On 'The Danish Girl' and the Art of the Well-Meaning Movie

The Danish Girl, I imagine, will be the sort of film a lot of folks will feel like they "should" see. It's about a worthy subject, it's based on a true story ... you know the drill. The movie is very, very well-meaning, but does that mean it can't be good as well? I explore all that in my review over at Deadspin.

Is 'The Good Dinosaur' Aimed Chiefly at Kids?

And, more importantly, does that matter? I wrote about Pixar's latest for Deadspin, making the case that it's the studio's most kid-friendly film. However, I do think that it does a fine job of not playing down to its young audience. You can read the piece here.

Let's Rank the 'Rocky' Movies

When Will and I do a ranking piece, we're sometimes blown away by which entry's positioning will drive people crazy on the Internet. (The classic example for us was our Spielberg list: Folks went ballistic because we ranked Hook so low.) Today, we rank the seven Rocky films for Deadspin ... who knew there were so many Rocky IV fans? Check out the list here.

Giving a Second Look to 'Carol'

I reviewed Carol at the Cannes Film Festival, but it's been months since then. Has my opinion changed at all? I decided to give the year's most acclaimed movie a second look ... and I have to say I feel about the same. It's a gorgeous, swoon-worthy movie. And yet...... well, I talk about that over at Deadspin.

Is It Time for Seth Rogen to Stop Making Bromances?

That's the question I pose in my piece on The Night Before over at Deadspin. If I'm asking it, that probably means my answer is "yes." And, in fact, that is my answer! You can read the piece here.

Love and Marriage and 'By the Sea'

I've continued to think about By the Sea since going to its world premiere last week. I'm not convinced the movie is good, but I do keep wrestling with what it's trying to say. I put down some thoughts over at Deadspin.

Which 'Peanuts' Is It, Anyway?

Today over at Deadspin, I go into more of my reservations about The Peanuts Movie. Specifically, I talk about my issue with the notion that the movie should be commended for how faithful it is to Charles Schulz's creation. To me, there have been different iterations of Peanuts over the years -- and I'm not that much of a fan of the one the movie chooses to honor. You can read my piece here.

On the Simplicity of 'Spotlight'

I was curious to watch Spotlight a second time after reviewing it back in late August. Seeing it with fresh eyes, I'm less bothered by this movie's limitations: It's clearly a strong, smart, simple piece of storytelling. And I don't mean "simple" as an insult, as I explain in my new Deadspin article.

In Defense of 'Love'

3D sex dramas don't come around too often. The latest from writer-director Gaspar Noe, Love isn't quite as wondrous as Enter the Void, but I think it deserves better than the raspberries it's received since Cannes. The movie opens tomorrow -- I defend it today over at Deadspin.

Yeah, You Can Skip 'Our Brand Is Crisis'

I find Our Brand Is Crisis to be the sort of cynical political satire that does almost nothing for me. I have a feeling that general audiences are going to feel the same way: The movie seems to have almost no buzz around it. I examine the corpse over at Deadspin.

Survival, Motherhood and 'Room'

I went to see Room a second time in order to see how it played. I had reservations after catching it in Toronto, and some of them still remain, but on the whole this is a pretty darn affecting drama. A lot of it has to do with Brie Larson, who's great as the selfless, imploding mother. (The movie could almost be called The Mom Who Wasn't There.) My review is up at Deadspin.

'Beasts of No Nation' Review

Most of the time while watching Beasts of No Nation, I was struck by the same thought: "Gee, I sure wish I was enjoying this more." Gripping, thoughtful, meaningful, this tale of war in West Africa waged by child soldiers can't fully escape a certain familiarity. Is it good? Yes. Is it terrific? Not quite. I reviewed the film for Deadspin.

Let's Rank Danny Boyle's Movies

The first film review I ever wrote for my college paper was on Shallow Grave from some new director named Danny Boyle. Whatever happened to that guy? An Oscar, for one thing. In honor of today's release of Steve Jobs, Will Leitch and I rank the man's oeuvre from worst to best. We didn't have any disagreement about what should be No. 1. Here's the list.

'Steve Jobs' Review

What did I think of Steve Jobs? I think it's fairly consistently entertaining. I also think it's faintly ridiculous. But, mostly, really entertaining. I reviewed this unconventional biopic for Deadspin.

'The Walk' Review

Man on Wire was the first time I ever got dizzy in a theater. Watching the Oscar-winning documentary in a screening room, I got panicky when they showed the actual photos from Philippe Petit's World Trade Center walk, viscerally imagining what would happen if he had fallen from such a great height. (Bear in mind that I knew for a fact that he hadn't fallen: Just the thought of it terrified me.) So I was curious how The Walk, a feature version of the incident, would play for me. The 3D IMAX is damn impressive. As for the rest of it...... well, my review is up at Deadspin.

On the Great 'Mississippi Grind'

I first saw Mississippi Grind back at Sundance, and today it opens in New York. (It's also available on DirecTV, and it'll be expanding across the country.) Though its outline is familiar -- two gamblers go on the road -- it find this movie awfully affecting. My review is up at Deadspin.

'The Intern' Review

Robert De Niro is the best part of The Intern, which is a pretty charming, totally disposable comedy about aging, career ambition and Restoration Hardware production design. In fact, this might be my favorite of writer-director Nancy Meyers' films, which isn't saying much. I reviewed the movie for Deadspin.

Toronto 2015: The Preview

Over at Deadspin, I did my annual rundown of 10 movies I'm excited to see at the Toronto Film Festival. You may notice I didn't include Black Mass, which I'm having a hard time generating any enthusiasm for. You can read the full list here.

Summer Movie Season 2015: The Best and the Worst

Summer movie season is over, but before we close the book on the last several months, Will Leitch and I take one last look back at the best and worst of what we saw. You can read all about it over at Deadspin.

'Z for Zachariah' and Craig Zobel's Lab-Experiment Cinema

Craig Zobel is one of America's most intriguing indie filmmakers, the man behind Great World of Sound and the superb Compliance. He returns with Z for Zachariah, which I saw for the first time at Sundance. I watched it again now that it's opening on Friday, and I continue to find this post-apocalyptic drama deeply unsettling in its own quiet way. Why? Because Zobel, as per norm, is conducting a little experiment with the characters -- and with us in the audience. I get into that over at Deadspin.