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David Sims

David Sims

The Atlantic

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The Best Friends to Maybe-Lovers to Tennis Rivals Pipeline

Challengers has plenty of moody intrigue, and it doesn’t skimp on the sports, either. As any fan of tennis can inform you, one of the sport’s...

tuesday 10

The Atlantic

David Sims

La Chimera’s Scruffy Mysticism

Alice Rohrwacher’s stunning new film is a deft balance of weariness and wonder. La Chimera confirms a stereotypical suspicion I’ve had about life...

12.04.2024 6

The Atlantic

David Sims

Alex Garland’s Angry, Urgent Civil War

What would it take for California and Texas to unite against the White House? Well, nothing good. When the first trailer for Alex Garland’s new...

08.04.2024 9

The Atlantic

David Sims

The Fans Aren’t Always Right

The new Ghostbusters movie is fine—totally, completely fine. Why is the franchise treated so seriously? There’s something comfortingly irrelevant...

01.04.2024 20

The Atlantic

David Sims

Sydney Sweeney’s Growing Empire

The horror movie Immaculate demonstrates just why the actor is becoming so unavoidable. Immaculate is obsessed with Sydney Sweeney’s face. It’s...

22.03.2024 10

The Atlantic

David Sims

A 21st-Century Civil War Wouldn’t Happen Like This—Right?

Alex Garland’s new film imagines a United States torn asunder, and denies any easy explanations about why. In Alex Garland’s new film, Civil War,...

15.03.2024 10

The Atlantic

David Sims

Love Lies Bleeding Is a Coen Brothers Thriller on Steroids

Kristen Stewart’s new movie is a refreshingly untraditional love story that flirts with paranormal body horror. The meet-cute at the beginning of...

12.03.2024 5

The Atlantic

David Sims

A Winning Romance Between Juiced-Up Bodybuilders

Love Lies Bleeding is a refreshingly untraditional love story that flirts with paranormal body horror. The meet-cute at the beginning of Love Lies...

12.03.2024 4

The Atlantic

David Sims

The Oscars Got What It Wanted

Most of the expected favorites won, and nothing went tremendously wrong. This year, the mission of the Academy Awards was, more than anything, to...

11.03.2024 2

The Atlantic

David Sims

Here’s Who Will Win at the 2024 Oscars

And also who should win. In some sense, this has been the most boring Oscar campaign in years. The minute Oppenheimer blew past all expectations to...

07.03.2024 4

The Atlantic

David Sims

Paul Giamatti Is Great in Everything

The beloved actor’s performance in The Holdovers is just another high point in a long, memorable career. In 2016, the alt-comic cable talk show The...

29.02.2024 4

The Atlantic

David Sims

Dune: Part Two Is Bigger, Better, and Sandier

Denis Villeneuve’s Dune: Part Two is a triumphant—and tragic—look at the cost of power. Paul Atreides, the central figure of the Dune series, is...

28.02.2024 6

The Atlantic

David Sims

A New Spin on the Coen Brothers Formula

Drive-Away Dolls is a zany comedy with an unapologetically sexy edge. It’s still a mystery why the Coen brothers stopped working together. The pair...

21.02.2024 8

The Atlantic

David Sims

Superhero Movies Have Reached Their Contractual-Obligation Phase

Madame Web doesn’t just scrape the bottom of the barrel—it finds new depths. Decades into the comic-book-movie experience, filmmakers are still...

14.02.2024 7

The Atlantic

David Sims

Jon Stewart Hasn’t Missed a Beat

His Daily Show return isn’t a mere nostalgia ploy—it’s a sharp spin on an old formula. For me, the experience of watching The Daily Show belongs...

13.02.2024 20

The Atlantic

David Sims

The Hollywood Pros Finally Getting Their Due

A new Oscars category will recognize casting directors, who perform a mysterious but vital component of moviemaking. The last time the Academy Awards...

09.02.2024 6

The Atlantic

David Sims

A Godzilla Movie That’s Actually Terrifying

Godzilla Minus One is a rare beast: a viscerally arresting monster flick with legitimate emotional stakes. Next month, Hollywood’s latest Godzilla...

06.02.2024 9

The Atlantic

David Sims

17 Indie Films You Must See in 2024

Time travel, Sasquatches, Kristen Stewart in a mullet—here are our favorite movies from this year’s Sundance Film Festival. Navigating the...

03.02.2024 10

The Atlantic

David Sims

Where Have All the Original Action Movies Gone?

Matthew Vaughn’s Argylle borrows from a lot of very recent spy-thriller history. I have to give some credit to Matthew Vaughn’s new film, Argylle,...

31.01.2024 5

The Atlantic

David Sims

The Silver Lining of an Oscar Snub

The Barbie filmmaker isn't the first to be snubbed for directing a crowdpleaser. A woman directs a commercially successful and critically acclaimed...

24.01.2024 10

The Atlantic

David Sims

How Gen Z Turned an R-Rated Rom-Com Into a Sleeper Hit

Anyone but You is that rarest of Hollywood phenomena—an old-fashioned word-of-mouth success. The film Anyone but You’s paltry $6 million opening...

23.01.2024 10

The Atlantic

David Sims

Can Anything Stop Oppenheimer at the Oscars?

Many recent winners have lacked mainstream appeal—but this year, that changes. For years, the panicked question around the Academy Awards has been...

18.01.2024 10

The Atlantic

David Sims

Why Michael Mann Needed to Make Ferrari

“People are either down for what this movie is or they’re not.” Half an hour into our conversation, Michael Mann answered his phone. His...

