Reviews2/25/21Feb 251Reviews2/25/21DReviewsCherry is an embarrassing bid for prestige from Marvel’s biggest hitmakersA.A. Dowd120Note: The writer of this review watched Cherry on a digital screener from home. Before making the decision to see…
Podcasts2/19/21Feb 19SavePodcasts2/19/21PodcastsOur critics answer your burning questions on a very special AMA episode of Film ClubA.A. Dowd and Katie Rife2Last week, The A.V. Club put out a call for questions from you, readers of the site and loyal listeners of our…
Reviews2/12/21Feb 12SaveReviews2/12/21C-ReviewsNic Cage is a silent brute in the chintzy Five Nights At Freddy’s mockbuster Willy’s WonderlandA.A. Dowd23Willy’s Wonderland is a jokey elevator pitch in search of a movie. It’s the kind of genre junk—a low-rent, one-gag…
Podcasts2/12/21Feb 12SavePodcasts2/12/21PodcastsWhat's the perfect love story to watch this Valentine's Day?A.A. Dowd and Katie Rife14Valentine’s Day is Sunday, and to celebrate this annual rush for florists, chocolatiers, and greeting-card magnates, …
Reviews2/9/21Feb 91Reviews2/9/21C+ReviewsHelp! We’re trapped in the cycle of yet another time-loop story, The Map Of Tiny Perfect ThingsA.A. Dowd32Every day is exactly the same. That’s how it goes in time-loop stories, and how it can feel to write about them,…
Newswire2/8/21Feb 8SaveNewswire2/8/21NewswireAsk our critics anything, and they'll answer your questions on Film Club next weekBaraka Kaseko, A.A. Dowd, and Katie Rife59Every few days, A.V. Club film critics A.A. Dowd and Katie Rife plug a microphone into their laptops, retreat to a…
Podcasts2/5/21Feb 5SavePodcasts2/5/21PodcastsLet's talk about this year's virtual Sundance Film FestivalA.A. Dowd and Katie RifeEvery January, thousands of people fly into Utah and then descend on the sleepy ski town of Park City for the annual…
Dispatch2/4/21Feb 41Dispatch2/4/21DispatchThe best films of Sundance 2021A.A. Dowd5Sundance 2021 wrapped up last night, though the exact time the screening system went dark depended on when you…
Preview2/4/21Feb 4SavePreview2/4/21PreviewNic Cage, Tom, and Jerry crash a February of late Oscar hopefulsA.A. Dowd, Katie Rife, William Hughes, Ignatiy Vishnevetsky, and 1 more7Another month, another slate of films hedging their bets between the slow reopening of movie theaters and the…
Dispatch2/3/21Feb 3SaveDispatch2/3/21DispatchQuestlove’s joyous dream-festival concert film is as good as Sundance (and everyone else) insistsA.A. Dowd16Sundance is ending exactly as it began: with the virtual equivalent of a standing ovation for the film that kicked…
Dispatch2/2/21Feb 2SaveDispatch2/2/21DispatchThe highlight of Sundance ’21 is a transfixing portrait of creepypasta obsessionA.A. Dowd1Judas And The Black Messiah, Shaka King’s propulsive drama about Black Panthers chairman Fred Hampton and the months…
Dispatch2/1/21Feb 1SaveDispatch2/1/21DispatchNic Cage’s testicle-bomb Mad Max samurai Western is less fun than we’re making it soundA.A. Dowd23There are few things more alienating to a moviegoer than being the only person in a theater not having the time of…
Reviews1/31/21Jan 31SaveReviews1/31/21B-ReviewsThe director of Room 237 cracks the code of simulation theory with A Glitch In The MatrixA.A. Dowd52Note: The writer of this review watched A Glitch In The Matrix on a digital screener from home. Before making the…
Dispatch1/30/21Jan 30SaveDispatch1/30/21DispatchTwo Sundance dramas, one better than the other, shudder with the chilly influence of Michael HanekeA.A. Dowd6Attending a film festival can feel like an extended game of Spot The Influence. That’s perhaps especially true at a…
Dispatch1/29/21Jan 29SaveDispatch1/29/21DispatchAn atypical Sundance opens with typical indie drama and a hallucinatory midnight movieA.A. Dowd6Funny how pet peeves become fond memories the moment you’re denied them. Nostalgia is a hell of a drug that way.…
Recommends1/29/21Jan 29SaveRecommends1/29/21RecommendsParasite director Bong Joon Ho broke out with an ACAB take on the police proceduralA.A. Dowd31Watch This offers movie recommendations inspired by new releases, premieres, current events, or occasionally just…
Podcasts1/29/21Jan 29SavePodcasts1/29/21PodcastsSpoiler Alert! This week Film Club is diving into spoiler cultureKatie Rife and A.A. Dowd28This episode comes with a warning up top, but don’t worry: All the classic films whose big twists are revealed on…
Reviews1/26/21Jan 26SaveReviews1/26/21B-ReviewsDenzel Washington returns to the manhunt business in the enjoyably clichéd The Little Things A.A. Dowd60Note: The writer of this review watched The Little Things on a digital screener from home. Before making the…
Podcasts1/22/21Jan 22SavePodcasts1/22/21PodcastsIs there a January horror movie worth a damn?Katie Rife and A.A. Dowd19An extended eligibility window for a pandemic Oscars means that this year, awards season will extend well into the…
Reviews1/21/21Jan 21SaveReviews1/21/21B-ReviewsJason Segel is a rock of selflessness in the sugarcoated cancer drama Our FriendA.A. Dowd38The opening scene of Our Friend, a tender indie tearjerker built from the blueprint of a wrenching true story, finds…