A.A. Dowd
Writer
A.A. Dowd, or Alex to his friends, is a writer and editor based in Chicago. He has held staff positions at The A.V. Club and Time Out Chicago, and is a member of the National Society of Film Critics.
At 25, The Talented Mr. Ripley is still the best take on a chilling classic
As good as Netflix's Ripley series turned out, the best adaptation of Patricia Highsmith's bestseller is still the 1999 version of The Talented Mr. Ripley.
Nosferatu review: A lush, lusty new take on Dracula
The director of The Witch and The Northman returns with a remake of the horror classic Nosferatu that's best at its kinkiest.
We failed Furiosa, one of 2024’s best movies. Here’s why it will live forever
Furiosa, George Miller's spectacular Mad Max: Fury Road prequel, deserved better from both audiences and critics.
Kraven the Hunter review: a suitably awful farewell to Sony’s Spider-Verse
Aaron Taylor-Johnson is a muscular bore in the latest and maybe last entry in Sony's misbegotten franchise of Spider-Man movies without Spider-Man.
Ridley Scott makes blockbusters for grownups. Here’s why that matters now more than ever
This Thanksgiving, let's give thanks for the adult-targeted event pictures of Ridley Scott... even if Gladiator II is very far from his best.
Gladiator II review: Paul Mescal is no Russell Crowe in Ridley Scott’s disappointing sequel
Without original star Russell Crowe, Gladiator II, Ridley Scott's belated sequel to his Oscar-winning 2000 epic, falls short in just about every way.
A legendary musician wrote a bonkers Gladiator II movie that was never made
With Gladiator II now in theaters, let's fondly remember the bonkers version musician Nick Cave wrote back in the early 2000s.
Robert Zemeckis is still lost in the uncanny valley. Can he be saved?
Here, Robert Zemeckis' latest movie with Tom Hanks, finds the director still stranded in the digital abyss that ruined The Polar Express, Beowulf, and others.
Juror #2 review: Clint Eastwood’s best movie in years. It’s a shame you probably can’t see it
Whether it's his last movie or not, Juror #2 is a perverse spin on 12 Angry Men that ranks among the strongest of director Clint Eastwood's late-career efforts.
Venom, Joker, and the year of supervillain cinema
The comic-book movies of 2024 have thrown a spotlight on villains and antiheroes with mixed results. Does it signal a looming bust for the once-popular genre?
Smile 2 and Trap are horror movies for a pop-obsessed world
Brat summer is over, but it looms large over Smile 2 and Trap, two thrillers set against the backdrop of toxic pop fandom.
Saturday Night review: A Saturday Night Live origin story that plays it too safe
Jason Reitman assembles a giant, game ensemble for Saturday Night, a SNL origin story that's a little too reverent and tidy.
At 50, this classic horror movie is still cinema’s ultimate nightmare
Tobe Hooper's 1974 classic The Texas Chain Saw Massacre has lost none of its nightmarish power over 50 years. Here's why it's still so unsettling.
Joker: Folie à Deux review: an oddly timid musical sequel
In Joker: Folie à Deux, Joaquin Phoenix reprises the role of a misfit wallflower killer in a genre-bending sequel too cautious to really go for it.
At 10, this modern classic remains a brilliant prank of a thriller
David Fincher's adaptation of the bestselling thriller Gone Girl, which turns 10 today, might be his most Hitchcockian achievement.
Megalopolis review: Francis Ford Coppola’s flawed, insane sci-fi opus
From the director of The Godfather comes Megalopolis, a sci-fi epic 40 years in the making that trips on its own ambitions.
30 years ago, Tim Burton offered his most adult, bittersweet fairy tale
With Beetlejuice Beetlejuice now in theaters, let's revisit one of director Tim Burton's best movies, which turns 30 this week.
Why wasn’t this Brad Pitt space odyssey a bigger hit 5 years ago?
Brad Pitt's attempt to reap Gravity's fortunes stalled at the box office. Five years later, it still stands as one of the best modern sci-fi movies.
The Substance review: the grossest movie of 2024 is also one of its best
Demi Moore plays an aging actress who falls into a mutating nightmare in the superbly disgusting satire The Substance.
10 years ago, this action thriller unleashed an evil Captain America on an unsuspecting audience
10 years ago, this clever action thriller showcased the dark side of American heroism and solidified the star qualities of its two lead actors.
This 2024 movie is a lo-fi Jason Bourne paranoid thriller you need to watch (if you can)
The director of Hell or High Water returns to Toronto with a throwback paranoid thriller that loses its edge as it goes.
This movie might just be 2024’s most unnerving action thriller
Kiyoshi Kurosawa, the Japanese director of Pulse and Cure, gets his visual mojo back with this strange action thriller about internet greed and wrath.
At 30, TV’s greatest teen drama remains as wonderful as you remember
Tragically canceled after just one season, My So-Called Life nonetheless became a hallmark of TV drama that launched the careers of Claire Danes and Jared Leto.
10 years ago, a famous TV marathon event made us all Simpsons fans again
For 12 days, FXX's Every.Simpsons.Ever. marathon kept us glued to our TVs — and reignited a love affair with The Simpsons.
Is Alien the ultimate directors’ franchise?
From Ridley Scott to James Cameron to David Fincher, the Alien series has long functioned as a revolving door of great directors.
Alien: Romulus review: a down-and-dirty creature feature that plays it too safe
Though slickly directed by Fede Álvarez, Alien: Romulus is little more than a remix of the beloved sci-fi franchise's most iconic moments.
With Deadpool & Wolverine and Robert Downey Jr.’s return as Doctor Doom, Marvel is getting desperate
Robert Downey Jr.'s return to the MCU as Doctor Doom, combined with the Deadpool & Wolverine's cheap fan service, only illustrates the mess Marvel is in now.
20 years ago, one of the most unsettling movies ever made divided audiences
Upon its divisive release 20 years ago, this low-budget movie impressed critics, but enraged audiences. All these years later, is it still worth watching?
Forget Deadpool & Wolverine — this is the best X-Men adaptation of them all
With apologies to Deadpool & Wolverine, it's not the best X-related adaptation. Find out which X-Men movie, or show, remains the greatest X-Men tale ever.
Trap review: M. Night Shyamalan’s new thriller is deeply stupid
Josh Harnett is creepily entertaining in Trap, a new M. Night Shyamalan movie that buckles under the weight of too many contrivances.
20 years later, this widely hated blockbuster is still one of Hollywood’s most underrated thrillers
This summer hit movie, which just turned 20, is better than its bad reputation will lead you to believe.
Deadpool & Wolverine review: Marvel’s inside joke grows old
In Deadpool & Wolverine, Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman team up for a relentlessly meta superhero sequel that overdoes on fan service.
Twisters? Longlegs? Deadpool? The ’90s are back, baby!
From the blockbuster sequel Twisters to the return of Deadpool and the X-Men, 2024 is already looking a lot like the 1990s.