Film

Palm Springs Is the Comedy of the Summer

The new Hulu movie is about feeling endlessly trapped—and finding happiness anyway.

• David Sims
• 2:03 PM ET

The Woman Who Made the Best Action Movie of 2020

Gina Prince-Bythewood talks about her new superhero film, Netflix’s The Old Guard, and how women are changing the genre.

• David Sims
• July 9, 2020

Americans Are Living in an Alternate History

As the pandemic has raged on, popular culture has found new ways to ask an old question: What could have been instead?

• Megan Garber
• July 6, 2020

James Baldwin Was Right All Along

The writer and activist has the painful, powerful words for this political moment. America just needs to heed them.

• Raoul Peck
• July 3, 2020

Watching Hamilton Is Like Opening a Time Capsule

Disney+’s filmed version of Lin-Manuel Miranda’s hit musical feels dated, timeless, and vital all at once.

• David Sims
• July 3, 2020

Saying Goodbye to Law & Order

Growing up, police dramas were my favorite genre to watch. But the stories they told were always at odds with the world that I lived in.

• Jordan Calhoun
• June 28, 2020

Will Ferrell’s Best Comedy in Years Is Here

Netflix’s Eurovision Song Contest succeeds because it’s both sincere and satirical. Also, it has invisible elves.

• David Sims
• June 27, 2020

Why People Are Obsessed With a Terrible Polish Erotic Thriller

Thanks to the pandemic, Netflix’s first summer hit is a shallow movie full of sun, sex, and spit.

• Hannah Giorgis
• June 26, 2020

One of America’s Fiercest Media Critics Is Back With a Warning

Jon Stewart on his new satirical film, Irresistible, and the simplistic narratives that fuel the U.S. political system

• David Sims
• June 24, 2020

What It Means to Understand Bruce Lee

The martial-arts legend looms so large in pop culture that the mundane details of his life feel like a rare treat.

• Danny Chau
• June 22, 2020

The Long, Strange Journey of Da 5 Bloods

The screenwriters behind Spike Lee’s new film discuss the story’s unexpected evolution into a rare Vietnam War movie about black veterans.

• David Sims
• June 17, 2020

The King of Staten Island and the Pain of Moving On

Judd Apatow’s latest movie goes light on laughs as it confronts the traumas that stop people from growing up.

• David Sims
• June 13, 2020

Spike Lee Has Made His Most Ambitious Film Yet

Da 5 Bloods is a searing Vietnam War epic that speaks to this moment—and it’s on Netflix, so viewers can revisit it again and again.

• David Sims
• June 12, 2020

The King of Comedy Is Okay With Not Being Funny

Judd Apatow on making a dramatic movie that feels fitting for the current moment: “It’s about trauma, first responders, how families deal with loss.”

• David Sims
• June 11, 2020

The Films That Understand Why People Riot

Black filmmakers have used their works to show that the state’s inhumane treatment of black people, not the uprisings that result, is the real chaos.

• Samantha N. Sheppard
• June 9, 2020

Shirley Is an Unconventional Biopic About a Horror Master

A new movie out on Hulu gives the writer Shirley Jackson the unsettling and incisive cinematic treatment she deserves.

• David Sims
• June 8, 2020

The 13 Best Movies About Why You Shouldn’t Trust the Government

Hollywood has a rich tradition of paranoid thrillers and conspiratorial dramas that are outrageous but have a hint of truth to them.

• David Sims
• June 5, 2020

I Went to a Drive-In Theater to Feel Normal. The Opposite Happened.

If catching a movie at these establishments once offered a sojourn into the past, going to one amid the pandemic provides a glimpse of the future.

• Shirley Li
• June 5, 2020

What One Woman’s Shattered Career Reveals About the Music Industry

HBO Max’s On the Record details sexual-assault allegations against the rap mogul Russell Simmons—and homes in on the lives derailed by sexism.

• Hannah Giorgis
• June 1, 2020

The Creepy, Clever Sci-Fi Thriller You Need to Watch

The Vast of Night, now on Amazon Prime Video, is a sharp debut from a filmmaker you should pay attention to.

• David Sims
• May 29, 2020