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David Rooney

@david-rooney.bsky.social
2.5K followers 340 following 788 posts

Chief Film Critic at The Hollywood Reporter, plus theater when time permits. Member of @NYFCC.bsky.social and @NSFC.bsky.social www.hollywoodreporter.com/author/da…

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David Rooney @david-rooney.bsky.social · 5h
A stacked cast that includes Paul Rudd, Amy Ryan, John Turturro, Paul Giamatti, Evan Peters and Tatiana Maslany makes the dialogue ping in Tom McCarthy’s engrossing account of a historic climate crisis conference, A STATEMENT. It’s the anti-DIGGER! #NYFF2026 www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie...
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‘A Statement’ Review: A Top Ensemble Including Paul Rudd, Amy Ryan and John Turturro Breathes Surprising Vitality Into Dry Docu-Drama
Paul Giamatti, Evan Peters, Tatiana Maslany and Jason Clarke also star in Tom McCarthy’s account of a 1980 conference at which a sprawling group of experts is tasked with getting ahead of the climate ...
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David Rooney @david-rooney.bsky.social · 03/10/2026
Pedro Pascal makes magnificent music as a virtuoso cellist messed up by his famous family, but BEHEMOTH! is easier to admire than to love. Still, a welcome return to features for Tony Gilroy after 14 years away. #NYFF2026 www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie...
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‘Behemoth!’ Review: Pedro Pascal Hints at Soulful Depths, but the Drama Keeps Stalling in Tony Gilroy’s Wan Character Study of a Virtuoso Cellist
Olivia Wilde, Eva Victor, Will Arnett and Alexa Swinton also star in the story of a former child prodigy struggling to free himself from the burden of his famous family.
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David Rooney @david-rooney.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
What to say about DIGGER? Alejandro G. Iñárritu and Tom Cruise feed each other's worst showboating instincts in a gratingly unpleasant and leadenly unfunny climate crisis satire. I did not dig it. www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie...
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‘Digger’ Review: Tom Cruise and Alejandro G. Iñárritu Are a Match Made in Showboating Hell in a Shallow Satire Insufferably Pleased With Itself
Riz Ahmed, John Goodman, Sandra Hüller, Michael Stuhlbarg and Jesse Plemons also star in this dark comedy about a blowhard oil tycoon facing a global catastrophe of his own making.
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David Rooney @david-rooney.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
Now in theaters, Lance Oppenheim's PRIMETIME is a queasy exploitation movie about queasy reality TV righteously posing as public service, led by a rivetingly unhinged Robert Pattinson. Standout work also from Merritt Wever and Skyler Gisondo. www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie...
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‘Primetime’ Review: You Might Feel the Need to Shower After Watching Robert Pattinson as ‘To Catch a Predator’ Host Chris Hansen
Merritt Wever, Skyler Gisondo and Phoebe Bridgers also star in Lance Oppenheim’s first narrative feature, revisiting the ethically muddy ‘Dateline NBC’ ratings phenomenon.
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David Rooney @david-rooney.bsky.social · 27/09/2026
Takashi Yamazaki's GODZILLA MINUS ZERO is a radioactive blast, a first-rate sequel that marries spectacular monster-movie action with poignant human drama in a country still traumatized by war. One of the best times I've had at a movie this year. #NYFF2026 www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie...
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‘Godzilla Minus Zero’ Review: Monster Movie Genius Takashi Yamazaki Returns With a Crackling Kaiju Epic Every Bit as Exciting as Its Predecessor
This direct sequel to the 2023 global sensation picks up in 1949, as a makeshift family finds its domestic harmony again threatened by a rampaging creature’s path of destruction.
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David Rooney @david-rooney.bsky.social · 21/09/2026
Fine work from Daisy Edgar-Jones and George MacKay distinguishes this pensive take on Jane Austen's SENSE AND SENSIBILITY, but it can't escape the long shadow of Ang Lee and Emma Thompson's captivating 1995 film in either humor or heart. www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie...
