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david-rooney.bsky.social
David Rooney
@david-rooney.bsky.social
1.8K followers 320 following 530 posts
Chief Film Critic at The Hollywood Reporter, plus theater when time permits. Member of @NYFCC.bsky.social and @NSFC.bsky.social
https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/author/david-rooney/
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David Rooney @david-rooney.bsky.social · Dec 13
It's top 10 time. My best of 2024, which turned out to be a gratifying year for movies, plus those of my invaluable @throfficial.bsky.social colleagues and pals Jon Frosch and Lovia Gyarkye. Feel free to endorse, dispute or share your own favorites.
www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie...
Hollywood Reporter Critics Pick the Best Films of 2024
A heady rush of romantic addiction, a transcendent reflection on community, a searing refugee drama and an empathetic portrait of fury rank among THR film reviewers' favorites of the year.
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david-rooney.bsky.social
Some thoughts on directorial hot streaks, with several of this season's Oscar contenders going from strength to strength.
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Critic’s Notebook: This Is the Oscar Season of Can’t-Miss Directors
OK, not everyone hits, but an inordinate number of filmmakers are continuing their hot streaks
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November 20, 2025 at 10:11 PM
david-rooney.bsky.social
If WICKED belonged to Cynthia Erivo's Elphaba, the second part of Jon M. Chu's musical marathon, WICKED: FOR GOOD, creates a pleasing symmetry by giving greater dimension to Ariana Grande's luminous Glinda. I had an unexpectedly enjoyable time.
www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie...
‘Wicked: For Good’ Review: Cynthia Erivo Remains Stellar, but a Radiant Ariana Grande Owns the Continuation of Jon M. Chu’s Musical Marathon
Jonathan Bailey, Michelle Yeoh, Jeff Goldblum and Ethan Slater also return to complete the backstory of witchy sisterhood, which converges with events in 'The Wizard of Oz.'
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November 18, 2025 at 5:15 PM
david-rooney.bsky.social
Glen Powell gives it his all in Edgar Wright’s remake of THE RUNNING MAN, based on the Stephen King novel. But the gritty dystopian survival contest sits awkwardly between satire and bleak social critique, making it feel tonally wobbly.
www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie...
‘The Running Man’ Review: Glen Powell Sprints, Sweats and Bleeds, but Edgar Wright’s Dystopian Thriller Seldom Gets the Pulse Racing
The second screen adaptation of Stephen King’s novel about a desperate man on a deadly reality show also stars Josh Brolin, William H. Macy, Lee Pace and Emilia Jones.
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November 11, 2025 at 11:25 PM
david-rooney.bsky.social
Never would have guessed I'd have so much fun with a
Ryan Murphy assignment, but my sage THR editor,
@jon-frosch.bsky.social, knows me better than I know myself. BRB, just going to get salmon sperm facial-filler shots.
www.hollywoodreporter.com/tv/tv-review...
Say What?! The 20 Most Jaw-Dropping Lines From ‘All’s Fair,’ Ranked
The first three episodes of Hulu’s pilloried legal soap from Ryan Murphy and Kris Jenner Productions have already served up a bonanza of truly bonkers dialogue (and a truckload of Birkin bags).
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November 10, 2025 at 4:04 PM
david-rooney.bsky.social
Now playing in NY & LA, Joachim Trier's SENTIMENTAL VALUE is a knotty yet radiant reflection on family, memory and art. Renate Reinsve, Stellan Skarsgard, Elle Fanning & wonderful discovery Inga Ibsdotter Lilleaas are a knockout ensemble. Don't miss this.
www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie...
‘Sentimental Value’ Review: Renate Reinsve, Stellan Skarsgard and Elle Fanning Illuminate Joachim Trier’s Piercing Reflection on Family and Memory
The director’s sixth feature, which also stars Inga Ibsdotter Lilleaas, revolves around a house in Oslo whose walls have absorbed generations of experience.
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November 7, 2025 at 9:41 PM
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In theaters tomorrow, Lynne Ramsay's psychodrama DIE MY LOVE stars Jennifer Lawrence (alongside an equally game Robert Pattinson) as a prairie Hedda Gabler, spectacularly unhinged by the prison of marriage, motherhood & domesticity.
