Rory Doherty (he/him)
@roryjdoherty.bsky.social
critic/screenwriter • ppa award finalist x2 • trans rights 🏳️⚧️ • ✍️ Flicks, Paste, Big Issue, Inverse, GQ, Vulture, BFI, AV Club • ✉️: roryjdoherty@aol.co.uk • roryjdoherty.com
I'm assuming the Wizard of Oz sequels take on a very Dune-type of nuts, but I'm also learning they are more gay
The reason they have to keep making Wizard of Oz prequels is if they went *forward* then they'd have to let people know about Ozma, and Hollywood will not, absolutely will *not*, ever allow that to happen
November 17, 2025 at 1:30 PM
I'm assuming the Wizard of Oz sequels take on a very Dune-type of nuts, but I'm also learning they are more gay
Does anyone have any favourite films/books/music about the nice and specific theme of "returning"? For the purposes of getting cool examples, let's say I am acquainted with "Twin Peaks" and "The Odyssey"
November 3, 2025 at 3:21 PM
Does anyone have any favourite films/books/music about the nice and specific theme of "returning"? For the purposes of getting cool examples, let's say I am acquainted with "Twin Peaks" and "The Odyssey"
Alex Proyas said in a Q+A for Dark City at Prince Charles a couple months ago he's been using AI for his new film. I guess if you have tons of hangups about an industry then it's easier to project life-saving benevolence on something stealing from thousands of artists, the people you care about (?)
It's been unbelievably disappointing to me to see filmmakers like George Miller and now Alex Proyas being so pro-AI. I see them as scabs
"The model for film-makers, who are the only people I really care about at the end of the day, is broken…"
maybe try caring more about other people, Proyas
"The model for film-makers, who are the only people I really care about at the end of the day, is broken…"
maybe try caring more about other people, Proyas
Australian film-maker Alex Proyas: ‘broken’ movie industry needs to be rebuilt and ‘AI can help us do that’
Director of The Crow and I, Robot says technology will ‘streamline’ film industry workforce but will make projects easier and cheaper
www.theguardian.com
October 22, 2025 at 8:11 AM
Alex Proyas said in a Q+A for Dark City at Prince Charles a couple months ago he's been using AI for his new film. I guess if you have tons of hangups about an industry then it's easier to project life-saving benevolence on something stealing from thousands of artists, the people you care about (?)
IT'S ALIVE!
I ranked 20 of the most significant FRANKENSTEIN movies from the near-100 years of Frankenstein feature films for @vulture.com
www.vulture.com/article/best...
I ranked 20 of the most significant FRANKENSTEIN movies from the near-100 years of Frankenstein feature films for @vulture.com
www.vulture.com/article/best...
20 Frankensteins From (Nearly) a Century of Cinema, Ranked
Guillermo del Toro’s take on the famous monster arrives nearly 100 years after Dr. Frankenstein’s creation first came alive onscreen.
www.vulture.com
October 21, 2025 at 2:33 PM
IT'S ALIVE!
I ranked 20 of the most significant FRANKENSTEIN movies from the near-100 years of Frankenstein feature films for @vulture.com
www.vulture.com/article/best...
I ranked 20 of the most significant FRANKENSTEIN movies from the near-100 years of Frankenstein feature films for @vulture.com
www.vulture.com/article/best...
Reposted by Rory Doherty (he/him)
current AV Club is great. if you think it’s still stuck in its Spanfeller-mandated wasteland era you should give it another shot.
October 17, 2025 at 4:10 PM
current AV Club is great. if you think it’s still stuck in its Spanfeller-mandated wasteland era you should give it another shot.
I'm not crazy about Guillermo Del Toro's film, but I thought Jacob Elordi's performance was significant for an actor who's gotten comfortable playing similar shades of insidious hot men.
For @teenvogue.com, I wrote about the exorcism of Nate Jacobs in FRANKENSTEIN
www.teenvogue.com/story/jacob-...
For @teenvogue.com, I wrote about the exorcism of Nate Jacobs in FRANKENSTEIN
www.teenvogue.com/story/jacob-...
Jacob Elordi Is a Monster in 'Euphoria.' In 'Frankenstein,' He’s More Human Than Ever
Elordi in Frankenstein demonstrates the clear difference between a territorial, self-obsessed narcissism and a messy, still-developing self-awareness.
www.teenvogue.com
October 17, 2025 at 4:25 PM
I'm not crazy about Guillermo Del Toro's film, but I thought Jacob Elordi's performance was significant for an actor who's gotten comfortable playing similar shades of insidious hot men.