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‘Sense and Sensibility’ Review: Daisy Edgar-Jones and George MacKay Are Standouts in a Jane Austen Redo That’s Fine if Not Strictly Necessary
Georgia Oakley directs the latest version of the classic Regency romance, also starring Esmé Creed-Miles, Caitríona Balfe, Frank Dillane, Herbert Nordrum and Fiona Shaw.
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David Rooney @david-rooney.bsky.social · 20/09/2026
There’s still a busy NYFF to come, with a bunch of promising premieres, but here are 13 standouts the THR critics weeded out from the detritus (of which there was way too much!) in Venice, Telluride and Toronto. www.hollywoodreporter.com/lists/best-f...
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The Best Films of the Fall Festivals: THR Critics’ Picks
A shape-shifting Elizabeth Holmes doc, a star vehicle for Mahershala Ali, and new gems from Mike Leigh and Lee Chang-dong were among THR reviewers’ 13 favorite world premieres out of Venice, Telluride...
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David Rooney @david-rooney.bsky.social · 18/09/2026
Takashi Miike follows Abel Ferrara and Werner Herzog with a new chapter in film's unlikeliest franchise, BAD LIEUTENANT: TOKYO, starring a very watchable Shun Oguri as another morally hollow cop with a drug problem. But that's it for the positives. #TIFF2026 www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie...
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‘Bad Lieutenant: Tokyo’ Review: Shun Oguri and Lily James in a Meandering Franchise Entry From Takashi Miike That’s Semi-Coherent at Best
The Japanese cult director follows Abel Ferrara and Werner Herzog in charting the downward spiral of a corrupt detective with a drug habit, this time navigating the yakuza underworld.
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David Rooney @david-rooney.bsky.social · 17/09/2026
Amanda Seyfried and Scoot McNairy are riveting in THE LIFE AND DEATHS OF WILSON SHEDD, Tim Blake Nelson’s tough, uncompromising drama set in and around a maximum security Oklahoma prison. More lead roles for McNairy, please. #TIFF2026 www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie...
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‘The Life and Deaths of Wilson Shedd’ Review: Amanda Seyfried and Scoot McNairy Bring Raw Intensity to Tim Blake Nelson’s Death Row Drama
The director also appears in a stacked ensemble that includes Missi Pyle, Devyn Tyler, Elizabeth Marvel, Grant Harvey, William Jackson Harper and Wunmi Mosaku.
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David Rooney @david-rooney.bsky.social · 16/09/2026
Rebel Wilson writes, directs and stars in GIRL GROUP, a painfully unfunny ersatz PITCH PERFECT that leans on Spice Girls-era nostalgia for whatever charm it can muster. Which is not much. #TIFF2026 www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie...
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‘Girl Group’ Review: Rebel Wilson Writes, Directs and Stars in Derivative Pop Slop as Bland and Unimaginative as Its Title
A washed-up former girl group singer turned messy drunk gets a shot at redemption after being forced to coach a bunch of teens preparing for a record label competition.
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David Rooney @david-rooney.bsky.social · 16/09/2026
A deluxe cast headed by Sarah Paulson and Naomi Watts somehow escapes whiplash in CLOSING NIGHT, a family melodrama that flips from seriocomedy to solemnity with minimal grace. At least the great Dianne Wiest comes out unscathed. #TIFF2026 www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie...
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‘Closing Night’ Review: Sarah Paulson and Naomi Watts Lead a Deluxe Cast in a Shrill Family Melodrama in Search of a Binding Tone
Dianne Wiest, Toby Wallace and Odessa A’zion flesh out the ensemble of actor Cody Fern’s first feature as director and co-writer, about a famed actress grappling with a dark secret in a time of crisis...
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David Rooney @david-rooney.bsky.social · 15/09/2026
Chase Infiniti is transfixing as a math genius in a toxic relationship in THE JULIA SET, with strong support from Christopher Briney, Jason Isaacs and Gillian Anderson. But the movie is a touch too thin on psychological complexity to resonate. #TIFF2026 www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie...
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‘The Julia Set’ Review: Chase Infiniti Leads a Strong Ensemble as a College Math Genius in Algebra That Doesn’t Quite Balance the Equation
Christopher Briney, Jason Isaacs and Gillian Anderson also star in Niki Byrne’s debut about a gifted student too unwise about the world to subtract herself from a toxic relationship.
