abc movie reviews today

Glen Powell honors late 'Twister' star Bill Paxton as 'Twisters' arrives in theaters

'beverly hills cop 4' 'review: the secret sauce may be gone, but the memory lingers, review: the random lunacy is reliably hard to resist in 'despicable me 4', review: jessica lange gives one of her best performances in 'the great lillian hall', review: 'hit man' is one of the best movies of the year, musical movies on the rise, stars talk 'aquaman and the lost kingdom', review: 'leave the world behind' will fry your nerves to a frazzle, review: oscar attention must be paid to rosamund pike in 'saltburn', review: 'harlan coben’s shelter' delivers pleasures of the unexpected, review: 'blue beetle's' true superpower is 'la familia', barbie to break a major ticket sale record, amc reports best week in ticket sales on heels of ‘barbenheimer’, what barbie’s box office success could mean for mattel and hollywood, 'barbie' review: margot robbie and ryan gosling are match made in movie heaven, review: 'oppenheimer' is one of the best movies you’ll see anywhere, tom cruise looks to lift the summer box office with a new mission: impossible movie, review: 'across the spider-verse': you've never seen anything like it in your life, review: 'past lives' is one of the best movies of the year, best movies to watch for at the box office this summer, review: nicolas cage and nicholas holt are a kick to watch in 'renfield', 'super mario bros. movie' sets box office record, 'avatar: the way of water’ hits $1b at the box office, review: bill nighy delivers a master class in acting in 'living', review: you've never seen anything like 'avatar: the way of water', review: 'emancipation' is a sorry misfire, but a noble one, review: brendan fraser is extraordinary in a tour de force performance in 'the whale', 'amsterdam' review: film is packed with big names but falls short, 'tár' review: cate blanchett is thrillingly alive in her role as lydia tár, 'pinocchio' review: hi-diddle-dee-dee, it didn’t work for me, review: 'the last movie stars' is a 'moving' dive into a beloved hollywood couple, review: 'vengeance' marks a dynamite feature directorial dynamite for b.j. novak, review: 'the gray man' is only good enough to rank as watchable, review: 'nope' is a spellbinder that keeps pushing boundaries, 'top gun: maverick' smashes holiday box office records, zach braff talks new 'cheaper by the dozen', entertainment choices to keep you busy this weekend, trailer to showtime’s new series 'the first lady' drops, best movies of 2021 and what's to come in 2022, 'spider-man' franchise returns to big screen, jared leto talks new movie ‘house of gucci’, review: 'licorice pizza' one of the best movies of the year, 'house of gucci' review: lady gaga puts real sizzle in the oscar race, review: 'the suicide squad' finally the down-and-dirty whirlwind it was meant to be, 'the green knight' review: dev patel deserves oscar attention, review: 'jungle cruise' is made from spare parts of better movies, kids will love it, review: 'stillwater' a deeply personal human drama disguised as a crime thriller, insomniac theater: 'glass' and 'dragon ball super: broly', insomniac theater: 'the upside' and 'if beale street could talk', insomniac theater: 'ralph breaks the internet' and 'creed ii'.

Latest News & Updates

Featured today

Most popular celebrities

What to watch, more to watch, exclusive videos, imdb originals.

Explore what’s streaming

Explore movies & tv shows, more to explore, recently viewed.

• Skip to main content
• Keyboard shortcuts for audio player

Movie Reviews

Movie interviews.

• Subscribe to Pop Culture Happy Hour Newsletter

Clockwise from top left: Inside Out 2 , Thelma , Twisters , Hit Man , Fancy Dance and Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F . Disney/Pixar, Magnolia Pictures, Universal Pictures, Netflix, Apple TV+, Netflix hide caption

These are the 19 movies we're most excited about this summer

June 10, 2024 • Comedies, action-adventures, coming-of-age tales, animation — plus that sweet, sweet movie theater air conditioning. There's something for everyone at the multiplex; our critics can help you choose.

Glen Powell and Daisy Edgar-Jones play rival storm chasers in Twisters . Universal Pictures Warner Bros. Pictures & Amblin Entertainment/Universal Pictures Warner Bros. Pictures & Amblin Entertainment hide caption

'Twisters' swirls an old-fashioned rom-com into an effects-happy action movie

July 19, 2024 • This follow-up to the 1996 blockbuster Twister updates the original by making its heroine — not its hero — the center of gravity, but alas, the script doesn’t let her be a whole lot of fun.

Will Smith and Martin Lawrence reprise their roles in Bad Boys: Ride or Die - a return to their star-solidifying roles as Miami cops. Sony Pictures hide caption

It's Been a Minute

The rise of the ar-15; plus, why do comedians play so many cops.

July 19, 2024 • Last Saturday, former president Donald Trump was speaking at a rally in Pennsylvania when a gunman shot at him – killing one spectator and clipping Trump in the ear. The response? Outrage, condemnations, and prayers on all sides... but there's been less chatter about the gun that shot at him. And this gun has a lot of symbolism: The AR-15. Host Brittany Luse is joined by The Wall Street Journal 's Zusha Elinson, co-author of the book American Gun , and Jennifer Mascia, senior news writer and founding staffer at The Trace , a nonpartisan nonprofit newsroom that covers guns. Together, they discuss how the AR-15 style rifle went from an outcast in the gun world to the one of the biggest pro-gun symbols and why that actually reflects bigger cultural shifts.

Glen Powell in Twisters. Melinda Sue Gordon/Universal hide caption

Pop Culture Happy Hour

'twisters' has us spiraling.

July 19, 2024 • Twiste r was one of the biggest disaster movies of the '90s. Now, it's finally got a sequel — one with an all-new cast, state-of-the-art effects, and a whole lot of tornadoes. The new film stars Glen Powell and Daisy Edgar-Jones as rival storm-chasers who have a habit of running into tornadoes while everyone else is fleeing. Twisters was directed by Lee Isaac Chung, who also directed the Oscar-nominated Minari .

Lauren Acala plays a girl who encounters the satanic serial killer known as "Longlegs." Neon hide caption

'Longlegs' is a terrifying serial killer — who never touches his victims

July 18, 2024 • Nicolas Cage plays a satanic murderer, and Maika Monroe is the clairvoyant FBI agent on his trail, in this tense and frightening horror movie.

'Longlegs' is a terrifying serial killer -- who never touches his victims

Maika Monroe in a scene from Longlegs . Neon hide caption

'Longlegs' is a (satanic) panic

July 15, 2024 • They're calling it the scariest movie of the year. The new horror film Longlegs follows FBI special agent Lee Harker (Mika Monroe) tracking a serial killer in the 1990s. If that sounds like familiar ground, consider this – the clues she follows hint at the involvement of the occult in general and Satanism in particular. And the killer in question: Nicolas Cage, uncaged.

Louis C.K. photographed in 2017. Angela Lewis/for the New York Times hide caption

Has Hollywood forgotten #MeToo? ‘Sorry/Not Sorry’ examines Louis C.K.’s return

July 13, 2024 • The documentary produced by the New York Times tracks Louis C.K.’s professional success since admitting to misconduct in 2017.

Actor Alec Baldwin hugs his attorney Alex Spiro. Ramsay de Give/AP hide caption

In a stunning turn, judge throws out case against Alec Baldwin

July 12, 2024 • Baldwin and his family broke down in tears in the courtroom.

Colman Domingo and Clarence Maclin in Sing Sing. A24 hide caption

‘Sing Sing’ tenderly probes the joys – and limits – of art in prison

July 12, 2024 • Colman Domingo leads a dynamic ensemble in a stirring dramatization of Sing Sing prison's arts rehabilitation program.

Channing Tatum in Fly Me to the Moon . Apple TV+ hide caption

'Fly Me to the Moon' soft launches Scarlett Johansson and Channing Tatum

July 12, 2024 • The cheeky new romantic dramedy Fly Me to the Moon stars Scarlett Johansson as a NASA publicist at the height of the space race. She must stage a top-secret fake version of the moon landing as backup, just in case the real attempt fails. No one else at NASA can know about it — especially the upstanding launch director, played by Channing Tatum. The pair clash (and flirt) as they prepare for Apollo 11 to launch.

Alessandro Pietta of Pietta Firearms, which made the gun that went off on the set of Rust . Ramsay de Give/Reuters hide caption

Testimony continues Friday in Alec Baldwin's 'Rust' trial

July 11, 2024 • Testimony is underway in the involuntary manslaughter case against the actor.

Actor Maika Monroe plays FBI agent Lee Harker in the new film Longlegs. NEON hide caption

'Longlegs' draws from 'Silence of the Lambs,' but stands on its own terrifying feet

July 11, 2024 • In the new Nicolas Cage horror film Longlegs , an FBI agent is assigned to an unsolved serial killer case that takes an unexpected turn, revealing evidence of the occult.

