Taking it as a given that Cats will be the most remarkable film event of 2019, Vulture and New York Magazine are excited to announce the second-most-remarkable film event of the year: the addition of two formidable critics to our movies department. Longtime New York and Vulture contributor Bilge Ebiri and former BuzzFeed film critic Alison Willmore will be joining chief critic David Edelstein and Angelica Bastien to create a critical quartet of unmatched insight, versatility, and breadth. Ebiri has already assumed his full-time role; Willmore joins us on September 23. More info on them both is below.
Bilge Ebiri joins Vulture and New York as film critic and editor.
It’s hard to remember, much less imagine, a time when Bilge wasn’t helping shape Vulture and New York Magazine’s culture coverage with his criticism. Bilge began working with New York Magazine in 2002, and other than his two years as film critic for The Village Voice — when we had to admire from afar — he has been an integral part of our movies department. Following his time at the Voice, he returned to New York Magazine and added “editor” to his résumé, working in that capacity on the “Culture Pages” while still driving conversation with his writing, whether about the scourge of motion smoothing, what’s missing from Disney’s spate of live-action remakes, or the injustice suffered by stuntpersons come awards season, to name just a few recent examples. As a critic, Bilge blends his voracious appetite for movies with a keen eye, a vast understanding of the medium, and a refreshingly even-keeled temperament; above all, his writing is infused with an infectious passion for film. That’s the sort of balance we strive for across everything Vulture publishes, and it’s yet another reason we’re fortunate to have him joining us in a full-time role. When not writing, he’ll be continuing his work on the print “Culture Pages” and working with us on digital-only projects for Vulture.
Alison Willmore joins Vulture as film critic.
Alison joined BuzzFeed as its film critic roughly five years ago, and just under five years ago we suddenly became very envious of them; there’s a good chance that if we’re all nodding approvingly at a tweeted observation or critical essay, it was written by her. She has proven herself to be an unfailingly lucid observer of movies and their industry, so much so that this year she was named as the latest chair of the New York Film Critics Circle. Alison is particularly adept at leveling the hierarchies that govern taste. She has compared Blake Lively’s shark work to The Revenant, identified the character actor hiding inside Brad Pitt, astutely praised the sequel-less children’s movie, and begged for a critical reevaluation of Constantine (consider it assigned). From IFC to IndieWire to BuzzFeed and the freelancing in between, she has consistently written essays and stories that feel like Vulture stories that just happened to wander off. Now that she’s finally here, we promise never to use the phrase elevated horror in Alison’s presence and will eagerly welcome her into the Post-Parasite Vulture Support Group.