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David Rooney @david-rooney.bsky.social · 14/09/2026
Taron Egerton is terrific as a covert predator hiding behind performative faux-feminist sensitivity in EVERYBODY WANTS TO F*CK ME, but he's stuck in a tonally messy movie that can't figure out what it wants to be. #TIFF2026 www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie...
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‘Everybody Wants To F*ck Me’ Review: A Hard-Working Taron Egerton Is Blameless in Muddled Takedown of the Faux-Feminist Male
Jessica Henwick and Charly Clive also star in writer-director Jonathan Schey’s first feature, a comedy that morphs into horror about a womanizer whose pick-up strategy is posing as a softboi.
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David Rooney @david-rooney.bsky.social · 13/09/2026
Peter Farrelly's adoring homage to the 1976 underdog boxing drama, I PLAY ROCKY, casts an excellent Anthony Ippolito as the young Sylvester Stallone, whose unyielding determination matches that of his most famous character. #Toronto2026 www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie...
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‘I Play Rocky’ Review: Anthony Ippolito Is an Endearing Pre-Stardom Sylvester Stallone in Peter Farrelly’s Crowd-Pleasing Making-Of Drama
AnnaSophia Robb, Jay Duplass and Matt Dillon also star in this celebration of the modestly budgeted boxing movie that became an indelible cultural phenomenon.
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David Rooney @david-rooney.bsky.social · 13/09/2026
Adored Chris Rock's beautifully observed love-hate portrait of the Hollywood hustle, MISTY GREEN, with a star-making turn from Rosalind Eleazar as a talented but self-sabotaging actress and singer looking to restart her career. #Toronto2026 www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie...
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‘Misty Green’ Review: Rosalind Eleazar Is a Revelation in Chris Rock’s Sharply Observed Love-Hate Portrait of the Hollywood Hustle
The character study centers on a talented but self-sabotaging actress and singer looking to restart her career, with an ensemble that includes the writer-director alongside Adam Driver, Daniel Kaluuya...
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David Rooney @david-rooney.bsky.social · 11/09/2026
Siân Heder’s BEING HEUMANN, the director's first film since her Oscar-winning CODA, pulls from a similar inspirational playbook to tell the rousing story of a landmark fight for disability rights and the tenacious woman who led the charge. #Toronto2026 www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie...
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‘Being Heumann’ Review: Siân Heder’s Drama About the Fight for Disability Rights Strikes Familiar Notes but Gets the Inspirational Uplift Job Done
Ruth Madeley plays the leader of a milestone 1977 anti-discrimination protest, Judy Heumann, in Apple’s crowd-pleaser from the ‘CODA’ director, which opened the Toronto Film Festival.
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David Rooney @david-rooney.bsky.social · 09/09/2026
Luca Guadagnino's marathon two-part tribute to Bernardo Bertolucci, JOIE DE VIVRE, includes essential deep dives on major films, and doesn't flinch away from the LAST TANGO controversy. But it also makes some perplexing choices. #Venice2026 www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie...
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‘Joie de Vivre’ Review: Luca Guadagnino’s Marathon Doc on Bernardo Bertolucci Is Both a Feast and a Self-Indulgent Over-Abundance
Martin Scorsese, James Gray, Alfonso Cuarón and David Cronenberg are among directors chiming in on this freewheeling two-part conversation, along with actors Debra Winger and Margot Robbie.
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David Rooney @david-rooney.bsky.social · 08/09/2026
Paolo Strippoli's stylish and subversively twisty chiller THE SPIRAL casts Jasmine Trinca as a Real Housewife of Bari and Valeria Bruni Tedeschi as the stranger who claims her soul. Delectably nasty fun about the steep price of perfection. #Venice2026 www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie...
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‘The Spiral’ Review: Jasmine Trinca’s Real Housewife of Bari Makes a Faustian Pact With Valeria Bruni Tedeschi’s Enigmatic Stranger in Crackling Italian Chiller
Paolo Strippoli’s Venice competitor traces the escalating horror of a wife and mother whose fear of having a less-than-perfect family takes her to dark places.
