jen Chaney, and Roxana Hadadi
  37. best of 2023
    The Best Movies of 2023This year seemed to mark the end of a film era. Has another exploded out of the box already?
    By Bilge Ebiri and Alison Willmore
  38. best of 2023
    The Best TV Shows of 2023Shows may come and shows may go, but great TV will never leave us.
  39. movie review
    Todd Haynes’s May December Is a Deeply Uncomfortable MovieWatching it with an audience, I found myself cackling with delight. Stepping out into the rainy night, however, I felt like I needed to take a shower.
    By Bilge Ebiri
  40. theater review
    The Echo From the Days of ’39: Jen Silverman’s SpainA cool treatment of a once-hot civil war.
    By Sara Holdren
  41. art review
    The Triumph of Dana SchutzFive years after the Whitney scandal, she is doing her best work yet.
    By Jerry Saltz
  42. close read
    Rami and RamyTwo American series dare to depict the reality of Palestinian life under occupation.
    By Roxana Hadadi
  43. movie review
    Napoleon Charges in Without a PlanRidley Scott’s new historical epic isn’t good, but at least it gives us an unforgettably weird Joaquin Phoenix performance.
    By Alison Willmore
  44. movie review
    Hirokazu Kore-eda’s Heartbreaking Monster Hovers Between This World and the NextThere might be no better film about the indisputable fact that we never really know what someone else is going through.
    By Bilge Ebiri
  45. album review
    André 3000’s Solo Album Is a Breath of Fresh AirNew Blue Sun isn’t the esteemed return to form rap fans hoped for. It’s something more.
    By Craig Jenkins
  46. movie review
    Is Taika Waititi Even Trying Anymore?The New Zealand filmmaker’s new film, Next Goal Wins, is so sloppily made that it might make you wonder why he even bothered.
    By Alison Willmore
  47. movie review
    Disney’s Wish Fails on Every LevelThe songs stink, the animation is a mess, the characters are bland, and the story makes no sense. Happy 100th anniversary, Disney!
    By Bilge Ebiri
  48. theater review
    At Playwrights Horizons, a Tinge of the FringeAmusements, School Pictures, and Sad Boys in Harpy Land are running in repertory.
    By Sara Holdren
  49. theater review
    The Gardens of Anuncia Is a Musical That Thinks SmallBased on Graciela Daniele’s life story, it deliberately leaves her as a secondary character.
    By Jackson McHenry
  50. tv review
    Oh No, Is Squid Game: The Challenge … Good?The adaptation of Netflix’s capitalism-skewering phenomenon is so openly venal it might just reinvent reality TV.
    By Nicholas Quah
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