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‘Die My Love’ Review: Jennifer Lawrence Spirals Into Psychosis While Robert Pattinson Plunges Into Despair in Lynne Ramsay’s Jarring Character Study
Sissy Spacek, Nick Nolte and LaKeith Stanfield also appear in the Scottish director’s adaptation of Ariana Harwicz’s novel about love, lust and madness.
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November 6, 2025 at 6:55 PM
david-rooney.bsky.social
Opening Friday, PETER HUJAR’S DAY is peak Ira Sachs. Adored this. Deftly molds an extended conversation transcript into a penetrating study of the queer photographer & the downtown NYC ‘70s art scene he inhabited. Ben Whishaw is utterly transfixing.
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‘Peter Hujar’s Day’ Review: Ben Whishaw and Rebecca Hall Take an Illuminating Snapshot of a Queer Artist in Ira Sachs’ Gorgeous Character Study
The film is constructed from recently rediscovered tapes of a 1974 conversation between photographer Hujar and his author friend Linda Rosenkrantz for a book project.
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November 4, 2025 at 5:38 PM
david-rooney.bsky.social
Diane Ladd, 1935-2025 💔
November 3, 2025 at 8:40 PM
david-rooney.bsky.social
Laurie Metcalf and Micah Stock are perfection together in Samuel D. Hunter's beautiful new play about a semi-estranged aunt and nephew in small-town Idaho, LITTLE BEAR RIDGE ROAD, which marks the writer's Broadway debut. Loved this.
www.hollywoodreporter.com/lifestyle/ar...
‘Little Bear Ridge Road’ Theater Review: Laurie Metcalf Is in Blazing Form and Micah Stock a Revelation in Samuel D. Hunter’s Jewel of a Play
The actors are dueling forces as a semi-estranged aunt and nephew in small-town Idaho in Joe Mantello’s production, brought to Broadway by Scott Rudin and Barry Diller.
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October 31, 2025 at 2:10 AM
david-rooney.bsky.social
Wasn't sure what to expect from SONG SUNG BLUE, but Craig Brewer's film of a Milwaukee couple's real-life love story is a disarming crowd-pleaser. As a Neil Diamond tribute act that become local legends, Hugh Jackman & a never-better Kate Hudson shine.
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‘Song Sung Blue’ Review: Hugh Jackman and Kate Hudson Bring Sparkling Chemistry and Impressive Musicality to Disarming Boomer Love Story
Ella Anderson, Michael Imperioli and Jim Belushi also star in Craig Brewer’s account of a real-life blue-collar Milwaukee couple whose Neil Diamond tribute act makes them local legends.
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October 27, 2025 at 6:46 AM
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In theaters today, SPRINGSTEEN: DELIVER ME FROM NOWHERE dials down the big Boss energy for a more introspective approach to the intense self-reflection that went into making his landmark "Nebraska" album. Raw and vulnerable, Jeremy Allen White is terrific.
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‘Springsteen: Deliver Me From Nowhere’ Review: Jeremy Allen White Gives Raw, Internalized Performance as The Boss in Contemplative Bio-Drama
Jeremy Strong, Stephen Graham and Odessa Young also star in Scott Cooper’s examination of the brutal comedown after a blockbuster tour, which yielded the musician’s most personal album.
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October 24, 2025 at 4:19 PM
david-rooney.bsky.social
Curtis Hanson's 1992 vengeful-nanny psycho thriller, THE HAND THAT ROCKS THE CRADLE, has rightly lived on in lurid splendor (Marlene! 💔😢). But this insipid Hulu remake will likely be sucked into the streaming maw & never mentioned again. Bye bye, baby.
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‘The Hand That Rocks the Cradle’ Review: Mary Elizabeth Winstead and Maika Monroe Smudge the Line Between Victim and Villain in Bland Remake
Raúl Castillo and Martin Starr round out the cast of Michelle Garza Cervera’s modern spin for Hulu on the hit 1992 Curtis Hanson thriller about a vengeful nanny.
