Sitemap - 2024 - The SS Ben Hecht, by Stephen Silver
‘Wicked’’’s first half is flawed, but often fantastic
Kieran Culkin shines brightly in Jesse Eisenberg’s ‘The Real Pain’
Conan hosting the Oscars? This could work
Fin: Why I’m on Bluesky- and sticking with X too
‘Soundtrack to a Coup d’Etat’ is an electrifying documentary of music, history and politics
‘The Killing Fields,’ a harrowing film about journalists and the Cambodian genocide, turns 40
'Gladiator II' is exciting, but completely ephemeral
The election results are not best explained by what most annoys you personally
Fin: The Democrats need to break their celebrity addiction
10 years ago, 'Interstellar' was Christopher Nolan's turn into hard sci-fi
‘Heretic’ is a silly horror film with fake religious profundity
What does the presidential election mean for the movies?
Fin: Trump, Tony Hinchcliffe, and the natural endpoint of the "but I'm a comedian!" defense
Steve McQueen's 'Blitz' is slow and underwhelming
'The Times of Harvey Milk,' a superlative documentary, turns 40
2024 Philadelphia Film Festival wrap-up
Fin: Netflix is pivoting to better movies
25 years later: ‘Three Kings’ is still overrated
'The Brutalist,' 'Nickel Boys' and 'Eephus' stun at the Philadelphia Film Festival
‘The Turnaround’ is a wonderful Philly sports fan story- it's just a shame about the timing
Happy Philadelphia Film Festival opening day
‘Rap World’ is a delightful found-footage comedy
‘Sideways,’ a comedy-drama soaked in wine, turns 20
'Pulp Fiction,' the movie that made me love movies, came out 30 years ago today
Fin: ‘Full Metal Jacket’ is not a movie about why the military used to be awesome
'Eno' is the year's most inventive documentary
10 years ago, 'Gone Girl' was an intense tale of marriage gone awry
‘We Live in Time’ is a superb, time-shifting romance
The Joker discourse was ridiculous in 2019- and it's even stupider in 2024
Fin: Memo to studios: Stop pandering to the "superfans"
Reviews of 'Red Rooms,' 'DaaaaaaÍi,' and other unheralded recent feature films
Welcome to ‘Paradise’: ‘Stranger Than Paradise’ turns 40, while ‘Phantom of the Paradise’ is 50
Yes, 'Megalopolis' flopped. No, it doesn’t matter
Fin: M. Night, Michael, Francis, Bobby and Spike
As it turns 30, another look at 'The Shawshank Redemption'
‘Megalopolis’ is every bit as insane as you’ve heard
‘Super/Man: The Christopher Reeve Story’ and ‘Will & Harper’ show the beauty of showbiz friendship
Matt Walsh cares, a lot, about what critics think
Fin: Brutalist, Brutalist, Brutalist!
‘Stopping the Steal’ honors the Republicans who helped stop Trump from stealing 2020
‘Amadeus,’ the tale of a glorious war between composers, turns 40
When Laura Loomer co-starred in a (terrible) documentary film
Fin: Low Cut Connie at the movies
‘Wise Guy’ is some warmed-over analysis of 'The Sopranos'
'Speak No Evil' is two-thirds of a great movie
‘The Informant!,’ Steven Soderbergh’s wildly unique corporate crime film, turns 15
The 15 fall movies I’m most anticipating
Fin: 'Beetlejuice Beetlejuice,' and the Jeffrey Jones Thing
‘Beetlejuice Beetlejuice’ a surprisingly lively legacy sequel
‘Mr. 3000,’ a baseball movie about an arrogant athlete’s redemption, turns 20
My top 25 (pre-fall) movies of 2024
Fin: The first rule of all-female Fight Club is there is no all-female Fight Club
‘Gary’ tells the sad story of child star Gary Coleman
'Good One' is an audaciously assured debut by India Donaldson
‘World’s Greatest Dad,’ the darkest dark comedy, turns 15
From movie screenings to the DNC, are influencers taking over the world?
The shocking hubris of the 'Megalopolis' trailer
‘Watergate: Secrets and Betrayals’ is an unconvincing piece of Nixon revisionism
‘Blink Twice’ is a middling island thriller
'California Split,' one of the great gambling movies, turns 50
What’s the point of “100 best movies of the decade” lists?
Fin: Is Disney’s 'Snow White' remake the most cursed movie project ever?
‘Skincare’ is a tepid true-crime tale of feuding beauticians
'The Iron Giant,' a 1950s masterpiece made in the 1990s, turns 25
Megyn Kelly was the heroine of a Hollywood movie less than five years ago
Fin: Yes, this is probably it for David Lynch's career
‘Girl You Know It’s True’ tells Milli Vanilli’s story, once again
20 years ago, Michael Mann’s ‘Collateral’ lit up L.A.
