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A.A. Dowd

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.

A clawed hand's shadow covers Lily-Rose Depp in a still from the 2024 movie Nosferatu.

The Dark Universe is dead, but the Universal Monsters aren’t

A few years after the collapse of the Dark Universe, the most famous of movie monsters are enjoying a second life.
Zendaya leans back seductively in a still from the movie Challengers.

Why did the Oscars snub one of last year’s best movies?

Challengers got great reviews, made good money, and delivered Hollywood a rare adult-oriented hit. So why did the Academy completely ignore it?
Mark Wahlberg talks into an airplane headset in a still from the movie Flight Risk.

Flight Risk review: Mark Wahlberg thriller crashes and burns

Mel Gibson casts Mark Wahlberg against type as a psycho in the cheap and lousy action thriller, Flight Risk, now in theaters.
Timothee Chalamet stands near a desert wall in a still from the movie Dune: Part Two.

All the 2025 Best Picture Oscar nominees, ranked

From Wicked and Dune to The Brutalist and A Complete Unknown, we rank all 10 films vying for the top Oscar this year
Laurence Fishburne and Drea de Matteo crouch by a window in a shot from the 2005 movie Assault on Precinct 13.

20 years ago, they brought a John Carpenter classic into the 2000s

At 20 years, the remake of Assault on Precinct 13 looks more dated than the crackerjack 1970s thriller it upgraded.
Christopher Abbott stares back at Julia Garner, his mouth caked in blood, in a still from the movie Wolf Man.

Wolf Man review: Woof!

Leigh Whannell follows his thrilling Invisible Man with a curiously dull, murky, and undercooked Wolf Man, in theaters now.
Ian Holm looks across the table in Alien.

There’s no ‘fixing’ the worst aspect of Alien: Romulus

Fede Álvarez has tweaked his Alien: Romulus for home release, but the problems with the Ian Holm scenes go way beyond shoddy special effects work.
Two guys sit in a car in Anora.

You probably haven’t seen 2024’s best movies. Here’s why you need to right now

Film critic A.A. Dowd makes the case that Sean Baker's tragicomedy Anora is the best film of 2024, before sharing his other picks for the year's finest.
Matt Damon, in the background, eyes Jude Law, standing in a profile in the foreground, in an image from the movie The Talented Mr. Ripley.

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.
A man looks at a hand in "Nosferatu."

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.
Anya Taylor-Joy stands on a dusty road and glances over her shoulder in a still from "Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga."

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.
Aaron Taylor-Johnson looks sternly forward as a small fire rages behind him in a still from the movie Kraven the Hunter.

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.
Pedro Pascal cradles a sword in a shot from the movie Gladiator II.

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.
Paul Mescal kneels to cup some dirt in his hand in a still from the movie Gladiator II.

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 man walks in a field of wheat in Gladiator.

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.
A couple smiles in Here.

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.
A man sits in a jury box in "Juror No. 2."

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 smiles toothily in a still image from the movie "Venom: The Last Dance."

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?
A man and a girl watch a concert in Trap.

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 movie review 1 d6479e

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.
Pam walks to a big house in The Texas Chain Saw Massacre.

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.
Joaquin Phoenix in full clown makeup sits in the back of a police cruiser in a still from the movie "Joker: Folie à Deux."

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.
A woman takes a bath in Gone Girl.

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.
Adam Driver stares through a looking glass while Nathalie Emmanuel watches him atop a building in a still from the movie Megalopolis.

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.
Johnny Depp grins with bug-eyed enthusiasm from the director's chair as a camera man glances at from nearby in a black-and-white still from the movie Ed Wood.

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.
Look, it's Brad Pitt's handsome face behind a space helmet in a still from the movie Ad Astra.

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.
A woman holds a drink in The Substance.

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.
A man leans against a mantle in The Guest.

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.
Riz Ahmed looks over his shoulder in a still from the movie Relay.

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.
Masaki Suda aims his gun at the camera in a still from the movie Cloud.

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.
A teenage girl walks a hallway in high school in My So-Called Life.

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.
The cast of The Simpsons watches a TV.

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.
The Xenomorph slobbers before its next victim in a still from the movie "Alien: Romulus."

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.
Cailee Spaeny aims a gun as David Jonsson stands behind her in a still from the movie Alien: Romulus.

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.