menu_open
Rex Reed

Rex Reed

Observer

We use cookies to provide some features and experiences in QOSHE

More information  .  Close

‘Nowhere Special’ Is a Thoughtful Tearjerker Without the Sobbing Histrionics

From Northern Ireland, Nowhere Special is the poorly titled but beautifully made and deeply touching film about John, a 34-year-old window washer...

yesterday 1

Observer

Rex Reed

Jessica Lange Finds New Ways to Melt Hearts in ‘Mother Play’

A few days after Rachel McAdams made a noble but disappointing Broadway debut in Mary Jane, Jessica Lange fared much better in Mother Play, ...

29.04.2024 6

Observer

Rex Reed

Rachel McAdams Invigorates ‘Mary Jane’ (When You Can Hear Her)

Broadway is in trouble, but now that it is limping to the close of what I arguably consider one of the worst theater seasons in recent memory, two...

29.04.2024 8

Observer

Rex Reed

Who Let John Travolta Agree to the Trash Wallow That Is ‘Cash Out’?

John Travolta doesn’t act much anymore. Call it semi-retirement. On the rare occasion when someone talks him into taking up his old position before...

27.04.2024 20

Observer

Rex Reed

This ‘Cabaret’ Is the Worst ‘Cabaret’

After five Broadway incarnations of Cabaret and endless productions worldwide, you’d think, by now, they’d get it right—in their sleep. But...

24.04.2024 7

Observer

Rex Reed

‘Civil War’ Is an Amazing Film of Imagination and Cinematic Verve

In the confusion and chaos of today’s polarized political landscape—a time of violence, crime, insurrection and the rape of traditional human...

22.04.2024 10

Observer

Rex Reed

‘Irena’s Vow’ Is One of the Most Astounding Holocaust Stories

Filmed on authentic locations in Poland by meticulous Canadian director Louise Archambault, Irena’s Vow is one of the most astounding true...

16.04.2024 10

Observer

Rex Reed

‘Arcadian’ Is a Cut Above Most Nicolas Cage Thrillers

In a creepy, dystopian future, 15 years after humanity has been decimated, a man simply named Paul (Nicolas Cage) and his adopted twin sons Thomas and...

12.04.2024 5

Observer

Rex Reed

‘Coup de Chance’ Is Woody Allen’s Best Film in Years

Unfairly derailed by obvious, headline-demanding personal problems, Woody Allen’s phenomenal career returns to where it should never have paused in...

05.04.2024 20

Observer

Rex Reed

‘Water for Elephants’ Theater Review: “I’ve Never Hated Any Show More”

After suffering through the new Broadway musical The Notebook, I thought I had seen the worst of what the 2024 season would bring. I was wrong. I...

22.03.2024 6

Observer

Rex Reed

Theater Review: Broadway’s ‘The Notebook’ Is Shallow, Boring and Slow

The Notebook | 2hrs 20mins. One intermission. | Gerald Schoenfeld Theatre | 236 West 45th Street | (212) 239-6200 Thank you for signing up! ...

19.03.2024 10

Observer

Rex Reed

Michael Keaton Proves He’s Forgotten Nothing in ‘Knox Goes Away’

Agreeable, multifaceted Michael Keaton has been away from the screen for a while, but as both star and director of Knox Goes Away, his fresh and...

15.03.2024 3

Observer

Rex Reed

Anthony Hopkins Is a Magnificent Centerpiece in ‘One Life’

Of all the recurring themes at the movies, none is less constant or more prolific than the Holocaust. Every year introduces a few new ones. But...

15.03.2024 4

Observer

Rex Reed

Keep Your Barbie. I’ll Take Mother Cabrini.

Mother Cabrini, one of the most powerful, influential and inspirational women who ever lived, has always been one about whom much is guessed and...

09.03.2024 10

Observer

Rex Reed

‘American Dreamer’ Review: Shirley MacLaine and Peter Dinklage Are a Perfect Pair

It’s always a treat to welcome the fiery, versatile and almost always surprising Shirley MacLaine back to the screen, although now, in happy...

08.03.2024 4

Observer

Rex Reed

‘Ordinary Angels’ Is Touching, Pure and Positive

Sometimes, a movie with no extraordinary cinematic merits wins your heart because of the touching way it shows the pure, positive, feel-good actions...

27.02.2024 3

Observer

Rex Reed

‘Red Right Hand’ Review: Orlando Bloom Tries and Fails

Red Right Hand, another routine crime-thriller with a title that makes no sense, is a violent and nauseating excuse to entertain the portion of what...

24.02.2024 10

Observer

Rex Reed

‘Bleeding Love’ Is Ewan McGregor’s Vanity Project to Launch His Daughter’s Career

In the unpleasantly named Bleeding Love, an estranged father (Ewan McGregor) and his deeply disturbed 20-year-old daughter (played by his...

15.02.2024 10

Observer

Rex Reed

‘Suncoast’ Is Another Mediocre Coming-of-Age Movie That Makes Too Many Wrong Choices

It’s one damned thing after another in Suncoast, a leaden, melodramatic soap opera with forced comedic elements inserted to drag out the playing...

06.02.2024 4

Observer

Rex Reed

Will More Than 10 People See the Genre-Defying ‘Disco Boy’? Probably Not.

