More from David Rooney
‘The Ballad of Wallis Island’ Review: Carey Mulligan Adds Grace Notes but Tom Basden and Tim Key Provide the Melody to This Minor-Key Charmer
James Griffiths’ comedy-drama with songs stirs up the troubled romantic past of a once-popular Brit folk-rock duo, their awkward reunion engineered by an oddball superfan.
- By
THR Critics Pick the 15 Best Films of Sundance 2025
A sexy gay cruising thriller, an all-too-timely drama about post-wildfire recovery and a shocking doc about U.S. prisons are among our critics’ faves from the fest.
- By
‘Lurker’ Review: Théodore Pellerin and Archie Madekwe Pop the Fame Bubble in Alex Russell’s Scintillating Power Play
The first-time director, a writer and producer on ‘The Bear’ and ‘Beef,’ traces the oily path from sycophant to puppet master in an ‘All About Eve’ for Generation Instagram.
- By
‘Plainclothes’ Review: Tom Blyth and Russell Tovey Smolder and Sweat as Closeted Gay Men in Bristling Police Entrapment Drama
Set in Syracuse, New York, in the mid ‘90s, Carmen Emmi’s debut feature revolves around a young cop assigned to a sting operation that forces him to confront his sexuality.
- By
‘Together’ Review: Dave Franco and Alison Brie in a Bonkers but Wildly Fun Fusion of Body Horror and Codependency Angst
Writer-director Michael Shanks’ romantic nightmare, which also stars Damon Herriman, follows a dysfunctional couple whose union is put to the test when strange forces overcome them.
- By
‘The Wedding Banquet’ Review: Bowen Yang, Lily Gladstone and Kelly Marie Tran Lead Sweet if Not Always Snappy Queer Rom-Com Update
Andrew Ahn directs a cast that also includes Joan Chen, ‘Minari’ Oscar winner Youn Yuh-Jung and newcomer Ha Gi-Chan in this Seattle-set reimagining of Ang Lee’s international breakthrough.
- By
‘Peter Hujar’s Day’ Review: Ben Whishaw and Rebecca Hall Take an Illuminating Snapshot of a Queer Artist in Ira Sachs’ Gorgeous Character Study
The film is constructed from recently rediscovered tapes of a 1974 conversation between photographer Hujar and his author friend Linda Rosenkrantz for a book project.
- By
‘Train Dreams’ Review: Joel Edgerton Mines Depth, Beauty and Sadness From an Ordinary Life in Ravishing Contemplation of Man and Nature
Felicity Jones, William H. Macy and Kerry Condon also appear in Clint Bentley’s drama about an early 20th century logger in the Pacific Northwest, based on Denis Johnson’s novella.
- By
‘Kiss of the Spider Woman’ Review: Bill Condon’s Uneven Adaptation of the Kander and Ebb Musical Shines Brightest in Jennifer Lopez’s Dazzling Star Turn
Diego Luna plays a political prisoner during Argentina’s military dictatorship, with Tonatiuh as the gay cellmate who escapes harsh reality by retreating into movie fantasy.
- By
‘The Thing With Feathers’ Review: A Go-for-Broke Benedict Cumberbatch Unravels in a Movie Stuck Awkwardly Between Horror and Psychodrama
Dylan Southern adapts the Max Porter novella, ‘Grief Is the Thing With Feathers,’ about a widowed father and the menacing giant crow that attaches itself to his sorrow.
- By
‘Rabbit Trap’ Review: Ineffectual Welsh Folk Horror Drops Dev Patel and Rosy McEwen Into Ancient Woodland Hokum
Set in 1976, Bryn Chainey’s first feature centers on an avant-garde musician and her sound recordist husband living in a remote cottage, where a strange local child forms an unhealthy attachment to them.
- By
‘It’s Never Over, Jeff Buckley’ Review: Amy Berg Crafts a Stirring if Circumscribed Tribute to the Troubadour With the Voice of an Angel
Told in part from the perspective of the women the late singer-songwriter loved, the doc draws on interviews, rare performance clips, previously unseen footage and intimate recollections.
- By