For @teenvogue.com, I wrote about the exorcism of Nate Jacobs in FRANKENSTEIN
www.teenvogue.com/story/jacob-...
For @teenvogue.com, I wrote about the exorcism of Nate Jacobs in FRANKENSTEIN
www.teenvogue.com/story/jacob-...
IT WAS JUST AN ACCIDENT is making its way to screens stateside (and just played LFF in the the UK), and I reviewed the film for @pastemagazine.bsky.social. A wry and moving film from Jafar Panahi, perhaps more about how life rolls on than actual revenge
www.pastemagazine.com/movies/it-wa...
www.pastemagazine.com/movies/it-wa...
It Was Just an Accident Is Jafar Panahi's Suspenseful and Human Search for Answers
A procession of Iranian characters weigh both the value of vengeance and the pain of uncertainty in Jafar Panahi's It Was Just an Accident.
www.pastemagazine.com
October 16, 2025 at 8:28 PM
IT WAS JUST AN ACCIDENT is making its way to screens stateside (and just played LFF in the the UK), and I reviewed the film for @pastemagazine.bsky.social. A wry and moving film from Jafar Panahi, perhaps more about how life rolls on than actual revenge
www.pastemagazine.com/movies/it-wa...
www.pastemagazine.com/movies/it-wa...
I've been irregularly watching The Vampire Diaries with Gabby as it's basically her favourite show. The CW was and is such a marvel
October 16, 2025 at 8:18 PM
I've been irregularly watching The Vampire Diaries with Gabby as it's basically her favourite show. The CW was and is such a marvel
Criterion have given TWIN PEAKS: FIRE WALK WITH ME a 4K upgrade; I wrote for Inverse about how, way before THE RETURN, Lynch shows us that returning to Twin Peaks was never an option.
The angels have all gone away.
www.inverse.com/entertainmen...
The angels have all gone away.
www.inverse.com/entertainmen...
33 Years Later, David Lynch's Notoriously Misunderstood Masterpiece Just Got A Huge Upgrade
The critically panned prequel has deservedly earned classic status — and it has a 4K Blu-ray restoration to match.
www.inverse.com
October 7, 2025 at 8:46 PM
Criterion have given TWIN PEAKS: FIRE WALK WITH ME a 4K upgrade; I wrote for Inverse about how, way before THE RETURN, Lynch shows us that returning to Twin Peaks was never an option.
The angels have all gone away.
www.inverse.com/entertainmen...
The angels have all gone away.
www.inverse.com/entertainmen...
Is One Battle After Another actually Pynchon? Is Vineland my friend? A brief rundown on adaptation for TIME!
time.com/7319399/one-...
time.com/7319399/one-...
The Wild Political Story That Inspired 'One Battle After Another'
How Paul Thomas Anderson's movie both draws from and differs from the Thomas Pynchon novel that inspired it.
time.com
September 26, 2025 at 1:22 PM
Is One Battle After Another actually Pynchon? Is Vineland my friend? A brief rundown on adaptation for TIME!
time.com/7319399/one-...
time.com/7319399/one-...
Reposted by Rory Doherty (he/him)
'Slow Horses' Season 5 Opens with Multiple “Bad Dates.” @roryjdoherty.bsky.social recaps:
'Slow Horses' Season 5 Premiere Recap: “Bad Dates”
Slow Horses is back for another messy adventure with MI5’s least loved and, by this point, criminally undervalued department, who kick off Season 5 by dealing with “Bad Dates.”
tellyvisions.org
September 25, 2025 at 3:27 PM
'Slow Horses' Season 5 Opens with Multiple “Bad Dates.” @roryjdoherty.bsky.social recaps:
It's ONE BATTLE AFTER ANOTHER eve, and I wrote an appreciation of Leonardo DiCaprio playing hysterical losers for @flicks.bsky.social
Thank you sensai THANK YOU SENSAI
www.flicks.co.uk/features/one...
Thank you sensai THANK YOU SENSAI
www.flicks.co.uk/features/one...
