film critic for the new york times
Favorite films
Recent activity
AllRecent reviews
More-
Snack Shack 2024
I loved this movie. Gabriel LaBelle gives an all-time great teen comedy performance — thought he was fantastic in The Fabelmans, but now I’m certain he’s a major star.
-
The Abyss 1989
The way of water. Decided to finally correct this blind spot and see what an AI-upscaled 4K UHD looks like in the process. Have always thought of this as the ULTIMATE “are you ready for FOX DVD” sizzle reel movie, and I’ve seen a million out of context clips that truly gave me zero impression of what the movie is actually like, which is Howard Hawks meets Close Encounters (a great combination that would ALSO describe another gifted auteur’s first contact flick, Mission to Mars). Great wife guy picture. AWESOME near-drowning scene. Climax made my own wife cry profusely. Jim’s got the goods!!
Popular reviews
More-
Man on Fire 2004
Mainstream movie critics spent 10 years giving Tony Scott shit because his movies looked like music videos, so now every blockbuster looks like a Netflix Original and every studio director has had their personal style driven out of them by Kevin Feige. This is art.
-