The plot of 'Longlegs' may sound familiar but it stands on its own 2 terrifying feet

Lance Armstrong celebrates during the Tour de France in 2004. He is the subject of the documentary The Armstrong Lie . Doug Pensinger/Getty Images hide caption

We recommend three great sports documentaries

July 11, 2024 • Sports aren't just games. They're intertwined with epic stories about struggle, human behavior, historic greatness and grand emotions. In other words, sports make for great documentaries. And if you're looking for some good ones, we've got recommendations: Winning Time: Reggie Miller vs. The New York Knicks , The Armstrong Lie , and Athlete A .

Corky (Gina Gershon) and Violet (Jennifer Tilly) in Bound . AJ Pics/Alamy Stock Photo hide caption

Before Hollywood handled sex with care, this lesbian neo-noir focused on authenticity

July 10, 2024 • Before making The Matrix , the Wachowskis enlisted a sex educator to help with their 1996 thriller . Bound 's place in the queer canon has been redefined, and is now part of the Criterion Collection.

Years before intimacy coordinators on Hollywood sets, there was the 1996 film Bound

Steve Carell voices Gru in Despicable Me 4. Universal Pictures hide caption

'Despicable Me 4' serves up 90 minutes of bankable mayhem

July 10, 2024 • Despicable Me 4 is the latest film in an animation franchise that made household names of reformed supervillain Gru (Steve Carrell) and his army of nattering Minions. The franchise has grossed billions of dollars, and the latest movie topped the weekend box office. But are these films growing up with their audience, or continuing to cater to young kids? And does that matter?

Samira (Lupita Nyong’o) and her cat Frodo try to avoid alien attack in A Quiet Place: Day One. Gareth Gatrell/Paramount Pictures hide caption

This 'Quiet Place' prequel is a little too mum on backstory

July 8, 2024 • In the Quiet Place films, blind aliens attack, hunting anyone who makes a sound. But the details of the premise are fuzzy, and this prequel neglects to give a clearer picture of the global invasion.

Jon Landau stands for a portrait at the 95th Academy Awards Nominees Luncheon in February 2023 at the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Beverly Hills, Calif. Landau, an Oscar-winning producer who worked closely with director James Cameron on “Titanic" and the “Avatar” series, has died. Chris Pizzello/Invision/AP hide caption

Jon Landau, the Oscar-winning 'Titanic' and 'Avatar' producer, dies at 63

July 6, 2024 • Landau's partnership with James Cameron led to a best picture win for 1997's "Titanic." Together they account for some of the biggest blockbusters in movie history, including "Avatar" and its sequel.

Screenwriter Robert Towne poses at The Regency Hotel in New York on March 7, 2006. Jim Cooper/AP hide caption

Opinion: Remembering the star screenwriter Robert Towne

July 6, 2024 • NPR's Scott Simon remembers screenwriter Robert Towne, who died this week. Towne won an Oscar for Chinatown , which is considered one of the best screenplays in American cinema.

Opinion: Remembering the star screenwriter, Robert Towne

Leslie Bricusse's multicolored "Doctor Dolittle" calendar. Library of Congress hide caption

Take a sneak peek into a legendary songwriter's creative process

July 5, 2024 • The Library of Congress has acquired the papers of Leslie Bricusse, the songwriter who gave us "Pure Imagination," "What Kind of Fool Am I?," "Goldfinger" and "Talk to the Animals."

Mia Goth and Halsey in MaXXXine . Justin Lubin/A24 hide caption

'MaXXXine' closes a grisly trilogy in style

July 5, 2024 • The new movie MaXXXine stars Mia Goth as an adult-film actress who gets her big break in Hollywood, only to be revisited by horrors from her past. Set in 1985 Los Angeles, it's the final film in director Ti West's beloved horror trilogy that began with the movie X. MaXXXine also features performances from Kevin Bacon, Elizabeth Debicki, and Giancarlo Esposito.

Robert Towne, Oscar-winning writer of 'Chinatown,' dies at 89

July 2, 2024 • Robert Towne's script for the 1974 film Chinatown became a model of the art form and helped define the jaded allure of his native LA. His other credits include Shampoo and 1990's Days of Thunder.

A rental DVD is dispensed from a Redbox at a 7-Eleven in Los Angeles in 2009. Chicken Soup for the Soul Entertainment, the owner of Redbox, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on Friday. Damian Dovarganes/AP hide caption

Redbox owner Chicken Soup for the Soul files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection

July 2, 2024 • As of March of this year, Chicken Soup for the Soul had about $414 million in assets and $970 million in debts. Shares for the public company have fallen more than 90% over the last year.

Nicole Kidman as Brooke Harwood and Zac Efron as Chris Cole in A Family Affair. Aaron Epstein/Netflix hide caption

Why 'A Family Affair' works so well as a Netflix romcom

July 1, 2024 • Nicole Kidman and Zac Efron fall in love in a sharp and funny romantic comedy about family, Hollywood, and a little too much tequila.

Minnesota Lynx players lock arms during a moment of silence in honor of Breonna Taylor before a game in July 2020. Phelan M. Ebenhack/AP hide caption

The WNBA is having a moment. A new documentary highlights off-court player activism

July 1, 2024 • Power of the Dream takes viewers behind the scenes to show how WNBA players took a stand during racial justice protests in 2020, helped elect a senator and negotiated historic pay raises.

‘Longlegs’ Review: Nicolas Cage Worms His Way Into Your Nightmares With Dread-Filled Serial Killer Thriller

Osgood Perkins' ’90s-set horror movie disturbs more over time than it does in the moment, getting scary once its singularly Satanic boogeyman embeds in your head.

By Peter Debruge

Peter Debruge

Chief Film Critic

• How JD Vance Went From ‘Hillbilly Elegy’ to the Ultimate Celebrity Apprentice — Thanks to Hollywood’s Help 3 days ago
• With ‘Inside Out 2’ and ‘Despicable Me 4’ Propping Up the Summer Box Office, Could 2024 Be the Year of Animation? 1 week ago
• ‘Wallace & Gromit’ Creator Nick Park Credits Disney for Sparking Interest in Animation, Teases ‘Vengeance Most Fowl’ and Feathers’ Long-Awaited Return 1 week ago

SPOILER ALERT: The following review contains mild spoilers.

Now here’s a first: Apart from the pale-faced freak show of the film’s title, the experience of watching “ Longlegs ” didn’t strike me as all that frightening. At first. In the moment, it’s considerably less scary than the ecstatic early buzz — ginned up by Neon via whisper campaigns and strategic advance screenings — would have you believe. Less than 12 hours after seeing it, however, the demented Nicolas Cage character resurfaced in my nightmares, popping up out of nowhere to screech, “Hail Satan!” in that unnerving, high-pitched voice of his.

Related Stories

Why sony is betting on ‘palworld’ after the early hype, comedian hannah berner on her first netflix special and how 'summer house' prepared her for stand-up, popular on variety.

That nickname applies to an instantly iconic Nicolas Cage creation, no less disturbing than Max Schreck’s hunchbacked Nosferatu, a performance that has been a career-long inspiration for Cage. Like that early screen vampire, Longlegs puts us on edge with his twisted body language and exaggerated gestures — that, plus odd framing that crops him off at the head, explains how the character manages to worm his way into our brains.

Visually, audiences can scarcely tell it’s Cage beneath all that makeup: With his stringy white hair, pasty foundation and faded pink uniform, he looks less like a man than an androgynous cross between Bette Davis in “What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?” and kindly character actor Celia Weston, who played the mom in “Junebug.” These are hardly your typical horror archetypes, and yet, once the film’s ultimate scheme is revealed, it leaves a more unsettling imprint.

We first see Longlegs driving up to an innocent girl’s white country house in a station wagon — easily the least threatening of cars, rendered ominous by DP Andres Arochi’s framing. The opening sequence is stylized to suggest a grainy home movie, with its vintage Kodak colors and rounded corners. Later, the frame expands to full anamorphic widescreen, creating a coffin-like shape that tends to isolate characters in threatening environments. As Cage interacts with what he calls “the almost birthday girl,” playing a twisted game of peekaboo, his demeanor suggests an incompetent clown or a bachelor uncle — one of those maladroit adults who grossly misjudge how to interact with kids. He’s the kind of sinister stranger little girls are well advised not to approach.

From this prologue, the film jumps forward from the ’70s to the Clinton administration to find Lee participating in an FBI search. She shows an almost psychic intuition as to the culprit’s whereabouts, but that isn’t enough to spare her partner, whose abrupt exit establishes how shocking the film’s violence can be. There’s a certain laziness to the storytelling, as Perkins relies on tired serial-killer tropes to skip over the film’s more egregious contrivances. (Lee’s personal connection to Longlegs is a coincidence too far, and the never-explained demonic orbs are more hokey than horrific.)

