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David Sims
Tomatometer-approved critic
Movies reviews only
| Rating | T-Meter | Title | Year | Review |
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The Creator (2023) |
The spectacle of The Creator is the film’s real star, which isn’t quite enough to sustain a running time of more than two hours. Even so, The Creator is a high-level craft achievement that is undeniably cool on a big screen. - The Atlantic
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| Posted Sep 27, 2023
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The Beast (2023) |
Bonello uses these encounters to pose questions about love, desire, and more terrifying masculine urges, depicting moments of pure tenderness and tense, unsettling threat. - The Atlantic
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| Posted Sep 22, 2023
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Origin (2023) |
The overall result is possibly too muddled to function as a successful piece of dramatic storytelling, but too much inventiveness is on display to easily dismiss. - The Atlantic
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| Posted Sep 22, 2023
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La Chimera (2023) |
There’s nothing quite like La Chimera -- which is typical of the Italian filmmaker Alice Rohrwacher, who is fond of adding dashes of magic to tales that explore her country’s past. - The Atlantic
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| Posted Sep 22, 2023
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The Boy and the Heron (2023) |
The Boy and the Heron may or may not be Miyazaki’s final movie, but either way, it’s a staggering addition to one of animation’s most totemic filmographies. - The Atlantic
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| Posted Sep 22, 2023
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Rustin (2023) |
Domingo’s outsize performance gets across how he survived and succeeded through charm and sheer force of will. - The Atlantic
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| Posted Sep 22, 2023
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Fallen Leaves (2023) |
The most consistent filmmaker working today might be Aki Kaurismäki, the Finnish master who produces a soft-spoken and mordant comedy every six years or so and never, ever misses the mark. Even by his high standards, Fallen Leaves is close to perfect. - The Atlantic
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| Posted Sep 22, 2023
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Dream Scenario (2023) |
Borgli loses some grip on whatever metaphor for fame he’s exploring, but there are some hilarious (and terrifying) swerves along the way. - The Atlantic
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| Posted Sep 22, 2023
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Nyad (2023) |
The film is a fairly standard triumph-over-adversity true story powered by strong work from Bening and Jodie Foster as her coach, Bonnie Stoll, but the exacting technical details of Nyad’s process are its most fascinating elements. - The Atlantic
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| Posted Sep 22, 2023
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The Holdovers (2023) |
The Holdovers kicks off with all the grumpy cynicism of Payne’s past classics such as Election and Nebraska, but there’s a touch of holiday sweetness as it explores the deepening bonds between [the ensemble]. - The Atlantic
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| Posted Sep 22, 2023
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The Pigeon Tunnel (2023) |
Through it all is the tension of whether one can truly know le Carré, a man who first made a living hiding his true self, and then another living as a writer delving into it. Morris captures that paradox... quite perfectly. - The Atlantic
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| Posted Sep 22, 2023
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Anatomy of a Fall (2023) |
The film works largely because Hüller, a German actress probably best known for her role in Toni Erdmann, gives an extraordinary performance. - The Atlantic
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| Posted Sep 22, 2023
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Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem (2023) |
As Hollywood continues to strip-mine 20th-century pop culture wherever it can, Mutant Mayhem is worth acknowledging as the rare reboot that harkens back to its franchise origins while presenting something new. - The Atlantic
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| Posted Sep 07, 2023
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Retribution (2023) |
Matt can park the car every so often to catch his breath; he just can’t get out. This is a writing decision that robs the film of any possible chance at gaining momentum, and also perhaps best exemplifies Neeson’s career over the past decade and a half. - The Atlantic
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| Posted Aug 26, 2023
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Oldboy (2003) |
There’s a core element of emotional realism that accentuates Park’s brutal narrative beats, leaving us to ponder something more than a bloody body. - The Atlantic
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| Posted Aug 22, 2023
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Oppenheimer (2023) |
It’s more impressive for how the director has made such a personal narrative feel epic, not just in visual breadth but in dramatic sweep, presenting a story from the past that feels knotted to so many present anxieties about nuclear annihilation. - The Atlantic
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| Posted Jul 19, 2023
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Barbie (2023) |