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October 22, 2025 at 5:13 AM
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Now in theaters ahead of its Nov. 7 Netflix drop, Guillermo del Toro’s FRANKENSTEIN is a fever dream he’s been nurturing his entire career. Gothic horror, romance, tragedy, with a heartrending performance by Jacob Elordi. Loved this; see it on a big screen.
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‘Frankenstein’ Review: Guillermo del Toro Transcends Horror in Emotionally Charged Take on Mary Shelley Led by Oscar Isaac and Jacob Elordi
Mia Goth and Christoph Waltz also star in a grand-scale passion project for Netflix that the iconoclastic director has been gestating for decades.
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October 17, 2025 at 6:04 PM
david-rooney.bsky.social
In theaters Friday, Kelly Reichardt’s gorgeous, funny-sad ‘70s-set art heist movie THE MASTERMIND is led by another deeply lived-in performance from Josh O’Connor, whose rumpled charm reminded me of his beautiful work in LA CHIMERA. One of the year's best.
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‘The Mastermind’ Review: Josh O’Connor Lands on Kelly Reichardt’s Precise Wavelength in an Understated, Funny-Sad Heist Movie Like No Other
Alana Haim, Bill Camp and Hope Davis also feature in this early ‘70s-set story of an out-of-work carpenter who pulls off a major art theft without thinking it through.
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October 14, 2025 at 5:16 PM
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Now in theaters: Ethan Hawke gives one of the year's most haunting performances in Richard Linklater's intimate, real-time character study BLUE MOON, as a creative artist on a precipitous downslide. Great work from Margaret Qualley and Andrew Scott, too.
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‘Blue Moon’ Review: Ethan Hawke and Margaret Qualley Mesmerize in Richard Linklater’s Affecting Study of a Gifted Artist on a Downhill Slide
Bobby Cannavale and Andrew Scott co-star in this real-time account of musical-theater lyricist Lorenz Hart getting pickled at Sardi’s on opening night of his former writing partner’s Broadway triumph,...
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October 13, 2025 at 8:33 PM
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Some thoughts on the sublime Diane Keaton. Truly one of a kind. ANNIE HALL was a formative movie for me and the searing marital-breakdown drama SHOOT THE MOON remains one of the most under-appreciated films of the '80s. A tremendous loss.
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Critic’s Appreciation: The Irreplaceable Diane Keaton Modernized the Screwball Heroine With Sophistication, Intellect and Singular Style
The Oscar-winning star of ‘Annie Hall,’ ‘Manhattan,’ all three ‘Godfather’ movies, ‘Reds’ and ‘The First Wives Club' was a one-of-a-kind screen presence.
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October 12, 2025 at 1:11 AM
david-rooney.bsky.social
Following A STAR IS BORN and MAESTRO, director Bradley Cooper is now 3 for 3. Closing #NYFF2025 on a resoundingly sweet note, IS THIS THING ON? is a beautifully observed comic drama about marriage and standup, with stellar work from Will Arnett & Laura Dern
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‘Is This Thing On?’ Review: Will Arnett and Laura Dern Are a Delight in Bradley Cooper’s Warmhearted Flipside to ‘Marriage Story’
In his third outing as director, a comic drama about stand-up as divorce therapy, Cooper also appears alongside Andra Day, Christine Ebersole and Ciarán Hinds.
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October 10, 2025 at 10:45 PM
david-rooney.bsky.social
Keira Knightley and Guy Pearce class up the joint but Simon Stone's shipboard murder mystery for Netflix, THE WOMAN IN CABIN 10, is a snooze cruise until it picks up speed in the closing stretch. Still, watchable enough while multitasking.
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‘The Woman in Cabin 10’ Review: Keira Knightley and Guy Pearce Give Billionaires on Yachts a Bad Name in Serviceable Whodunit Adaptation
David Ajala, Art Malik and Hannah Waddingham also star in Simon Stone’s murder mystery for Netflix, based on the bestseller by Brit novelist Ruth Ware.