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David Rooney @david-rooney.bsky.social · 08/09/2026
Penélope Cruz and Javier Bardem breathe heat into Florian Zeller's generally more glacial style in BUNKER. But the drama works best as an X-ray of a marriage in jeopardy, less so as a commentary on insularity, wealth and privilege. #Venice2026 www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie...
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‘Bunker’ Review: Penélope Cruz and Javier Bardem Are Riveting as a Married Couple Growing Apart in Needling but Schematic Psychological Drama
Stephen Graham and Patrick Schwarzenegger also star in Florian Zeller’s latest, about the ethical and emotional questions raised when an architect considers a lucrative commission from a tech billiona...
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David Rooney @david-rooney.bsky.social · 08/09/2026
Alex Gibney's MUSK is a hefty investigation into tech titan Elon Musk and the dangerous combination of unchecked power, limitless wealth and zero empathy. A riveting watch. #Venice2026. www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie...
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‘Musk’ Review: Alex Gibney’s Mammoth Elon Musk Doc Is a Poleaxing Portrait of the Tech Titan as a Con Man Given Way Too Much Power to Be Stopped
The Oscar-winning docmaker gets around the hiccup of Musk’s refusal to participate by creating an AI avatar of the world’s richest man.
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David Rooney @david-rooney.bsky.social · 07/09/2026
Hirokazu Koreeda reflects on teen friendship and art, joy and sorrow in the gentle charmer LOOK BACK, the second screen adaptation of Tatsuki Fujimoto’s beloved manga, previously filmed in a 2024 anime retelling. #Venice2026 www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie...
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‘Look Back’ Review: Hirokazu Koreeda’s Lovingly Crafted Manga Adaptation Is a Delicate Charmer About Teen Friendship and Art, Joy and Sorrow
Based on the celebrated standalone manga by Tatsuki Fujimoto, the tender story was previously translated to the screen in a 2024 medium-length anime retelling.
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David Rooney @david-rooney.bsky.social · 06/09/2026
Knocked out by Lee Chang-dong's exquisitely wrought meditation on economic and emotional unease, POSSIBLE LOVE, a complex chamber drama with a principal cast of four that simply could not be improved upon. One of the year's best. #Venice2026 www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie...
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‘Possible Love’ Review: Korean Master Lee Chang-dong’s Transfixing Meditation on Economic and Emotional Unease Is a Quiet Powerhouse
The 'Burning' director returns after an eight-year absence with this complex drama for Netflix, about the awkward commingling of two couples on either side of the wealth divide.
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David Rooney @david-rooney.bsky.social · 05/09/2026
Robert Pattinson bites into the role of 'To Catch a Predator' host Chris Hansen in PRIMETIME, a Sleaze TV dive also starring Merritt Wever, Skyler Gisondo and Phoebe Bridgers that covers similar ground to last year's doc, PREDATORS. #Venice2026 www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie...
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‘Primetime’ Review: You Might Feel the Need to Shower After Watching Robert Pattinson as ‘To Catch a Predator’ Host Chris Hansen
Merritt Wever, Skyler Gisondo and Phoebe Bridgers also star in Lance Oppenheim’s first narrative feature, revisiting the ethically muddy ‘Dateline NBC’ ratings phenomenon.
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David Rooney @david-rooney.bsky.social · 05/09/2026
Andrew Scott gives a towering performance in ELSINORE as the late actor Ian Charleson, hurling himself into playing Hamlet while declining fast with AIDS. Gorgeous work from Olivia Colman, Billie Piper and Johnny Flynn too. #Telluride2026 www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie...
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‘Elsinore’ Review: Andrew Scott Is Shattering as British Actor Ian Charleson, Throwing Himself Into Playing Hamlet While Succumbing to AIDS
Simon Stone’s drama about the sustaining power of art is a time capsule of late 1980s London, also starring Olivia Colman, Billie Piper and Johnny Flynn.
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David Rooney @david-rooney.bsky.social · 05/09/2026
Andrew Haigh's fine-grained drama about the fracturing of a Rocky Mountains family in the early '50s, A LONG WINTER, is made with enormous depth of feeling and a superb cast, led by Fred Hechinger, Ebon Moss-Bachrach and D’Pharaoh Woon-A-Tai. #Telluride2026 www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie...