Rather than recycling the genre’s boilerplate elements, Perkins strips away most of the procedural bits and concentrates on distinguishing details: the eccentric mental hospital chief who dresses like a pimp, or the girl at the hardware store who might have been a victim in another movie, but instead deflates Longlegs’ menace when she quips, “Dad, that gross guy’s here again!”

Reviewed at Wilshire Screening Room, Los Angeles, July 1, 2024. MPA Rating: R. Running time: 101 MIN.

• Production: A Neon release and presentation, in association with C2, of a Traffic., Range, Oddfellows, Saturn Films production. Producers: Dan Kagan, Brian Kavanaugh-Jones, Nicolas Cage, Dave Caplan, Chris Ferguson. Executive producers: Jason Cloth, Andrea Bucko, Ronnie Exley, Lawrence Minicone, Sean Krajewski, David Gendron, Liz Destro, Tom Quinn, Jason Wald, Christian Parkes, Teddy Schwarzman, John Friedberg, Laura Austin-Little, Jesse Savath, Fred Berger.
• Crew: Director, writer: Osgood Perkins. Camera: Andrés Arochi Tinajero. Editors: Greg Ng, Graham Fortin. Musci: Zilgi.
• With: Maika Monroe, Blair Underwood, Alicia Witt, Nicolas Cage, Michelle Choi-Lee, Dakota Daulby.

More from Variety

China box office: remade crime thriller ‘a place called silence’ makes $50 million debut, ame institute to host “state of the creative industries” panel, sponsored by variety vip+, china box office: ‘a quiet place: day one’ debuts third as ‘moments we shared’ leads weekend, china’s sci-fi adventure ‘escape from the 21st century’ picked up by fortissimo films, why verizon’s latest play could make it the netflix of streaming bundlers, china box office: ‘successor’ makes $50 million debut as ‘despicable me 4’ opens third, more from our brands, young thug’s ysl racketeering trial: what’s going on and will it ever end, buffalo trace just opened an invite-only whiskey lounge in paris, ‘heretic’ lawyer behind houston christian’s house v. ncaa fight, the best loofahs and body scrubbers, according to dermatologists, lisa kudrow says ‘we’re due’ for a new season of the comeback.

Peter Travers

Peter Travers is a film critic and journalist. Get Peter Travers's latest news stories and articles, connect with millions of users and join the conversation at ABC News.

Peter's Latest Work

Review: 'twisters' delivers unexpected tenderness when the world is ready to explode, review: natalie portman excels as maddie schwartz in 'lady in the lake', emmy nominations 2024: snubs and surprises, review: nicolas cage is at his unique, unnerving, unforgettable best in 'longlegs', review: colman domingo is simply stupendous in 'sing sing', review: the random lunacy is reliably hard to resist in 'despicable me 4', review: to see murphy, reinhold and ashton mix it up again in 'beverly hills cop 4', is fine fan service, review: kevin costner coasts on charisma in 'horizon: an american saga', review: 'the bear' season 3 sets a new gold standard for what tv can do when it's firing on all cylinders, review: jesse plemons is all kinds of fabulous in 'kinds of kindness', review: all the actors shine in 'the bikeriders', review: 'inside out 2' delivers charm in sweet abundance.

• Privacy Policy — 
• Your US State Privacy Rights — 
• Children's Online Privacy Policy — 
• Interest-Based Ads — 
• Terms of Use — 
• Do Not Sell My Info — 
• Contact Us — 

© 2024 ABC News

Things you buy through our links may earn  Vox Media  a commission.

The 30 Best Movies to Watch on Every Streaming Service

This article will be updated as movies move on and off streaming services. An asterisk indicates a new addition to the list.

Don’t we all deserve to watch something that’s actually great? Too often, the competing streaming algorithms at Netflix , Max , and Amazon Prime Video push a smattering of undifferentiated piffle. So many of the major services seemingly just want to highlight their own latest acquisition or buzzy project. But we at Vulture have no horse in the streaming race: Our job is to help you figure out what to watch by recommending the best movies each of these services has to offer at any given time.

To that end, we have gone over the must-see titles on each platform and winnowed them down to the list below. It could easily be 100 movies long, but we tried to keep it manageable — a tight 30! — and if you come back every month, you can expect to see it updated with new selections. Read on to jump to a streaming service and find something to watch, starting with this week’s critic’s pick.

Jump to a streaming service: Netflix | Amazon Prime Video | Max | Hulu | Apple TV+ | Peacock | Disney+ | Paramount+ | The Criterion Channel

This Week’s Critic’s Pick

Everything everywhere all at once (netflix).

Year:  2022 Runtime:  2h 19m Directors:  The Daniels

After a brief stint on Amazon Prime, this is the first Netflix drop for the 2023 Best Picture winner, a movie that defies categorization as it tells a story of alternate realities and butt plugs. A film that debuted at SXSW, this daring piece of work built an audience through 2022 until it won multiple Oscars, including Best Picture and Director. It’s like nothing else. Anywhere.

How We Pick Our Films

Critic Brian Tallerico watches and writes about movies and TV every day. To curate Vulture’s streaming lists, he dives into each service’s catalogue to surface acclaimed, surprising, or otherwise noteworthy titles — using his taste and a lifetime of cinema study as his guide, instead of whatever the algorithm happens to be pushing. After triple-checking to make sure they’re still available, he watches each, then writes his recommendation. Below we’ve collected selections from each streaming service. We highlight more than just Oscar winners or popcorn flicks: These films present interesting ideas, made an impact on cinema, and changed our culture.

*Godzilla Minus One

Year:  2023 Runtime:  2h 5m Director:  Takashi Yamazaki

Netflix stunned people when they stealthily dropped this worldwide hit on their service on June 1st, making a movie that wasn’t even on VOD finally available at home. The winner of the Oscar for Best Visual Effects,  Godzilla Minus One  is a masterful blend of action and social commentary, considered by many to be among the best in this generations-spanning franchise.

*Inside Man

Year:  2006 Runtime:  2h 8m Director:  Spike Lee

Yes, Spike Lee once made a great action movie. The director of  Do the Right Thing  and  Da 5 Bloods  put his spin on the heist film with this great 2006 Denzel Washington vehicle. The regular collaborator plays an NYPD hostage negotiator, called in when a bank heist goes down on Wall Street. Tight and effective, this is just further evidence that Spike Lee can nail any kind of movie he chooses to make. This might be Lee’s most underrated movie. It hums.

* Knocked Up

Year:  2007 Runtime:  2h 9m Director:  Judd Apatow

The movie’s gender politics seem shakier than when it came out, but Judd Apatow’s biggest hit still works because of the intelligence of its screenplay and commitment of its cast, especially Seth Rogen and Katherine Heigl. The story of a man forced to grow up when his one-night stand gets pregnant errs a bit too much on the side of the male view, but one can’t deny the pure laughs-per-minute ratio. It’s fun to contrast this with the more recent  Long Shot  to see how much Rogen has changed (and how much he really hasn’t).

May December

Year: 2023 Runtime: 1h 57m Director: Todd Haynes

Julianne Moore and Natalie Portman star in the latest from Carol and Far from Heaven director Todd Haynes, a stunning character study of an actress who discovers that some people are impossible to figure out. Portman plays a star who tries to get under the skin of Moore’s character, a woman who raped a child when she was a teacher, and later married that young man. Charles Melton is phenomenal as the now-grown victim, stuck in perpetual adolescence.

Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse

Year: 2023 Runtime: 2h 20m Director: Joaquim Dos Santos, Kemp Powers, Justin K. Thompson

This is how you do a big-budget blockbuster sequel, developing the themes of the first movie and setting up the stake for what now appears will be one of the best trilogies in superhero history. Packed with so much detail and creativity, it’s a film you’ll want to watch over and over again.

Amazon Prime Video

*black narcissus.

Year:  1947 Runtime:  1h 36m Director:  Michael Powell

Movies don’t get better than this, one of the most ambitious flicks ever made. The geniuses known as the Archers – Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger — adapted Rumer Godden’s 1939 novel set in the Himalayas without actually going to the Himalayas, using gorgeous matte paintings as backdrops. It’s a stunning piece of work, a study of insanity and eroticism that one can hardly believe is almost eight decades old.

The Holdovers

Year: 2023 Runtime: 2h 13m Director: Alexander Payne

Paul Giamatti and Da’Vine Joy Randolph won Golden Globes, and Randolph won an Oscars, for this phenomenal holiday comedy, exclusive to Peacock. The ‘70s-set story of a boarding school over holiday break already feels like a comedy classic, a movie that people will be watching, especially around the end of the year, for generations to come.