Combining the meta jokiness with a heap of motivational sincerity is no easy task, but Barbie is a very charming success. - The Atlantic
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| Posted Jul 19, 2023
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Insidious: The Red Door (2023) |
I’d hoped that the newest Insidious would lean into high melodrama. But though there are a couple of memorable moments, the film ultimately takes itself a little too seriously to be fun. - The Atlantic
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| Posted Jul 13, 2023
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Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning, Part One (2023) |
This is a worthy entry in America’s best ongoing franchise, one where sincerity and absurdity walk hand in hand with vital, triumphant conviction. - The Atlantic
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| Posted Jul 05, 2023
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Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny (2023) |
The film, directed by James Mangold, still has a streak of defiance, but it’s a gentle one, working to avoid the relative strangeness of Crystal Skull and instead give viewers exactly what they might expect. - The Atlantic
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| Posted Jun 26, 2023
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Asteroid City (2023) |
It pairs his inimitable visual elegance with an impassioned argument about the power of storytelling. And it’s a reminder that Anderson remains one of cinema’s best. - The Atlantic
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| Posted Jun 13, 2023
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Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse (2023) |
Across the Spider-Verse avoids seeming like a physics lesson because its visuals are consistently thrilling; the most static bits of dialogue still pop because of how daring the animation is. - The Atlantic
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| Posted Jun 02, 2023
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The Little Mermaid (2023) |
The new Little Mermaid is somehow 135 minutes long, a whopping 52 more than the lean animated version, but it adds almost nothing of note to the mix, largely spending that extra time on stretched-out action sequences and slightly more plot context. - The Atlantic
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| Posted May 30, 2023
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You Hurt My Feelings (2023) |
You Hurt My Feelings is droll, but it’s also an (appropriately titled) emotional roller coaster. Its adroit quality mirrors all of Holofcener’s best work. - The Atlantic
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| Posted May 25, 2023
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Killers of the Flower Moon (2023) |
De Niro is magnificently unsettling in the film -- it might be the best work he’s done with Scorsese since Goodfellas -- but the emotional powerhouses are DiCaprio and Gladstone. - The Atlantic
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| Posted May 20, 2023
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Master Gardener (2022) |
Is Schrader becoming a softie in his advancing age? Maybe, but I think Master Gardener’s sensitivity is provocative in and of itself, daring the audience to forgive a man whose past is steeped in profound evil. - The Atlantic
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| Posted May 19, 2023
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Fast X (2023) |
The sweet, coarse sincerity that once made these films sing is gone, replaced with jokes and stunts that feel patched together from earlier, better franchises. - The Atlantic
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| Posted May 17, 2023
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BlackBerry (2023) |
BlackBerry is one of the best business biopics I’ve seen, because it’s fueled by that skepticism; it’s a roller coaster that viewers can enjoy riding all the way up, but it’s not afraid to question its own climax the whole way down. - The Atlantic
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| Posted May 11, 2023
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Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 (2023) |
Guardians 3 is a cheerful goodbye to many of the studio’s best heroes, who somehow managed to get through an entire series without being ruined by the larger superhero universe they inhabit. For Marvel, that’s both a win and a problem. - The Atlantic
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| Posted Apr 28, 2023
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John Mulaney: Baby J (2023) |
There’s undoubtedly a lot more weight on Mulaney’s shoulders, and more retrospection in his storytelling. But few comedians are currently working with his kind of natural talent. - The Atlantic
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| Posted Apr 26, 2023
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Beau Is Afraid (2023) |
Beau Is Afraid is abrasive and dense, but that’s to be saluted. Aster is cashing in on the success of his first two films to create something daringly vulnerable for a wide audience. - The Atlantic
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| Posted Apr 14, 2023
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Showing Up (2022) |
What initially seems to be a slice-of-life drama eventually reveals itself as a paean to the difficulties, and rewards, of making art. - The Atlantic
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| Posted Apr 13, 2023
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Air (2023) |
Air mainly takes place in drab offices, yet the cast’s expert performances transform those spaces much in the same way that Michael Jordan transformed courts and sneaker racks -- by turning them into sites of magic. - The Atlantic
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| Posted Apr 07, 2023