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‘A Long Winter’ Review: Fred Hechinger and Ebon Moss-Bachrach Shine as Family Thrust Into Uneasy Isolation in Andrew Haigh’s Fine-Grained Drama
Also featuring Caitríona Balfe, Kit Connor and D’Pharaoh Woon-A-Tai, the film — adapted from Colm Tóibín's novella — measures the after-effects of a disappearance in the Rocky Mountains in the 1950s.
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David Rooney @david-rooney.bsky.social · 04/09/2026
After THE TRUFFLE HUNTERS and GAUCHO GAUCHO, gifted docmakers Michael Dweck and Gregory Kershaw continue to embed with communities and traditions suspended in time and rooted in the land in their flavorful splash of premium vin rouge, BURGUNDY. www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie...
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‘Burgundy’ Review: The Classic French Vin Rouge Is a Way of Life in Michael Dweck and Gregory Kershaw’s Captivating Oenology Doc
The directors behind ‘The Truffle Hunters’ and ‘Gaucho Gaucho’ continue their ethnographic exploration of age-old traditions inextricably embedded in the land.
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David Rooney @david-rooney.bsky.social · 03/09/2026
John Malkovich gives a performance that ranks with his finest in WILD HORSE NINE, co-starring with Sam Rockwell in Martin McDonagh's bloody dark comedy about CIA agents taking an Easter Island break while meddling in 1973 Chilean politics. #Venice2026 www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie...
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‘Wild Horse Nine’ Review: John Malkovich and Sam Rockwell Make a Perfect Pair in Martin McDonagh’s Poignant, Blood-Dipped Buddy Comedy
Steve Buscemi also stars in this story of two CIA operatives who take a trip to Easter Island while readying for the Chilean military coup that would overthrow the Salvador Allende government.
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David Rooney @david-rooney.bsky.social · 03/09/2026
Kate and Rooney Mara commit with feverish intensity to the physical, emotional and psychological symbiosis of Irish sisters who speak and move as one in BUCKING FASTARDS, Werner Herzog's unapologetically nutty fable about the search for love. #Venice2026 www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie...
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‘Bucking Fastard’ Review: Kate and Rooney Mara Embrace the Weirdness in Werner Herzog’s Nutty but Thin Tale of Two Sisters Who Behave as One
Orlando Bloom and Domhnall Gleeson also star in this mock-Irish fable about siblings whose hunger for love compels them to tunnel through a mountain.
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David Rooney @david-rooney.bsky.social · 02/09/2026
Back at the #VeniceFilmFestival, which kicked off tonight with Jack O'Connell, Guy Pearce and Claire Foy in Danny Boyle's kinetically wired INK, about Rupert Murdoch's transformative assault on the British newspaper business in 1969. www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie...
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‘Ink’ Review: Jack O’Connell and Guy Pearce Trace Rupert Murdoch’s Fleet Street Rise in Breathlessly Paced, Morally Opaque Danny Boyle Drama
Claire Foy also stars in this Venice opener adapted by James Graham from his play about the transformation of U.K. tabloid culture into mass-market low-brow entertainment.
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David Rooney @david-rooney.bsky.social · 28/08/2026
Solid performances from Michelle Monaghan, Adam Scott and especially Robert De Niro make James Ashcroft’s THE WHISPER MAN a better-than-average Netflix serial killer thriller in the airport paperback mold. www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie...
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‘The Whisper Man’ Review: Robert De Niro, Michelle Monaghan and Adam Scott in Netflix’s Twisty Airport Paperback Serial-Killer Procedural
Hamish Linklater and Owen Teague also star in James Ashcroft’s film of Alex North’s crime novel about a series of abductions of young boys in smalltown New Jersey.
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David Rooney @david-rooney.bsky.social · 26/08/2026
Forgot to post this here yesterday. I wrote briefly about Dolly's sui generis film career. What a monumental loss to the world. And now Tim Curry, too? Seriously, fuck this week. www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie...