Interstellar

Year:  2014 Runtime:  2h 49m Director:  Christopher Nolan

The most underrated film from the director of The Dark Knight and Oppenheimer remains this 2014 sci-fi epic, a film that’s better if you approach it as an emotional journey instead of a physical one. Matthew McConaughey gives one of the best performances of his career as an astronaut searching for a new home for mankind, and realizing all that he left behind to do so. It’s a technical marvel with some of the most striking visuals and best sound design of Nolan’s career.

Year: 2023 Runtime: 1h 55m Director: Greta Gerwig

One of the biggest films of 2023 has landed on Max. Greta Gerwig’s daring blockbuster is a comedy that works both as a reminder of the power imagination and the fight for equality. Anyone who thinks this movie is anti-male isn’t paying any attention. The theme of the movie is that no one — not even Barbie or Ken — should be defined by traditional roles. We should all be free to play however we want. It’s a wonderful film that will truly stand the test of time.

Dune: Part Two

Year:  2021, 2024 Runtime:  2h 36m, 2h 46m Director:  Denis Villeneuve

You can now watch the entire  Dune  saga to date on Max, the exclusive home to the highest grossing film of 2024 so far. The second half of Villeneuve’s saga fulfills the promise of the first, turning the set-up of the 2021 film into a full-blooded action tale of a new messiah. Timothee Chalamet and Zendaya lead an all-star cast in a film that understands both scope and character. It may not play quite as well at home as it did in theaters, but it still rocks.

* Lost in Translation

Year:  2003 Runtime:  1h 42m Director:  Sofia Coppola

Sofia Coppola exploded onto the filmmaking scene with her second film, this dramedy about a fading movie star who meets an American girl in Tokyo and both of their lives change. Bill Murray does career-best work in the film (and should have won an Oscar), and he’s matched by Scarlett Johansson, but  Lost in Translation  really is Coppola’s film, a tender, brilliant character study with personal resonance.

The Lighthouse

Year:  2019 Runtime:  1h 50m Director:  Robert Eggers

Is this the best COVID lockdown movie? Sure, it came out the year before, but a lot of people watched it on streaming while they were going crazy with people with whom they were stuck. Robert Pattinson and Willem Dafoe are fearless in Robert Eggers’ black-and-white nightmare about two New England lighthouse keepers who learn that nothing is scarier than being trapped with someone unbearable. It’s a twisted gem.

Year: 2019 Runtime: 2h 12m Director: Bong Joon-ho

Remember not that long ago before the world changed, and we could all rally around a South Korean film becoming the first foreign flick ever to win the Oscar for Best Picture ? It really was a crazy time. At one point Hulu was the only place you’ll find Bong Joon-ho’ s hysterical and thrilling study of class conflict for a long time, but the beloved thriller is now on Max, too.

Spirited Away

Year: 2001 Runtime: 2h 4m Director: Hayao Miyazaki

Almost all of the Studio Ghibli films are on Max, the exclusive home to them when it comes to streaming. The truth is that we could write thousands of words about the impact of Hayao Miyazaki and his colleagues (and we have: here’s a ranking of the entire output of the most important modern animation studio in the world), but for now we’ll recommend starting with Spirited Away , My Neighbor Totoro , and Castle in the Sky . You won’t stop.

All of Us Strangers

Year: 2023 Runtime: 1h 45m Director: Andrew Haigh

One of the best films of 2023 is exclusively available on Hulu thanks to the relationship between the company and Fox Searchlight—both owned by Disney, essentially. Andrew Scott is stunning as a man who essentially travels in time to visit the parents (Jamie Bell and Claire Foy) who died when he was young, all while starting a relationship with one of his neighbors (Paul Mescal). Imagine getting to say what you never could to those you lost and allowing them a chance to see how you’ve changed too. It’s a beautiful, moving piece of work.

Anatomy of a Fall

Year: 2023 Runtime: 2h 31m Director: Justine Triet

The latest Oscar winner for Best Original Screenplay is already exclusively on Hulu thanks to their relationship with Neon. The great Sandra Huller stars as a woman whose husband dies from a fall at their home. Was it suicide or murder? More than a mere courtroom drama, this is a dissection of a marriage that’s raw, brutal, and real.

Year: 2020 Runtime: 1h 48m Director: Chloe Zhao

The Oscar winner for Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Actress , this 2020 drama is one of the most moving films of the young decade so far, and it’s exclusively on Hulu thanks to the company’s relationship with Searchlight (they’re both owned by Disney). Frances McDormand stars as Fern, a woman displaced by the loss of her husband and job, sending her out on the road. Blending non-fiction filmmaking choices like the use of non-actors telling their own stories with a deep sense of character-building, this is a phenomenal film.

Once Upon a Time in Hollywood

Year: 2019 Runtime: 2h 42m Director: Quentin Tarantino

It’s hard to believe it’s already been almost a half-decade since Quentin Tarantino’s last movie, one of the last greats of the 2010s. Wildly misunderstood during production (and even a bit after release), it’s way more than just a reclamation of the Sharon Tate murders, it’s a funny, scary, smart alternate version of Hollywood history with some of the career-best performances from Leonardo DiCaprio, Margot Robbie, and Oscar winner Brad Pitt.

Killers of the Flower Moon

Year: 2023 Runtime: 3h 26m Director: Martin Scorsese

One of the most acclaimed films of the 2020s is now exclusively available for subscribers of Apple TV+. Leonardo DiCaprio, Lily Gladstone, and Robert De Niro star in an epic drama that’s about nothing less than the violent formation of this country. When the Osage people became the richest per capita in the country, the white power figures in the region did everything they could to take it from them. As well-made as any streaming original of all time, it’s not only the best film on Apple TV+, it’s one of the best films you could watch on any streaming service, anywhere.

Wolfwalkers

Year: 2020 Runtime: 1h 43m Directors: Tomm Moore, Ross Stewart

Wolfwalkers should have won the Oscar in early 2021. It’s a lyrical and gorgeous final act to Cartoon Saloon’s “Irish Folklore Trilogy,” the story of a girl named Robyn Goodfellowe, whose father has been hired to hunt wolves. Robyn befriends a shapeshifter, a girl who is both wolf and human, in a story that incorporates modern storytelling with Irish folklore and inspired visual style.

Oppenheimer

Year: 2023 Runtime: 3h Director: Christopher Nolan

Oppenheimer is a proud biopic: a dense, big-swing condensation of a 600-page biography about one of the most important men of the 20th century and about (in the movie’s own words) “the most important fucking thing to ever happen in the history of the world.” But Oppenheimer is also the opposite of a standard-issue Great Man movie: The achievement here is monstrous, and the psychic dissolution of the main character before our very eyes is heartbreaking. —Bilge Ebiri

Year: 1974 Runtime: 2h 10m Director: Roman Polanski

Forget it Jake, it’s Chinatown. One of the best movies of the ’70s, this Best Picture nominee (and Best Screenplay winner) tells the story of Jake Gittes, played unforgettably by Jack Nicholson, as he investigates an adulterer and finds something much more insidious under the surface of Los Angeles. It’s a must-see, as important as almost any film from its era.

The Godfather

Year:  1972 Runtime:  2h 55m Director:  Francis Ford Coppola

It’s only the film that made Al Pacino a star and kicked Francis Ford Coppola’s career into the stratosphere — maybe you’ve heard of it? In all seriousness, the entire  Godfather  trilogy is available on Paramount+, including the superior recent cut of the third film. You could then slide from some of the best filmmaking of all time into the streaming service’s original series  The Offer , about the making of Coppola’s masterpiece.

Year: 2023 Runtime: 1h 45m Director: Celine Song

This phenomenal Best Picture and Best Original Screenplay nominee isn’t on any of the other streamers. It stars the excellent Greta Lee and Teo Yoo as a couple who were close as children but reunite years later after she immigrated to the United States. It’s as much a story of what people leave behind when they change their entire lives as it is a traditional story of unrequited love. It’s beautiful and unforgettable.

The Lion King

Year:  1994 Runtime:  1h 33m Director:  Roger Allers, Rob Minkoff

A key part of the Disney Renaissance, this animated classic is one of the most beloved Disney films in the history of the company. It’s one of the Disney movies that became more than just a movie, inspiring sequels, theme park attractions, and even a massive hit Broadway show. People keep returning to the story of Simba as it gets passed down from generation to generation, probably earning a new fan somewhere in the world every single day.