Leo’s great streak playing complete losers continues in One Battle After Another
Funniest performance of the year continues a trend of entertaining stupidity and incompetence.
www.flicks.co.uk
September 25, 2025 at 9:48 AM
It's ONE BATTLE AFTER ANOTHER eve, and I wrote an appreciation of Leonardo DiCaprio playing hysterical losers for @flicks.bsky.social
Thank you sensai THANK YOU SENSAI
www.flicks.co.uk/features/one...
Thank you sensai THANK YOU SENSAI
www.flicks.co.uk/features/one...
Reposted by Rory Doherty (he/him)
DiCaprio's turn in #OneBattleAfterAnother is the funniest performance of the year, says @roryjdoherty.bsky.social:
"A welcome evolution of an unmissable trend in the A-lister’s career: playing sad sack losers whose stupidity and incompetence threatens to collapse their whole life."
"A welcome evolution of an unmissable trend in the A-lister’s career: playing sad sack losers whose stupidity and incompetence threatens to collapse their whole life."
Leo’s great streak playing complete losers continues in One Battle After Another
Funniest performance of the year continues a trend of entertaining stupidity and incompetence.
go.weareflicks.co
September 24, 2025 at 7:56 PM
DiCaprio's turn in #OneBattleAfterAnother is the funniest performance of the year, says @roryjdoherty.bsky.social:
"A welcome evolution of an unmissable trend in the A-lister’s career: playing sad sack losers whose stupidity and incompetence threatens to collapse their whole life."
"A welcome evolution of an unmissable trend in the A-lister’s career: playing sad sack losers whose stupidity and incompetence threatens to collapse their whole life."
Hey it's been fifteen years since RESIDENT EVIL: AFTERLIFE, which I made the case for being the best of the bunch for Inverse.
www.inverse.com/entertainmen...
www.inverse.com/entertainmen...
15 Years Ago, A Maligned Director Sneakily Made The Best Resident Evil Movie
The best 'Resident Evil' film finally nailed the formula. And it only took Paul W.S. Anderson four tries.
www.inverse.com
September 12, 2025 at 12:44 PM
Hey it's been fifteen years since RESIDENT EVIL: AFTERLIFE, which I made the case for being the best of the bunch for Inverse.
www.inverse.com/entertainmen...
www.inverse.com/entertainmen...
I wrote about Jacob Elordi in FRANKENSTEIN, easily the film's best performance, in the context of the very charismatic and monstrous characters he made his name with. For @teenvogue.com!
www.teenvogue.com/story/jacob-...
www.teenvogue.com/story/jacob-...
Jacob Elordi Is a Monster in 'Euphoria.' In 'Frankenstein,' He’s More Human Than Ever
Elordi in Frankenstein demonstrates the clear difference between a territorial, self-obsessed narcissism and a messy, still-developing self-awareness.
www.teenvogue.com
September 12, 2025 at 9:19 AM
I wrote about Jacob Elordi in FRANKENSTEIN, easily the film's best performance, in the context of the very charismatic and monstrous characters he made his name with. For @teenvogue.com!
www.teenvogue.com/story/jacob-...
www.teenvogue.com/story/jacob-...
Reposted by Rory Doherty (he/him)
We love a savage review, and @roryjdoherty.bsky.social always provides. Read his take on Prime's expensively cheap thriller, 'The Girlfriend.'
'The Girlfriend' Is a Prime Example of How Cheap Streaming Shows Have Become
There is something instantly appealing about The Girlfriend, which goes to some extremely dramatic places. But it is saddled with the cheapness inherent to this chapter in the streaming empire.
tellyvisions.org
September 10, 2025 at 8:01 PM
We love a savage review, and @roryjdoherty.bsky.social always provides. Read his take on Prime's expensively cheap thriller, 'The Girlfriend.'
Reposted by Rory Doherty (he/him)
There's not long to wait, with some of the big pics from Venice arriving in cinemas as soon as next month...
@roryjdoherty.bsky.social reports back from the fest, with plenty to add to your watchlists.
@roryjdoherty.bsky.social reports back from the fest, with plenty to add to your watchlists.
This year’s Venice Film Festival winners and watchlist recommendations
Soft disappointments were evenly balanced by satisfying discoveries at Venice this year. Here’s what to keep an eye out for in coming months.
go.weareflicks.co
September 10, 2025 at 2:14 AM
There's not long to wait, with some of the big pics from Venice arriving in cinemas as soon as next month...
@roryjdoherty.bsky.social reports back from the fest, with plenty to add to your watchlists.