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Dolly Parton, a Hollywood Treasure Who Lit Up the Screen With Her Authentic Self
The country superstar was a luminous natural in a small but indelible body of much-loved feature films, chief among them '9 to 5,' 'The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas' and 'Steel Magnolias.'
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David Rooney @david-rooney.bsky.social · 26/08/2026
Ridley Scott's ruminative post-apocalyptic drama THE DOG STARS is unlikely to land at the top of anyone's ranked list of the director's work. But the soulful tenderness of this dystopian Western, led with real feeling by Jacob Elordi, has its rewards. www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie...
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‘The Dog Stars’ Review: Jacob Elordi and Margaret Qualley in Ridley Scott’s Subdued but Pleasingly Soulful Dystopian Western
Josh Brolin, Guy Pearce, Allison Janney and Benedict Wong also star in this adaptation of Peter Heller’s novel about survivors trying to stay alive in a post-apocalyptic future.
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David Rooney @david-rooney.bsky.social · 12/08/2026
When Anne Hathaway says “I want to remember this insane, stupid moment!” she could mean pretty much any point in THE END OF OAK STREET, a popcorn Amblin pastiche about dinosaurs ripping up ‘80s suburbia that delivers dumb fun, almost despite itself. www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie...
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‘The End of Oak Street’ Review: Anne Hathaway and Ewan McGregor in Ersatz ’80s Amblin Nostalgia That’s Fun as Far as High-End Trash Goes
Dinosaurs rampage through suburbia terrorizing a family in this sci-fi survival thriller from writer-director David Robert Mitchell and producer J.J. Abrams.
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David Rooney @david-rooney.bsky.social · 07/08/2026
Despite sci-fi and horror base elements, Louis Leterrier’s THE LAST HOUSE, persuasively led by Greta Lee and Wagner Moura, is most effective as a tense chamber drama, a survival thriller about a family trapped in claustrophobic lockdown. Now on Netflix. www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie...
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‘The Last House’ Review: Greta Lee and Wagner Moura in a Claustrophobic Netflix Thriller Most Effective While the Threat Remains Unknown
Louis Leterrier directs this hybrid of sci-fi, horror, mystery and domestic psychological drama in which both physical and mental survival are tested.
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David Rooney @david-rooney.bsky.social · 05/08/2026
The combined magnetism of Monica Barbaro and Callum Turner makes Will Gluck’s contrived rom-com ONE NIGHT ONLY, set during the annual 12-hour reprieve from a government sex ban for singles, more palatable than it deserves. www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie...
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‘One Night Only’ Review: Monica Barbaro and Callum Turner Sparkle in a Rom-Com Sweeter and Sexier Than Its Contrived Script Deserves
Sex between singles is outlawed except for one 12-hour window a year in Will Gluck’s high-concept romp, also featuring Maya Hawke, Molly Ringwald, LeVar Burton and Julia Fox.
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David Rooney @david-rooney.bsky.social · 03/08/2026
The M3GAN-Verse is expanding but may soon be contracting after SOULM8TE, an erotic fembot thriller that serves up amusingly lurid pulp but falls short on satirical bite, ceding ground to last year's much sharper COMPANION. www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie...
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‘Soulm8te’ Review: Erotic Fembot Thriller From the M3GAN-Verse Is Enjoyably Lurid Pulp That Comes Up Short on Satirical Bite
Lily Sullivan plays a sentient android designed to please, with David Rysdahl as the widower beta-testing her in Kate Dolan’s AI horror from the stable of James Wan and Jason Blum.
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David Rooney @david-rooney.bsky.social · 30/07/2026
Love these projects where the THR critics team wrestles over favorites. Proud of the range of work in our ranked breakdown of the 25 greatest docs of all time. And hats off to our amazing editor @jon-frosch.bsky.social for streamlining a mountain of copy. www.hollywoodreporter.com/lists/best-d...
hollywoodreporter.com
The 25 Best Documentaries of All Time, Ranked
From 'Grey Gardens' to 'The Gleaners and I,' 'Gimme Shelter' to 'Grizzly Man' and beyond, THR critics pick their favorite non-fiction films of all time.