The Criterion Channel

Year: 1952 Runtime: 2h 23m Director: Akira Kurosawa

Even if Criterion had only a handful of Kurosawa films, it would still be difficult to choose between The Seven Samurai , Rashomon , and Ran , to name a few. So why Ikiru ? Well, it’s an unqualified masterpiece, about a man with stomach cancer coming to terms with the end of his life. It’s hard to believe Kurosawa made it when he was just over 40.

In the Mood for Love 

Year: 2000 Runtime: 1h 38m Director: Wong Kar-wai

Movies don’t get more hypnotic than this, a story of love and longing set in Hong Kong in 1962. Gorgeously shot by cinematographers Christopher Doyle and Mark Lee Ping-bin, In the Mood for Love also features career-defining performances by Tony Leung Chiu-wai and Maggie Cheung Man-yuk. The two play neighbors who develop an attraction to one another in a way that feels both deeply cinematic and completely human.

Jeanne Dielman, 23, quai du Commerce, 1080 Bruxelles 

Year: 1975 Runtime: 3h 21m Director: Chantal Akerman

The 2022 Sight & Sound critics poll named Chantal Akerman’s masterpiece the best film of all time, and it’s sitting on the Criterion Channel waiting for you to find out why. This 1975 examination of the gradual breakdown of the routines of an ordinary life turns everyday detail into something unforgettable, even transcendent. Critics have loved this film for decades and now it’s had an incredible resurgence almost six decades after its release.

• now streaming
• streaming recommendations
• streaming services
• amazon prime video
• the criterion channel

Most Viewed Stories

• Cinematrix No. 115: July 19, 2024
• The Boys Season-Finale Recap: New World, New Rules
• Who’s Presumed Guilty on Presumed Innocent ?
• Who Are Claim to Fame ’s Celeb Family Members?
• Maren Morris Acknowledges Skirt That Didn’t Meet Her in the Middle
• The Real Housewives of Orange County Recap: Realer and Realtor
• Presumed Innocent Recap: So You Snapped

Editor’s Picks

Most Popular

• Natalie Portman’s Humblebrag Won Late Night This Week

What is your email?

This email will be used to sign into all New York sites. By submitting your email, you agree to our Terms and Privacy Policy and to receive email correspondence from us.

Sign In To Continue Reading

Create your free account.

Password must be at least 8 characters and contain:

• Lower case letters (a-z)
• Upper case letters (A-Z)
• Numbers (0-9)
• Special Characters (!@#$%^&*)

As part of your account, you’ll receive occasional updates and offers from New York , which you can opt out of anytime.

'Longlegs' movie will haunt your nightmares and 'hijack your subconscious,' critics say

The reviews are in and the critics agree unanimously: "Longlegs" is absolutely terrifying. 

Neon's horror thriller film, starring Nicolas Cage as an unstable rural dollmaker and Maika Monroe as a young FBI agent, had its red carpet premiere at the Egyptian Theatre in Los Angeles, California, on Tuesday.

Fans in attendance were each gifted a red 45" vinyl covered in "Longlegs Cipher," but left the theater too scared to play the soundtrack.

"Longlegs" is the latest film from actor and screenwriter Osg o od "Oz" Perkins , who is also the son of Anthony Perkins, the star of Alfred Hitchcock’s "Psycho. "

The film follows FBI agent Lee Harker (Monroe) as she tackles an unsolved serial killer case plaguing her small Pacific Northwest town, and takes an unexpected, supernatural turn as she discovers a personal connection to the occult killer.

Here's what critics are saying about "Longlegs."

went to the #Longlegs premiere and they gave us a vinyl but i’m too scared to play it 👀 pic.twitter.com/2pDXBmXm61 — inet 🦭 (@lifegonewild) July 9, 2024

'Longlegs' will 'hijack your subconscious,' critics say

Critics are calling "Longlegs" a true horror film, with Peter Debruge of Variety writing that it can "hijack your subconscious:" "Less than 12 hours after seeing it, the demented Nicolas Cage character resurfaced in my nightmares."

David Ehrlich of Indie Wire shared a similar sentiment in his review: "Terrifying in the abstract even as it grows increasingly absurd to watch, 'Longlegs' slinks its way into that liminal space between childhood nightmares and grown-up practicalities."

The H o llywood Reporter calls "Longlegs" Perkins' "most fully realized and relentlessly effective film to date," despite concerns that he may "stir too many elements into the mix here."

Neon has used strategic marketing to convey the horror level of this film, releasing a teaser stating that "the first time Maika Monroe saw Nicolas Cage as Longlegs, her heart rate hit 170 bpm."

The first time Maika Monroe saw Nicolas Cage as Longlegs, her heart rate hit 170 bpm. LONGLEGS opens in theaters Friday: https://t.co/3tgjmFAPLc pic.twitter.com/DaweYaDgxM — ↃL⊥\\Ↄ—\\ᘰ (@LonglegsFilm) July 8, 2024

One user replied , "the marketing for this film (is) so good i’m actually getting worried."

"Longlegs" stars Blair Underwood as Agent Carter and Alicia Witt as Ruth Harker, Lee Harker's ultra-religious mother. The ensemble cast includes Michelle Choi Lee, Dakota Daulby, Lauren Acala, Kieran Shipka, and Maila Hosie.

Watch the 'Longlegs' trailer:

When does 'Longlegs' hit theaters?

"Longlegs" is out in theaters Friday.

Log in or sign up for Rotten Tomatoes

Trouble logging in?

By continuing, you agree to the Privacy Policy and the Terms and Policies , and to receive email from the Fandango Media Brands .

By creating an account, you agree to the Privacy Policy and the Terms and Policies , and to receive email from Rotten Tomatoes and to receive email from the Fandango Media Brands .

By creating an account, you agree to the Privacy Policy and the Terms and Policies , and to receive email from Rotten Tomatoes.

Email not verified

Let's keep in touch.

Sign up for the Rotten Tomatoes newsletter to get weekly updates on:

• Upcoming Movies and TV shows
• Rotten Tomatoes Podcast
• Media News + More

By clicking "Sign Me Up," you are agreeing to receive occasional emails and communications from Fandango Media (Fandango, Vudu, and Rotten Tomatoes) and consenting to Fandango's Privacy Policy and Terms and Policies . Please allow 10 business days for your account to reflect your preferences.

OK, got it!

• What's the Tomatometer®?
• Login/signup

Movies in theaters

• Opening this week
• Top box office
• Coming soon to theaters
• Certified fresh movies

Movies at home

• Fandango at Home
• Prime Video
• Most popular streaming movies
• What to Watch New

Certified fresh picks

• 77% Twisters Link to Twisters
• 86% Longlegs Link to Longlegs
• 91% National Anthem Link to National Anthem

New TV Tonight

• 83% Cobra Kai: Season 6
• 86% Kite Man: Hell Yeah!: Season 1
• 100% Simone Biles: Rising: Season 1
• 73% Lady in the Lake: Season 1
• 80% Marvel's Hit-Monkey: Season 2
• 54% Those About to Die: Season 1
• 50% Emperor of Ocean Park: Season 1
• -- Mafia Spies: Season 1
• -- The Ark: Season 2
• -- Unprisoned: Season 2

Most Popular TV on RT

• 80% Star Wars: The Acolyte: Season 1
• 93% The Boys: Season 4
• 100% Supacell: Season 1
• 89% The Bear: Season 3
• 76% Presumed Innocent: Season 1
• 89% Sunny: Season 1
• Best TV Shows
• Most Popular TV
• TV & Streaming News

Certified fresh pick

• 89% Sunny: Season 1 Link to Sunny: Season 1
• All-Time Lists
• Binge Guide
• Comics on TV
• Five Favorite Films
• Video Interviews
• Weekend Box Office
• Weekly Ketchup
• What to Watch

50 Best 1980s Cult Movies & Classics

71 Best Sci-Fi Movies of the 1950s

What to Watch: In Theaters and On Streaming

Awards Tour

Renewed and Cancelled TV Shows 2024

Cobra Kai : Season 6, Part 1 First Reviews: Funny and Emotional, but Give Us the Rest Already

• Trending on RT
• Emmy Nominations
• Twisters First Reviews
• Popular Movies

Best Movies in Theaters (2024)

What's new on ABC?

The JustWatch Timeline helps you to stay up to date. See what movies and TV shows have been recently added to ABC.

New releases streaming on ABC Go

Discover below all the new releases on ABC.

Filed under:

13 glowing reviews of reviled movies

100% organic spicy takes

If you buy something from a Polygon link, Vox Media may earn a commission. See our ethics statement .

Share this story

• Share this on Facebook
• Share this on Reddit
• Share All sharing options

Share All sharing options for: 13 glowing reviews of reviled movies

A great critic writes what they see, what they hear, what they taste, what they feel — consensus be damned.