03.01.2024 10

The Atlantic

David Sims

A Must-See Drama, Inside and Outside the Wrestling Ring

The Iron Claw, a new biopic about the tragic Von Erich brothers, is rich with feeling and never despairing. Sean Durkin’s first film, Martha Marcy...

20.12.2023 10

The Atlantic

David Sims

An Origin Story That’s Actually Fun

The charming Wonka wisely understands that Roald Dahl characters don’t need much backstory. Is there any phrase more chilling in Hollywood these...

15.12.2023 6

The Atlantic

David Sims

SNL’s New Kings of Bizarro Buddy Comedy

The Gen Z zaniness of Please Don’t Destroy The video that ushered Saturday Night Live into the digital era barely made it to television, and when it...

15.12.2023 6

The Atlantic

David Sims

Hayao Miyazaki Is Thinking About the End

The Boy and the Heron, which could be the Studio Ghibli co-founder’s final film, is more of a bold reinvention than a somber farewell. The first...

08.12.2023 6

The Atlantic

David Sims

The 10 Best Films of 2023

A tumultuous year for Hollywood and a stellar year for cinema Cinema continued to wobble back to its feet in 2023: Blockbuster events such as...

07.12.2023 30

The Atlantic

David Sims

There Are No Heroes or Villains in May December

The filmmaker Todd Haynes discusses the messy morality of his new movie’s characters. May December is not designed to provide easy answers. Todd...

07.12.2023 9

The Atlantic

David Sims

The Agony and Ecstasy of Leonard Bernstein

Bradley Cooper’s Maestro is a wonderful look at the composer that dives headfirst into his brilliant work and complicated inner life. One early...

30.11.2023 3

The Atlantic

David Sims

An Enjoyable Extravaganza About … Napoleon?

Ridley Scott’s take on the French leader is a sample platter of big battles and bristling insecurities. When it comes to battle tactics, Napoleon...

22.11.2023 20

The Atlantic

David Sims

A Must-See Comedy About Miserable People Looking for Love

Fallen Leaves, which follows two people trying to survive the modern world, is one of the year’s best films. Ansa, the taciturn protagonist of...

17.11.2023 2

The Atlantic

David Sims

That Joke Isn’t Funny Anymore

Next Goal Wins is a dire, uncomfortable watch that misuses Taika Waititi’s breezy humor. Taika Waititi made a name for himself by finding the funny...

15.11.2023 10

The Atlantic

David Sims

Hollywood’s Dual Strike Is Over, and the Studios Lost

The writers and actors didn’t get everything they wanted, but they forced their bosses to blink. Two months into the Writers Guild of America’s...

09.11.2023 3

The Atlantic

David Sims

I Dream of … Nicolas Cage?

Dream Scenario has some fun with the collective unconscious, but it struggles to follow through on its delightful premise. Few faces have burned...

07.11.2023 2

The Atlantic

David Sims

A Biopic That Should’ve Been a Documentary

Annette Bening’s portrayal of a legendary swimmer in Nyad ultimately succumbs to narrative cliché. For years, the filmmaking team of Jimmy Chin and...

01.11.2023 7

The Atlantic

David Sims

A Film About How Even Curmudgeons Can Change

Alexander Payne’s The Holdovers is a pitch-perfect dramedy from a master of the form. Alexander Payne’s new film, The Holdovers, is set in 1970, a...

27.10.2023 10

The Atlantic

David Sims

The Hit Man Who’s Also a Control Freak

David Fincher’s new movie The Killer is a darkly funny look at a cold-blooded murderer’s tedious daily routine. “Stick to your plan. Anticipate,...

24.10.2023 6

The Atlantic

David Sims

Killers of the Flower Moon Is a Staggering Achievement

Martin Scorsese’s adaptation of David Grann’s best-selling novel explores the rot beneath the myth of American exceptionalism. When the World War...

19.10.2023 2

The Atlantic

David Sims

Taylor Swift Did What Hollywood Studios Could Not

Her record-breaking concert film brought viewers to the theater in droves during a tricky season for cinema. In the face of dual strikes over the...

16.10.2023 5

The Atlantic

David Sims

Anatomy of a Fall Is a Gloriously Disorienting Thrill Ride

Justine Triet’s Palme d’Or–winning film is an emotional puzzle that will keep you guessing. The opening scene of Anatomy of a Fall achieves a...

13.10.2023 2

The Atlantic

David Sims

What Has Possessed the Exorcist Franchise?

Quick! Someone call a—you know. Horror franchises tend to be defined by their immutability. Make a hit in the genre, and you’re all but guaranteed...

06.10.2023 10

The Atlantic

David Sims

An Octogenarian Horror Villain Still Racking Up Scares

The long-running Saw franchise is back, and finally putting its most defining antagonist in the spotlight. Hollywood’s biggest horror franchises...

30.09.2023 8

The Atlantic

David Sims

A Surprisingly Relevant Blockbuster About Artificial Intelligence

Gareth Edwards’s new movie, The Creator, is wall-to-wall action, set in a future where AI has already failed to save the world. Gareth Edwards’s...

27.09.2023 2

The Atlantic

David Sims

A Period Film From … 2021?

Dumb Money captures the internet fanaticism of the GameStop stock rush almost one year into the pandemic. It seems the turnaround time for films that...

22.09.2023 2

The Atlantic

David Sims

The 22 Most-Anticipated Films of the Season

Movies worth looking forward to, through the end of the year The ongoing Hollywood strikes may have dimmed the usual glitz that comes with the fall...

22.09.2023 10

The Atlantic

David Sims

The Forever Appeal of … the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles?

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem is one of the summer’s surprise hits, highlighting the unlikely endurance of these wise-cracking...

07.09.2023 6

The Atlantic

David Sims

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