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David Rooney @david-rooney.bsky.social · 29/07/2026
Very much enjoyed Matt Johnson’s tender slice of a famous life, TONY, a coming-of-age summer snapshot with Dominic Sessa as a young Anthony Bourdain, Antonio Banderas as an early mentor and a scene-stealing Leo Woodall as a scrappy oyster shucker. www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie...
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‘Tony’ Review: Dominic Sessa Finds Ideal Balance Between Cocky and Lost in Tender Coming-of-Age Portrait of a Young Anthony Bourdain
Also starring Antonio Banderas, Emilia Jones and Leo Woodall, Matt Johnson’s bio-drama chronicles a formative Provincetown summer during which the future chef worked in a hectic kitchen.
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David Rooney @david-rooney.bsky.social · 28/07/2026
SPIDER-MAN: BRAND NEW DAY delivers fresh energy and a more introspective title character, deftly mixing up affecting intimate moments with propulsive action. Tom Holland never better, with great additions in Sadie Sink and John Bernthal. www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie...
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‘Spider-Man: Brand New Day’ Review: Tom Holland Bares His Soul in a Superhero Installment That Balances Self-Reflection With Action
Zendaya and Jacob Batalon return alongside franchise newcomers Sadie Sink, Jon Bernthal and Mark Ruffalo in Destin Daniel Cretton’s web-slinger entry.
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David Rooney @david-rooney.bsky.social · 21/07/2026
Anyone nostalgic for the formulaic underdog sports comedies of the 2000s might appreciate Apple TV's innocuous throwback THE DINK, starring an appealing Jake Johnson as a failed tennis prodigy who reclaims his dignity on the pickleball court. www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie...
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‘The Dink’ Review: Jake Johnson’s Failed Tennis Prodigy Restores His Self-Respect Through Pickleball in Apple TV’s Anodyne Sports Comedy
Mary Steenburgen, Ed Harris, Patton Oswalt and Ben Stiller also star in the underdog flick directed by Josh Greenbaum ('Barb and Star Go to Vista del Mar,' 'Will & Harper').
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David Rooney @david-rooney.bsky.social · 15/07/2026
Hate to be contrarian, but despite its charismatic cast and mighty visuals, Christopher Nolan’s THE ODYSSEY grinds along with little flow, unable to get around the source material’s inherently episodic structure. Still, the exciting final act elevates it. www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie...
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‘The Odyssey’ Review: Christopher Nolan Crafts High-Minded if at Times Snoozy Spectacle Out of an Episodic Journey Led by a Brooding Matt Damon
Tom Holland, Anne Hathaway and Robert Pattinson flesh out the stacked ensemble of this monumentally scaled epic, also featuring Lupita Nyong’o, Zendaya and Charlize Theron.
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David Rooney @david-rooney.bsky.social · 09/07/2026
In theaters Friday, Olivia Wilde's THE INVITE — in which she stars with Seth Rogen, Penélope Cruz and Edward Norton — is a delectably caustic chamber piece about marriage, relationships and the allure of sex with the seductive upstairs neighbors. Rogen MVP. www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie...
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‘The Invite’ Review: Starring Alongside MVP Seth Rogen, Director Olivia Wilde Steers a Tart Marital Comedy Into Occasionally Choppy Darker Waters
Penélope Cruz and Edward Norton complete the ensemble in a chamber piece adapted from a Spanish film whose remakes are multiplying like rabbits.
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David Rooney @david-rooney.bsky.social · 08/07/2026
Sam Raimi's enduring demonic possession franchise takes its blood-letting to new heights (or depths?) in Sébastien Vanicek's EVIL DEAD BURN, which puts a fresh family through a hell of carnage and mayhem. www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie...
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‘Evil Dead Burn’ Review: New Entry Ramps Up the Deadite Savagery, Giving Gorehounds What They Want While Sticking to the Formula
Souheila Yacoub plays a newly widowed Parisienne sheltering with her American in-laws in Sébastien Vanicek’s sixth installment of Sam Raimi’s demonic possession franchise.