Polygon's Spicy Takes Week is our chance to spotlight fun arguments that bring a little extra heat to the table.

There’s as much curiosity as judgment involved in dissecting art (or art-like product), and the pursuit of a pure reaction means that sometimes you’re the only one who loves a real stinker. If 200 people loathe Michael Bay’s Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen , at least one person will call it “cutting-edge and undeniably powerful” and mean it. It’s not trolling to be on the other side of the line; it’s the balance of the universe.

Spicy takes grow naturally in the wild, and when found in Rotten Tomatoes’ forest of common opinion, they offer an especially delectable taste. So to honor those who stood alone in their praise of reviled — and in some cases, vilified — movies, we took a look at both recent and legendary critical bombs to find Tomatometer-rocking dissent.

Jurassic World: Dominion

Year: 2022 Tomatometer score: 29%

The consensus: “Overly long and soullessly engineered”; “A shameful triumph of corporate greed”; “An extinction-level event for the franchise”; “Watching Jurassic World: Dominion , you might find yourself starting to feel just a little sorry for the people who made Jurassic World: Dominion .”

The glowing defense: “Professional raptor trainer Owen Grady (Chris Pratt reprising his dinosaur-whisperer hero from Jurassic World and Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom ) promises one of his now-adult ‘students,’ Blue, that he will find and rescue her adorable baby clone, Beta, who has been dino-napped by some nasty poachers. This serves as one of the outrageously fun plots in Colin Trevorrow’s insanely suspenseful, breathlessly action-packed, Indiana-Jones-inspired sequel Jurassic World: Dominion , a nostalgia-fueled, emotionally exhaustive capper for the Jurassic World trilogy that began in 2015 [...] There’s something else that makes Dominion unusually special. Like a classic Frank Capra film, Dominion believes in the basic goodness of the common person.” - Dann Gire, Daily Herald

Gods of Egypt

Year: 2016 Tomatometer score: 29%

The consensus: “Massively perplexing”; “Incomparably preposterous”; “The movie most likely to be airbrushed onto the side of a van”; “If it wasn’t all CGI, I would have said I hope they saved the sets for another, better movie”; “A big budget wheel of cheddar.”

The glowing defense: “This is a special nerdery, different from Peter Jackson’s Tolkien adaptations, the recent (and unfairly dismissed) John Carter or even, Gods protect us, Marvel’s Thor films. Director Alex Proyas has zero interest in making a film for everyone: this is for the indoor kids who read the Fiend Folio from Dungeons and Dragons and not much else [...] Part of what sets Gods of Egypt apart is the sheer number of fantastic and antic set pieces, with hardly a breath between them [...] There’s a half-baked moral somewhere in Gods of Egypt , which might come down to “be true”, or something. Proyas’ films, including Dark City and Knowing , have always been on the edge of the mainstream, and are relentlessly true to his vision.” - Jordan Hoffman, The Guardian

Suicide Squad

Year: 2016 Tomatometer score: 26%

The consensus: “Interminable muddle”; “Amounts to an all-out attack on the whole idea of entertainment”; “[Jared Leto’s] about as scary as a fifth-grader making faces at himself in a Hot Topic changing room mirror”; “To say that the movie loses the plot would not be strictly accurate, for that would imply that there was a plot to lose.”

The glowing defense: “ Suicide Squad rejects standard superhero story structure in favor of cutting to the chase — or in this case the sprawling finale. [Director David] Ayer gives us 20 minutes of setup followed by 110 minutes of climax [...] Margot Robbie is perfection as Harley, radiating jocular whimsy and electric danger whether she’s performing aerial acrobatics in her cell, casually threatening the lives of her fully armed guards, firing off at enemies for interrupting date night, or skipping into battle with a bat and a broad grin [...] Though wonky in structure, it makes a certain sense that this antihero tale wouldn’t play by the rules. Packed with attitude, Suicide Squad is ferocious fun, boasting a bounty of action, mirthful mayhem, and a cavalcade of curious characters. It’s just the kick in the pants Warner Bros. and DC Entertainment need to correct course ahead of next year’s Justice League .” - Kristy Puchko, CBR

Year: 2022 Tomatometer score: 15%

The consensus: “Soul-sucking”; “The cinematic equivalent of Murphy’s Law”; “You can only imagine the carnage that must have taken place in the edit suite”; “Like most April Fools’ Day jokes, Morbius is not actually funny.”

The glowing defense: “ Morbius has no reason to exist as an actual movie, but maybe that’s why it worked for me [...] the film itself, the one that plays until those end-credits start to roll, is surprisingly fun, a picture that can just kind of be whatever the heck it wants. And it wants, unsurprisingly, to be a mad-scientist movie, with all the tragic melodrama that comes along with it. Freed from the shackles of elaborate world-building or jokey, family-friendly tentpole-dom, this is a tight, brisk little over-the-top thriller, with plenty of atmosphere, effective jump scares, and a couple of genuinely moving performances at its heart.” - Bilge Ebiri, Vulture

Year: 2003 Tomatometer score: 6%

The consensus: “Staggering idiocy”; “Torture”; “World-historically awful”; “It’s hard to tell who this movie was intended for: those who think that a mentally challenged boy singing dirty rap lyrics is cute and funny? Those who find Ben Affleck’s brow to be ineffably mysterious? Students of Stoic philosophy looking for a test?”

The glowing defense: “ Gigli arrives carrying more baggage than a Greyhound bus, which may distract moviegoers from what is a silly but still an enjoyably written and performed romantic comedy [...] The story is nonsensical, to be sure, and grows more so, but for connoisseurs of romantic comedy, it’s sometimes clear that the whole point is to savor the thrust and parry as love blooms between the leads — much as action junkies forgive ludicrous set-ups on the way to a great fight scene — and in this department, Gigli does score. Its often profane flights of lyrical rhetoric are often hilarious, on a par with the character-based wackiness of Bull Durham , at times; at others, it evokes Chasing Amy in outrageousness, while lacking that pic’s seriousness of purpose. [Jennifer] Lopez and Affleck are thoroughly engaging in their smartly calibrated opposites — his lost boy under a tough, Vinnie-from-the-block exterior to her sensually purring Zen warrior. Lopez has not been this good since Out of Sight , while Affleck’s turn should add a measure of respect to what seems like an inordinately charmed career.” - Amy Dawes, Variety

The Emoji Movie

Year: 2017 Tomatometer score: 6%

The consensus: “Boldly bad, yes, but also boldly boring”; “One of the darkest, most dismaying films I have ever seen”; “A viewer leaves The Emoji Movie a colder person”; “Around nine tenths product placement, at least 15 tenths abysmal, and pulsates with molten cynicism on every imaginable level”; “Please, never again.”

The glowing defense: “Somebody pinch me. If I’m not dreaming, I’ve just seen one of the boldest mainstream American movies in ages. The Emoji Movie is an allegory that can be read on multiple levels from the political to the religious, a rare attempt by Hollywood to come to grips with the online world, which is its biggest competitor, and a deadly parody of corny computer-animated family films such as Inside Out [...] The animation may be sub par by Pixar standards but how richly expressive can emojis be? The film walks a knife-edge, implying that the online universe is wide open with possibility yet limited by its nature.” - Jake Wilson, The Sydney Morning Herald

The Last Airbender

Year: 2010 Tomatometer score: 5%

The consensus: “A quite breathtakingly inept hodge-podge of vapid spirituality”; “I believe M. Night can ruin the world.”

The glowing defense: “M. Night Shyamalan may be on to something with this action-movie thing [...] Yeah, it’s kid stuff, and parents aren’t going to be enjoying any Pixar-style dual themes. This is strictly for the preteens who like their heroes young, their morals simple and their villains clear. And Shyamalan delivers. Credit the director for emphasizing the film’s multiple fight scenes, which crackle, particularly for a kids’ movie. This could have played like Spy Kids Know Kung Fu , but [Noah] Ringer is a real martial arts prodigy, and co-star Dev Patel ( Slumdog Millionaire ) trained for months. It shows.” - Scott Bowles, USA Today

Mortal Kombat: Annihilation

Year: 1997 Tomatometer score: 4%

The consensus: “Deadly dull”; “Never has tedium been so loud”; “Fragmented and monotonous, without a semblance of the gymnastic cleverness that at least made the first Mortal Kombat film into watchable trash.”

The glowing defense: “Fans will love Mortal Kombat: Annihilation . [...] Annihilation is basically back-to-back exquisitely choreographed high-tech fantasy fight scenes accompanied by high-energy tech beat. The plot, though moralistically correct, is far less important than those punches and high-flying kicks [...] The plot twists and turns a bit, but the fights are constant. Along the way, [the heroes] vanquish a nasty centaur, a monumental four-armed woman and a battalion of evil ninjas.” - Keri Guten Cohen, Detroit Free Press

Speed 2: Cruise Control

The consensus: “A waterlogged sequel”; “Sinks faster than a rock”; “A reeking bag of nothingness!”; “The human propensity to tamper with a good thing is probably ineluctable”; “Do yourself a favor and see a movie instead.”