@roryjdoherty.bsky.social reports back from the fest, with plenty to add to your watchlists.
How wonderful to spend an hour talking to Mark Kerr, the Smashing Machine himself, about his incredible MMA story becoming Dwayne Johnson's big dramatic pivot – for TIME.
time.com/7314526/the-...
time.com/7314526/the-...
The True Story of Mark Kerr and 'The Smashing Machine'
Kerr tells TIME about his MMA career, addiction and recovery, and working with Dwayne Johnson who portrays him in the new movie.
time.com
September 5, 2025 at 5:42 PM
How wonderful to spend an hour talking to Mark Kerr, the Smashing Machine himself, about his incredible MMA story becoming Dwayne Johnson's big dramatic pivot – for TIME.
time.com/7314526/the-...
time.com/7314526/the-...
Reposted by Rory Doherty (he/him)
'Playing Nice' aims to be a classic Gothic thriller, but falls short of nailing the genre. @roryjdoherty.bsky.social reviews:
Family Thriller 'Playing Nice' Plays Unpleasant & Repetitive
Playing Nice is a thriller about a malicious, powerful man consumed with violent, repressed urges. This is simple, classic Gothic material, handled without awareness of style or the pleasures of genre...
tellyvisions.org
August 27, 2025 at 6:35 PM
'Playing Nice' aims to be a classic Gothic thriller, but falls short of nailing the genre. @roryjdoherty.bsky.social reviews:
Reposted by Rory Doherty (he/him)
Our U.K. resident, @roryjdoherty.bsky.social goes in on Netflix's 'Hostage' and the nonsensical political heroism streaming services put out even as they suck up to the current British and American leadership.
'Hostage's Trend of World Leader Thrillers Should Be Impeached Immediately
Hostage lacks a sense of political realism or nuance, even before the miniseries delves into a ludicrous and mostly tension-free kidnapping plot that cuts to the heart of the British leadership.
tellyvisions.org
August 24, 2025 at 5:15 PM
Our U.K. resident, @roryjdoherty.bsky.social goes in on Netflix's 'Hostage' and the nonsensical political heroism streaming services put out even as they suck up to the current British and American leadership.
Reposted by Rory Doherty (he/him)
The LFF Critics' Support Fund - helping low income journalists to attend the London Film Festival due to a lack of institutional support - is back for a third year! Find out more and apply here: docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F...
August 18, 2025 at 10:22 AM
The LFF Critics' Support Fund - helping low income journalists to attend the London Film Festival due to a lack of institutional support - is back for a third year! Find out more and apply here: docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F...
Reposted by Rory Doherty (he/him)
I spoke to Ari Aster about cynicism, tech worship, and movies about phones for @flicks.bsky.social on the eve of EDDINGTON emerging in UK cinemas.
www.flicks.co.uk/features/wev...
www.flicks.co.uk/features/wev...
“We’ve become very, very paranoid”: Ari Aster explains Eddington
“It’s a film about the environment we’re living in right now, which is one in which we’re all siloed off from each other.”
www.flicks.co.uk
August 18, 2025 at 9:42 AM
I spoke to Ari Aster about cynicism, tech worship, and movies about phones for @flicks.bsky.social on the eve of EDDINGTON emerging in UK cinemas.
www.flicks.co.uk/features/wev...
www.flicks.co.uk/features/wev...
Reposted by Rory Doherty (he/him)
Ari Aster’s first film grounded in a real, specific moment, #Eddington features just as much dread and uncertainty as his films about cults, demons, and psychosexual odysseys.
The director shares more about the pic (where everybody’s brain is now wired differently) with @roryjdoherty.bsky.social
The director shares more about the pic (where everybody’s brain is now wired differently) with @roryjdoherty.bsky.social
“We’ve become very, very paranoid”: Ari Aster explains Eddington
“It’s a film about the environment we’re living in right now, which is one in which we’re all siloed off from each other.”
go.weareflicks.co
August 16, 2025 at 10:46 PM
Ari Aster’s first film grounded in a real, specific moment, #Eddington features just as much dread and uncertainty as his films about cults, demons, and psychosexual odysseys.
The director shares more about the pic (where everybody’s brain is now wired differently) with @roryjdoherty.bsky.social
The director shares more about the pic (where everybody’s brain is now wired differently) with @roryjdoherty.bsky.social