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David Rooney @david-rooney.bsky.social · 08/07/2026
The track record for Disney's live-action remakes of beloved animated hits isn't great. But I was surprised by how much I enjoyed MOANA, which introduces a captivating lead in Catherine Laga'aia, alongside Dwayne Johnson in amusing, self-parodying form. www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie...
hollywoodreporter.com
‘Moana’ Review: Captivating Newcomer Catherine Laga’aia and a Game Dwayne Johnson Invigorate One of Disney’s Better Live-Action Remakes
Thomas Kail directs this reimagining of the hit 2016 animated feature about a plucky Polynesian teenager’s coming of age, with songs by Lin-Manuel Miranda.
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David Rooney @david-rooney.bsky.social · 29/06/2026
Big thanks to @lapressclub.bsky.social for the best film critic (over 1,000 words) win, and a shoutout to the reviews team's too often unsung editor, @jon-frosch.bsky.social. Congrats to all of THR's winners on a field-leading performance. www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/general...
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The Hollywood Reporter Tops 2026 SoCal Journalism Awards With 20 First-Place Wins, More Than Any Other Outlet
Among its awards are best website, journalist of the year honors for Gary Baum and Seth Abramovitch, best film critic for David Rooney, and best audio anchor/host for Scott Feinberg. Overall, THR nabb...
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David Rooney @david-rooney.bsky.social · 25/06/2026
In theaters tomorrow, Olivia Wilde's THE INVITE sees the director back in wily BOOKSMART form, starring with Seth Rogen, Penélope Cruz and Edward Norton in a tart chamber comedy about marriage, sex and monogamy that leaves a delicious aftertaste. www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie...
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‘The Invite’ Review: Starring Alongside MVP Seth Rogen, Director Olivia Wilde Steers a Tart Marital Comedy Into Occasionally Choppy Darker Waters
Penélope Cruz and Edward Norton complete the ensemble in a chamber piece adapted from a Spanish film whose remakes are multiplying like rabbits.
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David Rooney @david-rooney.bsky.social · 24/06/2026
Milly Alcock gives the title character a scrappy charm and Jason Momoa brings some juice, but SUPERGIRL’s leaden script rarely gets airborne. Made me miss Faye Dunaway’s gloriously unhinged villain devouring the scenery in the campy 1984 trashtacular. www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie...
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‘Supergirl’ Review: Milly Alcock Sparks Punkish Chaos and Jason Momoa Brings Bad-Boy Energy, but DC’s Latest Caped Caper Is Stuck on Autopilot
Matthias Schoenaerts plays a vicious supervillain, with Eve Ridley as an orphaned teen out to avenge the killing of her family in Craig Gillespie’s interplanetary action saga.
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David Rooney @david-rooney.bsky.social · 23/06/2026
Caught up late with Australian director Adrian Chiarella's transfixing debut LEVITICUS. Instantly joins the ranks of great queer horror with its affecting story of teenage love and the insidious evils of conversion therapy, using pious religiosity to make us fear the person we most desire. Loved it.
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David Rooney @david-rooney.bsky.social · 16/06/2026
Brock Yurich wrote and stars in TEST, a sensitive study of masculinity and sexuality, about a Buckeye bodybuilder anxious to turn pro, struggling with the clash between his faith and his emerging queer identity. A Provincetown Film Festival world premiere. www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie...
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‘Test’ Review: A Bodybuilder Anxious to Turn Pro Struggles With Questions of Faith and His Emerging Sexuality in Nuanced Character Study
Directed by Sam McConnell from a semi-autobiographical screenplay by lead actor Brock Yurich, the Ohio-set drama also features Tammy Blanchard and Matthew Morrison.
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David Rooney @david-rooney.bsky.social · 16/06/2026
In TOY STORY 5, Pixar takes on the rise of tech in playtime with the series' signature wit, imagination, adventure and emotional depth. But its winning hand is putting the wonderful Joan Cusack's cowgirl Jessie in charge. www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie...
hollywoodreporter.com
‘Toy Story 5’ Review: Joan Cusack’s Cowgirl Jessie Takes the Lead to Impart a Sweet Lesson About the Rewards of Physical Play Over Screen Time
Tom Hanks and Tim Allen return to the voice cast of Pixar’s beloved franchise about the secret lives of toys, along with newcomers including Conan O’Brien, Greta Lee and Bad Bunny.
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