I can't wait for the Hogan/Gawker movie
Fin: No, criticizing Marvel does not require an apology
‘The Instigators’ is an absurdly fun Boston heist film
‘American Son’ looks back at the heyday of tennis star Michael Chang
'Purple Rain' and 'The Muppets Take Manhattan': Two great movies about performing turn 40
10 more thoughts on 'Deadpool & Wolverine': A box office colossus, but still pretty bad
Fin: J.D. Vance’s ‘Garden State’ blog
‘Skywalkers: A Love Story’ is another high-in-the-sky documentary
'Deadpool & Wolverine' is less a movie than a corporate merger
‘In The Loop,’ the greatest film satire of the Iraq War, turns 15
Is movie theater behavior really a big problem?
Fin: Contra J.D. Vance, film critics are not “elites”
‘Louis CK: Sorry/Not Sorry’ is an honest and compelling documentary about a prominent #MeToo case
‘Twisters’ boasts a movie star performance from Glen Powell, but the action disappoints
'Eyes Wide Shut,' a sex movie with a strange relationship to sex, turns 25
No, Mamaw: Don’t blame Ron Howard’s ‘Hillbilly Elegy’ for the rise of J.D. Vance
Fin: No, there’s nothing wrong with showing your girlfriend 'Miami Vice'
‘Dandelion’ is a musical tour de force
‘The Mandela Effect Phenomenon’ is one of the dumbest things I’ve ever seen
20 years ago: ‘Metallica: Some Kind of Monster’ was a rock documentary unlike any other
Could the Paramount sale revive the super-studio of old?
Fin: Joe Biden is not Yoda, but 'Star Wars' was always political
'MaXXXine' is all style, not enough substance
'Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F' is more than mere fan service
20 years later: ‘Spider-Man 2’ is still the best superhero movie ever made
The best movies of the first half of 2024
Fin: The curious case of Jay Johnston
In ‘Confessions of a Good Samaritan,’ Penny Lane - and her kidney - take center stage
‘Janet Planet’ is completely lost on me
Remember it, Jake: 'Chinatown' turns 50
The work of intimacy coordinators has value- but an Oscar isn’t necessary
Fin: The ‘Full Metal Jacket’ "censored helmet" is the year's dumbest movie controversy
‘Stevie Van Zandt: Disciple’ follows seven decades of New Jersey’s greatest sideman
‘The Bikeriders’ tells an above-average biker history
“There’s a bomb on a bus”: ‘Speed’ turns 30
Ten things about ‘Brats’ that don’t quite add up
Fin: The best and worst of Star Wars social media content
‘Flipside’ is a documentarian’s delightful notebook dump
‘Inside Out 2’ is a triumphant Pixar sequel
40 years ago, 'Top Secret!' showed how silly you can get
At least two good movies come out every month
Fin: What is going on with the arts in Philadelphia?
'The Watchers' is a middling horror debut
‘The Hurt Locker,’ the only great movie about the Iraq War, turns 15
The final fall of '2000 Mules'
Fin: Don’t judge a movie by the director’s Twitter likes
The wonderful ‘Robot Dreams,’ the best animated film of 2023, finally arrives
‘Jim Henson Idea Man’ is beautiful and heartbreaking, if a tad too Disneyfied
'Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom' turns 40
'The Spectacular Failure of the Star Wars Hotel' is the best piece of Star Wars content in years
Fin: That 'Goodfellas' trigger warning, misremembering Michael Richards, and ScarJo’s Torment Nexus
‘The Beach Boys’ tells a (big) part of America’s Band’s story
‘Babes’ is a much-too-improvised baby buddy comedy
'Furiosa' is very enjoyable, but it’s no 'Fury Road'
‘Earth Girls Are Easy,’ a goofy alien comedy, turns 35
'Megalopolis' sounds like a huge mess. I can’t wait to see it
Fin: Reviewing Baseball: The Movie
‘Sweet Dreams’ is an earnest softball and addiction drama, starring Johnny Knoxville
‘Bronx Zoo ’90: Crime, Chaos and Baseball’ is a mind-boggling baseball docuseries
‘The Natural,’ an electric baseball fable, turns 40
Whatever happened to baseball movies?
Fin: The Fall Guy’s box office doesn’t mean much
Bored by ‘Apes’: ’Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes’ is the worst of the new series
25 years ago, 'The Mummy' was an Indiana Jones-style Universal Monster movie
Are the movies too sexy? Or not sexy enough?
Fin: What is the deal with the Jerry Seinfeld revisionism?