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The Super Mario Bros. Movie (2023) |
It’s a 92-minute injection of kid-friendly joy that whizzes by fast enough to keep adults from getting enraged or bored. - The Atlantic
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| Posted Apr 04, 2023
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Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves (2023) |
Daley and Goldstein, who are obviously seasoned D&D players with a passion for the game’s intricate world, have created a Princess Bride–esque saga of personal enrichment and revenge that even the most casual fan can get into. - The Atlantic
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| Posted Mar 30, 2023
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John Wick: Chapter 4 (2023) |
Yes, I checked my watch a few times during the movie... But by the last hour of its elephantine running time, Chapter 4 is a preposterous blast. - The Atlantic
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| Posted Mar 17, 2023
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Scream VI (2023) |
There just isn’t enough juice behind the stagecraft. The Scream movies have thrived because they’ve always stayed one step ahead of their source material -- but as the franchise grows more bloated, they risk becoming their own punch line. - The Atlantic
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| Posted Mar 13, 2023
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Chris Rock: Selective Outrage (2023) |
As live television, it was intermittently interesting, then briefly compelling; as comedy, it will be a minor entry in Rock’s estimable stand-up catalog. - The Atlantic
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| Posted Mar 07, 2023
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Creed III (2023) |
The first Rocky came out in 1976 and showed no sign of being the kind of movie that would spawn eight follow-ups. But with the inventiveness of Creed III, an old franchise suddenly feels fresh. - The Atlantic
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| Posted Mar 03, 2023
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Cocaine Bear (2023) |
Cocaine Bear could’ve been a triumph if the jokes landed, but the zingers just aren’t up to the mayhem. And though the character actors are all capable of sterling work, there’s nobody to root for here. - The Atlantic
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| Posted Feb 25, 2023
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Return to Seoul (2022) |
With its ever-evolving protagonist, Return to Seoul defies neat categorization. It’s a low-budget character drama with the twists and turns of a high-octane thriller. - The Atlantic
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| Posted Feb 23, 2023
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Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantumania (2023) |
The story is in service of the larger Marvel engine, an increasingly creaky machine that nevertheless keeps grinding away, dropping superstar performers into CGI glop because the show simply must go on. - The Atlantic
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| Posted Feb 14, 2023
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Knock at the Cabin (2023) |
At the core of Shyamalan’s story is the idea that raising children in this world is an inherently tragic project. - The Atlantic
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| Posted Feb 01, 2023
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Infinity Pool (2023) |
The premise of Infinity Pool was deliciously nasty enough to keep me invested for most of its nearly two-hour running time... [But] at a certain point, every last bit of allegory has been killed as well. - The Atlantic
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| Posted Jan 28, 2023
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Skinamarink (2022) |
Skinamarink, for all its dreaminess, is a successful horror film: Like many of the genre’s greatest examples, it has a sense of discovery and terrifying wonder. - The Atlantic
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| Posted Jan 13, 2023
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M3GAN (2022) |
Yes, Gerard Johnstone’s M3GAN is pulled from January’s bucket of mostly low-budget pablum, but it’s cheeky and knowing enough to stand out from the slop. - The Atlantic
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| Posted Jan 09, 2023
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White Noise (2022) |
It’s funny and surprisingly unnerving stuff. The film also manages to feel contemporary without ever dropping the throwback aesthetic. - The Atlantic
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| Posted Jan 03, 2023
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Babylon (2022) |
Chazelle is trying to make a point with all the excess... I’m not sure if I agree or if I was simply beaten into submission after more than three hours, but Babylon is the kind of grandiose folly that at least gives the viewer a big old mess to chew on. - The Atlantic
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| Posted Dec 28, 2022
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Avatar: The Way of Water (2022) |
For The Way of Water, the decadence is more than enough -- for cinemas that have been starved of authentic spectacle, finally, here’s a gorgeous three-course meal of it. - The Atlantic
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| Posted Dec 13, 2022
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The Whale (2022) |
I am not opposed to body horror, but the genre is best suited to vulgar ends. The Whale is presenting itself as something noble and, ultimately, uplifting, but it just can’t make that sale. - The Atlantic
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| Posted Dec 13, 2022
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