The glowing defense: [3/5 stars] “Jason Patric, a major talent still unknown to the masses, takes over the stud-in-extraordinary-circumstances role that Keanu Reeves played in “Speed,” and Sandra Bullock joins him in her breeziest performance in quite a while as girlfriend, potential victim and hero [...] “Speed 2” is the most exciting to date of this summer’s big action pictures.” - Gene Siskel, Chicago Tribune

Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey

Year: 2023 Tomatometer score: 3%

The consensus: “A hundred-acre wasteland”; “Aggressively beige”; “Half-written, and the half we got wasn’t the good half”; “As a would-be cult classic, it commits the ultimate sin of being no fun at all.”

The glowing defense: “Writer/director Rhys Frake-Waterfield has hit the sweet spot for déclassé genre flicks: nobody expects his brand-hijacking film to be any good, and trashy in some ways makes it better—at least more palatable for the late night grindhouse crowd [...] Pooh’s new role as a monstrous killer is a beautiful thing, reminding us that pop culture’s infinite cycle is—and must be—more powerful than any single capitalistic endeavour. So suck eggs, Disney: Pooh’s honey jar doesn’t belong to you. His grotesque reinvention is a kind of cosmic counter-balance: the yin of merchandise-friendly family products; the yang of a gnarly midnight movie.” - Luke Buckmaster, Flicks

Battlefield Earth

Year: 2000 Tomatometer score: 3%

The consensus: “Appalling”; “Deeply dumb”; “Unpleasant in a hostile way”; “[A] full-throttle adventure into the hyper-space of drivel”; “Not so much watched as lived through.”

The glowing defense: “There is a kind of nuttiness at work in this great big comic book of a movie. It is a spacey demolition derby. “Battlefield Earth” needs to be approached by audiences in the same spirit [John] Travolta approached the material. He’s obviously getting a kick out of it [...] With director Roger Christian’s every shot — right up until the very last one — tilted at an angle, the film has the skewed perspective of a comic book [... Barry] Pepper has a remarkable presence, but a viewer needs a leap of faith to accept the uprising by the “man-animals” against the Psychlos.” - Bob Graham, SF Chronicle

Year: 2007 Tomatometer score: 2%

The consensus: “A painful regurgitation”; “Punishingly uninspired”; “Calls the very foundation of humor into question”; “The most excruciating, unfunny film you’ll see this year... if not your entire lifetime.”

The glowing defense: “You might think that the assorted story elements of The Chronicles of Narnia , the Pirates of the Caribbean and X-Men films, The Da Vinci Code , and even Nacho Libre would elbow each other in a delightfully skewed fashion, but actually, what’s funny is how perfectly their obligatory fight scenes and ‘heroic’ arcs all merge. It turns out that they’re all pretentious in the same pandering, sentimental way, and to call attention to that is a pretty good gag.” - Owen Gleiberman, Entertainment Weekly

Baby Geniuses

Year: 1999 Tomatometer score: 2%

The consensus: “Thoroughly misguided”; “Painful”; “Viscerally repugnant”; “As endearing as unanesthetized gum surgery”; “The best argument for stronger child labor laws.”

The glowing defense: “Good clean fun. This film goes a step beyond Look Who’s Talking by having the babies’ mouths morph to form words instead of using facial gestures to get implied meanings across. The use of stunt doubles to dance and perform martial arts adds a varied twist to this unusual nursery tale [...] With the recent popularity of baby-themed shows, this film has perfect timing. Younger patrons will be drawn into the fantasy, while the humor is sufficient to keep adults interested.” - Dwayne E. Leslie, Box Office Magazine

Spicy Takes Week

Loading comments...

Program: The Screen Show

Source: ABC Radio National

Brought to you by

Presented by

Jason di Rosso interviews the makers of the movies and tv you need to see.

Airs Thursday 10am. Repeated: Friday 9pm, Saturday 8pm.

Lee Isaac Chung on disaster film Twisters

Published: Yesterday Thu 18 Jul 2024 at 12:00am

More from The Screen Show

Yorgos lanthimos' absurdist comedy kinds of kindness + maxxxine.

Published: 11 Jul 2024 Thu 11 Jul 2024 at 12:00am

Hollywood A-lister Austin Butler on The Bikeriders

Published: 4 Jul 2024 Thu 4 Jul 2024 at 12:00am

One of France’s finest actors Emmanuelle Devos

Published: 27 Jun 2024 Thu 27 Jun 2024 at 12:00am

Guy Pearce stars as a British preacher in Lee Tamahori's The Convert

Published: 20 Jun 2024 Thu 20 Jun 2024 at 12:00am

Feature Articles

Why rashida jones found filming in japan 'relaxing' as a black woman.

Published: 11 Jul 2024 Thu 11 Jul 2024 at 11:27pm / by Yasmin Jeffery

When Saigon fell in 1975, Vietnamese movie star Kieu Chinh began calling her famous friends

Published: 18 Apr 2024 Thu 18 Apr 2024 at 11:24pm / by Nicola Heath

Dev Patel faced 'catastrophe every day' directing his first movie Monkey Man

Published: 9 Apr 2024 Tue 9 Apr 2024 at 8:14pm / by Nicola Heath

'I refuse to be': Why Olivia Colman is not on social media — and never will be

Published: 26 Mar 2024 Tue 26 Mar 2024 at 11:21pm / by Nicola Heath

Discover more podcasts

Download the ABC listen app to hear more of your favourite podcasts

• ABC7 New York 24/7 Eyewitness News Stream Watch Now
• THE LOOP | NYC Weather and Traffic Cams Watch Now

Sandy Kenyon's movie reviews and more

Advertisement

Supported by

‘Widow Clicquot’ Review: Champagne Mami

This muddled film, based on a true story, chronicles the origins of the French champagne house Veuve Clicquot.

• Share full article

By Beatrice Loayza

In the age of fizzy corporate biopics , “Widow Clicquot” — which chronicles the origins of the French champagne house Veuve Clicquot — has a couple of things going for it. Set in the 1800s around the Napoleonic Wars, the film, based on a true story, is boosted by the historical sweep and feminist credentials.

Directed by Thomas Napper, it’s got all the trappings of a swoony epic à la the 2005 “Pride & Prejudice” (Joe Wright, that film’s director, is a producer on “Widow Clicquot”). But ambitious as it is in scope, the film is also somewhat charmless and dour, caught between wanting to deliver the passion audiences expect from a period romance and constructing a suspenseful underdog tale. It’s too bad it never finds a winning balance.

Barbe-Nicole Ponsardin Clicquot (Haley Bennett) is 26 when her husband, François (Tom Sturridge), the heir to a champagne business, dies. There are two timelines: One shows Barbe-Nicole, now considered one of the world’s first modern businesswomen, fending off her male skeptics as she takes command of the vineyard. Force majeure (wartime embargoes; spoiled shipments of bubbly) ruins her finances, but Barbe-Nicole perseveres, eventually creating an in-demand vintage and inventing a new process (the riddling table) that speeds up production.

The second thread looks back to Barbe-Nicole’s marriage with François and his gradual descent into madness, which was exacerbated by his addiction to opium. The cinematographer Caroline Champetier (“Annette”) captures the lovebirds in warm, luminous colors, providing a sharp contrast with the gloomy interiors of the wartime narrative.

Placing François at the emotional center of Barbe-Nicole’s mission, however, feels awkward and disingenuous, and the back-and-forth nature of the film kills the momentum. The brooding score, by Bryce Dessner, tells us that we’re in the realm of big drama, though I wish the film itself generated enough feelings to match.

Widow Clicquot Rated R. Running time: 1 hour 29 minutes. In theaters.

TV Q&A: Did Celina Pompeani Mathison leave ‘Pittsburgh Today Live’?

You can reach TV writer Rob Owen at [email protected] or 412-380-8559. Follow @RobOwenTV on Threads, X, Bluesky and Facebook. Ask TV questions by email or phone. Please include your first name and location.

Remove the ads from your TribLIVE reading experience but still support the journalists who create the content with TribLIVE Ad-Free.

Get Ad-Free >

Sign Up for Notifications

Stay up-to-date on important news from TribLIVE

TribLIVE's Daily and Weekly email newsletters deliver the news you want and information you need, right to your inbox.