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October 9, 2025 at 11:21 PM
david-rooney.bsky.social
The instantly forgettable TRON: LEGACY made me dread TRON: ARES. But as a Monday morning IMAX wakeup with a killer Nine Inch Nails score and solid work from Jared Leto, Greta Lee, Jodie Turner-Smith & Gillian Anderson, it was surprisingly tasty popcorn.
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‘Tron: Ares’ Review: Jared Leto and Greta Lee Bring New Blood To Vintage Cyber Franchise, With a Big Kick From Nine Inch Nails’ Hard-Driving Score
Jeff Bridges returns alongside Evan Peters, Jodie Turner-Smith and Gillian Anderson in Joachim Rønning’s installment about the collision of human and digital worlds.
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October 7, 2025 at 4:58 PM
david-rooney.bsky.social
Anyone who has loved the luminous Carmen Maura since her Almodóvar days will warm to CALLE MALAGA, Maryam Touzani's buoyant drama about a woman in the Spanish community of Tangier who refuses to be displaced. Morocco's Oscar entry is a gentle charmer.
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‘Calle Málaga’ Review: A Luminous Carmen Maura Brings Warmth, Magnetism and Indomitable Pluck to Touching Moroccan Domestic Drama
The country’s submission for best international feature consideration at the 2026 Oscars is a story of aging without surrender, set in the Spanish-speaking community of Tangier.
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October 3, 2025 at 6:12 PM
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Another day, another synthetic direct-to-streaming movie. Shane Black's '90s throwback heist thriller for Amazon, PLAY DIRTY, had me once again asking, "Why is Mark Wahlberg a movie star?" Among other questions.
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‘Play Dirty’ Review: Mark Wahlberg Lacks the Spark to Sell a Sardonic Master Criminal in Shane Black’s Ho-Hum Heist Caper
LaKeith Stanfield, Rosa Salazar, Keegan-Michael Key and Tony Shalhoub also star in Amazon Prime’s action-thriller based on Donald E. Westlake’s ‘Parker’ novels.
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September 30, 2025 at 1:09 PM
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Keanu Reeves and Alex Winter bring the disarming chemistry of a decades-long friendship to what Broadway pundits have dubbed BILL & TED’S EXISTENTIAL ADVENTURE. But they don’t quite have the stage chops to explore WAITING FOR GODOT’s bleakest depths.
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‘Waiting for Godot’ Theater Review: Keanu Reeves and Alex Winter’s Beckett Spin Nails the Absurdist Tragicomedy but Underserves the Angst
Directed by Jamie Lloyd, the latest Broadway revival of the 1952 play that marries bleak existentialism with broken-down vaudeville also features Brandon J. Dirden and Michael Patrick Thornton.
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September 29, 2025 at 2:27 AM
david-rooney.bsky.social
Great to see Daniel Day-Lewis back on screen after eight years and in magnificent form. But little else in ANEMONE, a drama of family bonds shattered by violence, comes close to his magnetic intensity. My review of the #NYFF premiere.
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‘Anemone’ Review: Daniel Day-Lewis Makes a Commanding Return to the Screen in a Drama That Seldom Approaches His Earth-Shaking Force
Sean Bean and Samantha Morton also star in this portrait of familial bonds shattered by violence, directed by Ronan Day-Lewis and premiering at the New York Film Festival.
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September 28, 2025 at 9:44 PM
david-rooney.bsky.social
Strong start for Paul Thomas Anderson's wildly entertaining ONE BATTLE AFTER ANOTHER. Can't remember the last time I was so invested in a film's box office success. If we want smart, grownup movies, people need to turn out for releases like this.
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Box Office: ‘One Battle After Another’ Earns $8.8M Opening, Eyeing $21M Weekend
Universal’s kid offering ‘Gabby’s Dollhouse: The Movie’ is looking at the No. 2 spot this weekend.
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September 27, 2025 at 7:14 PM
david-rooney.bsky.social
Leonardo DiCaprio deserves all the praise coming his way for Paul Thomas Anderson's provocative and entertaining firecracker ONE BATTLE AFTER ANOTHER. Ditto Sean Penn & Benicio del Toro. But the women are the movie's beating heart: Teyana Taylor, Regina Hall & gifted newcomer Chase Infiniti.
September 22, 2025 at 5:05 PM