Jerry Seinfeld’s ‘Unfrosted’ is a star-studded, mostly laughless oddity
‘Finding the Money’ is Modern Monetary Theory: The Movie
40 Candles: 'Sixteen Candles', the most 'problematic' ‘80s movie, turns four decades old
Fin: Meeting The Executioner, 'Hundreds of Beavers', and back to Lown Auditorium
‘Enter the Clones of Bruce’ is a wild exploration of “Bruceploitation”
The twisty ‘Challengers’ makes tennis sexy
30 years ago, ‘PCU’ showed the timelessness of anti-woke sentiment
No, it’s not “irresponsible” to release 'Civil War'
Fin: The best of the first 100 movies I saw this year
‘The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare’ is Guy Ritchie’s Nazi-killing jamboree
25 years later: 'Election' hits differently now
Yes, you will get to see 'Megalopolis'- eventually
Fin: On the BMFI Israel brouhaha: The case against canceling movie screenings
‘XCLD: The Story of Cancel Culture,’ and three other new political documentaries
Alex Garland's 'Civil War' is a technically masterful exercise, but...
How the punks went the way of the boomers: 'SLC Punk'! turns 25
‘Scoop’ tells the media story of the downfall of Prince Andrew- in a dull way
Of surveillance and saxophones: ’The Conversation’ turns 50
'The Truth vs. Alex Jones' will anger you- and it should
Finally... The Rock... has come back to great acting
Fin: Hall of Fame/vacation editon
‘Max Patkin: The Clown Prince of Baseball’ explores the man behind the clown
March movie roundup: 'Shirley,' 'Immaculate,' 'Lousy Carter,' 'The Listener' and 'Irish Wish'
Of crossed keys and lobby boys: 'The Grand Budapest Hotel' turns 10
No, the Disney proxy battle is not about ‘Star Wars’ wokeness- or 'Star Wars' at all
Fin: 10 thoughts on the continuing Jonathan Glazer story
Peacock’s ‘Stormy’ shows us several years in the life of Stormy Daniels
‘Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire’ is a slightly improved festival of fan service
No, 'The Ladykillers' is not the Coen Brothers’ worst movie
Fin: Eric Carmen and anachronistic movie music, Oscar ratings, Jonathan Glazer, and RIP Deadspin
'Snack Shack' is a coming-of-age delight
Documentary ‘Hendrie’ honors an unheralded radio legend
'Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind,' the best American film of the aughts, turns 20
20 observations about Oscar night
Fin: Down with tiny movie clips, defending Dakota and… Cervasa!
With 'Ricky Stanicky,' Peter Farrelly goes back to the gutter, with mixed results
In ‘Hometown Prison,’ Richard Linklater shows himself as a natural documentarian
'Repo Man,' Alex Cox’s Reagan-era punk pastiche, turns 40
Invite your friends to read The SS Ben Hecht, by Stephen Silver
Finishing the OscarsDeathRace, and my personal “ballot”
Fin: RIP, Richard Lewis, and the joys of old Jews arguing
‘As We Speak: Rap Music on Trial’ takes an uneven look at hip-hop and the criminal justice system
‘Asleep in My Palm’ is a well-done debut from Henry Nelson
'Reality Bites,' a would-be voice of its generation, turns 30
Tom Cruise is pivoting back to prestige
‘Giannis: The Marvelous Journey’ is a straightforward documentary about the NBA’s “Greek Freak”
'Dune: Part Two' is a nearly complete triumph
Corruption and basketball: 'Blue Chips' turns 30
Fin: The best of the Super Bowl, a new Bee Gees movie, and the golden age of sports media
Documentary reviews: ‘The Hobby’ and ‘They Called Him Mostly Harmless’
'Bob Marley: One Love' is a middling music biopic
40 years ago: 'Footloose' fought for the right to dance
PHANTON MEN: Reflecting on 'The Phantom Menace'
Fin: Happy 50th birthday, 'Blazing Saddles'!
‘Office Space’ marks 25 years of work sucking
The Grammys last night were great. What can the Oscars learn?
Fin: She’s cheer captain, they’re on the bleachers
‘How to Have Sex’ and ‘Fitting In’: Fine coming of age movies by directors named Molly
Netflix’s ‘The Greatest Night in Pop’ tells the wild story behind “We Are the World”
Stanley Kubrick’s 'Dr. Strangelove' marks 60 years of Cold War comedy
Fin: ‘Barbie' was not snubbed, farewell Sports Illustrated, and RIP Norman Jewison
‘The Underdoggs’ is Snoop Dogg’s profane tribute to youth football
From ‘Racist Trees’ to ‘Nazi Town USA’
What the Oscars mean, and what they don’t
‘Taken,’ the start of many not-so-great film trends, turns 15
'I.S.S.' brings the Cold War to space, with middling results
'Apolonia, Apolonia' is an astonishing art world documentary
Can the family-approved biopic about Michael Jackson possibly be good?
Remembering 'Selma,' on Martin Luther King Day
Musical 'Mean Girls' more than justifies its existence
‘She’s All That’ at 25: My fair ‘90s lady
The 2024 Golden Globes: A bad show, with good winners
Fin: "Unscripted," age gaps, there is no “Epstein List,” Kevin Spacey and Michael Clayton
‘Night Swim’ is January horror goofiness
25 years ago, ‘Varsity Blues’ was all about “sex and football”
‘A Storm Foretold’ is another, even better documentary about Roger Stone