News Spotlight

• Laurels & lances: Kids giving back TribLive
• U.S. to send nuclear ballistic submarines to Korean Peninsula TribLive
• Blue Jays vs. Tigers Predictions & Picks: Odds, Moneyline - July 19 TribLive
• 3 Key Benefits of Hiring a Certified Arborist for Your Landscaping Needs BeaverJack Tree Service, LLC Partner News
• What is Live Podcasting and How Does It Work? Poduty Live's Podcast Theater Partner News
• Local Artwork: An Investment in Your Community and a Chance To Show Off Your Style In The Frame Partner News
• Brewers beat Pirates behind Brandon Woodruff's 7 shutout innings, 6-run fifth TribLive
• Plum wrestlers look forward to Allegheny County tournament TribHSSN
• What is a Full-Service Real Estate Company? Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices The Preferred Realty Partner News
• Can a new test predict dementia up to 9 years early? Clear Thoughts Foundation Partner News

TV Talk: Filmed-in-Pittsburgh ‘American Rust’ canceled

Not necessarily the ‘best.’ Not all his ‘favorite.’ These are the Globe film critic’s top 10 most-watched movies of all time.

Readers asked our film critic which movies he’s seen again and again. what’s on your list tell us in the comments..

I n my recent “Blazing Saddles” critic’s notebook , I mentioned I’d seen the Mel Brooks film so many times “that it ranks in the top 3 on my most-seen movies list.” A few readers wrote in asking about the other two movies in the top 3. I had no idea anyone would be interested in something I thought was merely trivial.

Turnabout is fair play; since I received answers about Bismarck’s duty as a herring, I should supply an answer to your question. I’ll even go one better: Not only will I give you the top 3, I’ll give you seven more movies from the most-seen list. And it will only cost you a dime. What a bargain, n’est-ce pas?

This isn’t a list of the best movies ever made, nor is it a list of favorites, though several of my most-seen films would qualify for that status. I believe “best” and “favorite” are two distinctly different categories and should be treated as such. “Best” movies may be masterpieces, but I don’t necessarily want to watch them at 2 a.m. when I can’t sleep.

Keep in mind I’m not working in an exact science here. I’ll be going on a far more inexact science — my memory.

Advertisement

If you want to find out where “Blazing Saddles” placed, read on.

10. ‘The Beastmaster’ (1982)

I’ve got to start here. If you’re a Gen Xer who had HBO, you know why. The cable network used to have a “no R-rated movies before 8 p.m.” rule. So they had to come up with something to fill the day. That something was “The Beastmaster,” the 1982 sword-and-sorcery film directed by “Phantasm”’s Don Coscarelli.

It ran so many times that we joked that HBO stood for “Honey, Beastmaster’s On!”

“The Beastmaster” isn’t even a good movie! But I was home a lot, and I was bored. Marc Singer cavorting with his jacked-up looking animals and Tanya Roberts — Sheena, Queen of the Jungle herself — kept me company. (Available on Prime Video)

9. ‘Pulp Fiction’ (1994)

I was obsessed with Quentin Tarantino’s trendsetter, a movie that did more harm than good by inspiring an endless array of inferior attempts by numerous directors. If it were shorter, it might be higher on this list. I know almost every line in this movie, which I verified when I saw it at the Museum of the Moving Image in Astoria last Sunday. It was on 35mm, so I couldn’t resist. (“Jackie Brown” is QT’s one true masterpiece, though.) (Available on Apple TV)

8. ‘Return of the Jedi’ (1983)

“The Empire Strikes Back” is the best “Star Wars” movie, but “Jedi” was the one that was on television the most. And I loved it — before I professed my undying love for the Minions, I was a proud Ewok devotee. I mean, they brought down the Empire with twigs and rocks and other cheap stuff. Like me, the Ewoks were ratchet . (Available on Disney+)

7. ‘To Sir, With Love’ (1967)

I love the “inspiring teacher” genre more than it loves me — there are some terrible movies in there! But this one’s not only my favorite teacher movie, it’s my favorite Sidney Poitier movie, too. It was a fixture on NYC TV, and one of the three films that made the actor 1967′s top box-office draw. And yes, I love Lulu’s infernal title song. Hell, when she sings it to Sidney’s Sir at the end , I cry every time. (Available on MAX)

6. ‘The Quiet Man’ (1952)

Another staple of the independent NYC channels. John Ford’s paean to Ireland ran on St. Paddy’s Day every year, but it also played at other times. Maureen O’Hara’s fiery lass always made me glad I tuned in. It’s too bad she shared the screen with John Wayne. I hate John Wayne , yet another trait I inherited from my mother. This is one of the few movies of his I can stand. (Available on Fandango at Home)

5. ‘My Cousin Vinny’ (1992)

If I come across Joe Pesci’s superb law comedy on TV, I will drop everything and watch it. And it’s on TV a lot. Funny story: I did a seminar on this film at the Coolidge last year. The screening afterward was sold out. I was confused as to why, but several people told me they simply wanted to see it on the big screen instead of on TBS. Oscar winner Marisa Tomei’s car mechanic testimony brought down the house, as always.

After the movie, I went back to my hotel and guess what was on TV? You’re damn right I watched it. (Available on AMC+, Hoopla)

4. ‘Meatballs’ (1979)

OK, so HBO had another PG-rated movie they ran 57 million times. For many years, I thought this goofy Bill Murray summer-camp movie was the film I’d seen more than any other. But, as I was putting this list together, I realized I hadn’t seen it in about 20 years. So it got demoted. As Murray chants in the movie, “It just doesn’t matter.” But trust me, I saw it enough to cement its place in the top 5. (Available on Tubi)

3. ‘The Blues Brothers’ (1980)

This “SNL” big screen spinoff — the first and best one — has everything I’ve always wanted in a movie: spectacular car crashes, cool protagonists, mean nuns, musical numbers, Ray Charles shooting a gun, slapstick humor, director cameos (Spielberg!), a pure disregard for authority, and James Brown sliding from one end of the screen to the other. In February, I appeared on the Polish podcast “SpoilerMaster ” to discuss “The Blues Brothers,” and host Michal Oleszczyk and I not only recorded it in Chicago, we went to “Blues Brothers” filming locations afterward. That’s how much I love the first R-rated movie I ever snuck into; since then, I’ve seen it hundreds of times. (Available on Fandango at Home)

2. ‘Coming to America’ (1988)

“Trading Places” may be Eddie Murphy’s best movie quality-wise, but for my money, this is his funniest. The first time I saw it, I laughed so hard at its Soul Glo activator couch scene that I fell on the theater floor. This was the go-to video to pop into the VHS when I was hanging out with my ‘boys, and it’s my top choice for comfort movie. I never tire of the antics of Prince Akeem and the guys in the My-T-Fine Barbershop. My doppelganger Cuba Gooding Jr.’s in it, too. (Available on Apple TV)

1. ‘Blazing Saddles’ (1974)

Now that you know where it placed in my most-watched movie list, you all owe me a dime. To quote Slim Pickens’s character, Taggart, “Somebody’s gotta go back and get a BLEEPload of dimes!” (Available on Paramount+)

Odie Henderson is the Boston Globe's film critic.

Summer All Stars: Portable fans, retro-inspired sunscreen, more — from $10

• Share this —

• Watch Full Episodes
• Read With Jenna
• Inspirational
• Relationships
• TODAY Table
• Newsletters
• Start TODAY
• Shop TODAY Awards
• Citi Concert Series
• Listen All Day

Follow today

More Brands

• On The Show
• TODAY Plaza

The latest movie news. Interviews with celebrities, movie trailers, movie reviews and more.

Glen Powell remembers 'legend' Bill Paxton as new 'Twisters' film hits theaters

“This life is all about chasing the greats.”

How does ‘Find Me Falling’ end? Plus, the film’s director teases what’s next

Where was ‘Find Me Falling’ filmed? Inside the real locations in Cyprus

Who is the villainest villain of all the villains in the ‘Cobra Kai’-'Karate Kid' universe?

Manny Jacinto criticizes ‘Top Gun: Maverick’ for cutting his lines

Daisy Edgar-Jones is chasing real tornadoes after ‘Twisters’

Does ‘Cobra Kai’ Season 6 connect to the upcoming 'Karate Kid' film?

‘Moana’ star Auli‘i Cravalho on returning for sequel and ‘passing the oar’ to new actor in live-action film

‘It Ends with Us’ cast: Who’s playing Lily and Ryle in the Colleen Hoover adaptation?

Watch the first trailer for ‘Beetlejuice’ 2 with Michael Keaton

Meagan Good and Cory Hardrict break down the shocking ending to 'Tyler Perry's Divorce in the Black'

Glen Powell credits Hoda and Jenna for his ‘Twisters’ role, reacts to Jenna sliding into his DMs