It won a Silver Bear in Berlin for “outstanding artistic contribution,” whatever that means, so somebody must have considered the bizarre...

05.02.2024 4

Observer

Rex Reed

‘The Taste of Things’ Is the Best Foreign Film of the Year

Do not see The Taste of Things on an empty stomach. It’s a French film about gourmet French cuisine, magnificently photographed and meticulously...

05.02.2024 6

Observer

Rex Reed

‘American Star’ Is a Worthless Thriller Without Thrills

Another in a long line of post-epidemic potboilers searching for space on empty movie marquees, American Star is a worthless thriller without...

29.01.2024 3

Observer

Rex Reed

A Clumsy, Clueless, Colossal Bore: ‘Sometimes I Think About Dying’ Review

In the dull, inert drama Sometimes I Think About Dying, Daisy Ridley, the British-born actress who displayed much more animation, personality and...

27.01.2024 5

Observer

Rex Reed

‘Mean Girls’: Nothing to Come in 2024 Can Possibly Be Worse

Vapid, tasteless and monumentally stupid, the new and decidedly unnecessary version of Mean Girls proves Tina Fey is still not above trashing...

15.01.2024 20

Observer

Rex Reed

Rex Reed’s Best & Worst Films of 2023

In 2023, Rex Reed reviewed over 60 movies for Observer. Regardless of the rating, the instant his reviews hit our inbox (even when they’re late),...

29.12.2023 3

Observer

Rex Reed

‘Poor Things’: See It And Hate Yourself in the Morning

Poor Things, a surreal mix of science-fiction and pornographic fairy tale by the loopy Greek director Yorgos Lanthimos, may not be the worst...

21.12.2023 30

Observer

Rex Reed

Barry Keoghan’s Jaw-Dropping ‘Saltburn’ Performance Can’t Be Over-Praised

The actors’ strike is over, the Hollywood studios are in full swing, turning out new products as fast as they can, and a new season begins. This...

18.12.2023 10

Observer

Rex Reed

‘The Zone of Interest’: Don’t Even Think of Missing This Movie

Fresh, original and deeply unsettling, The Zone of Interest is this year’s Oscar-competing entry from Poland. It is one of the year’s best...

14.12.2023 5

Observer

Rex Reed

Bradley Cooper’s ‘Maestro’ Is a Masterpiece

Maestro is the movie of the year. Amendment: not to slight the amazing Oppenheimer , make that one of the two best films of the year....

30.11.2023 60

Observer

Rex Reed

You Can’t Take Your Eyes Off Gael García Bernal in ‘Cassandro’

From Mexico, Cassandro is a fresh, unusual and highly entertaining film about the rarefied world of exotic Mexican wrestlers called...

28.11.2023 10

Observer

Rex Reed

Joaquin Phoenix Borders on Catatonic in ‘Napoleon’

Another in a long list of flawed and boring movies about the Emperor of France, I could hardly sit through Ridley Scott’s Napoleon with my eyes...

28.11.2023 20

Observer

Rex Reed

A ‘Thanksgiving’ Horror Movie Is Exactly the Hack Job You’d Expect

There’s a horror movie to commemorate every holiday. Halloween heads the list, followed by Christmas (Santa Claus vampires?), but no tradition...

18.11.2023 7

Observer

Rex Reed

A ‘Thanksgiving’ Horror Movie Is Exactly the Hack Job You’d Expect

None of it makes sense.

17.11.2023 8

Observer

Rex Reed

‘At the Gates’ Is a Noble Film That Forces You to Think

At a time when the plight of illegal immigrants pouring into the U.S. to escape world tyranny and seek a better life for their children is a central...

11.11.2023 10

Observer

Rex Reed

‘Rumble Through the Dark’ Is Two Hours of Savagery With Nothing New to Say

Aaron Eckhart, handsome and versatile leading man who has played everything from a corrupt tobacco lobbyist to tough Marines and sexy lovers in every...

10.11.2023 8

Observer

Rex Reed

Sofia Coppola’s Adolescent, Gushing, and Empty-Headed ‘Priscilla’ Sugarcoats Elvis

Francis Ford Coppola’s daughter Sofia is a slick writer-director who specializes in lavishly decorated, empty-headed biopics about lavishly...

02.11.2023 4

Observer

Rex Reed

Meg Ryan and David Duchovny Are Still Appealing. Their New Movie Is Not.

It’s been years since either Meg Ryan or David Duchovny appeared in a feature film, but now that they’re back, co-starring in a two-hander called ...

02.11.2023 3

Observer

Rex Reed

Martin Scorsese’s Strengths Seem Wasted in ‘Killers of the Flower Moon’

Clocking in at close to four hours, Killers of the Flower Moon, Martin Scorsese’s epic film about the evil massacre of the Osage Indians by...

23.10.2023 2

Observer

Rex Reed

If There’s Any Justice, ‘NYAD’ Will Be Remembered When Awards Season Rolls Around

Fresh from various film festival victories and still ringing with applause, NYAD arrives at last on both streaming platforms and the commercial...

23.10.2023 2

Observer

Rex Reed

‘Pain Hustlers’ Is a Stunning Take on Capitalism in Healthcare

After making a name for himself directing four money-making Harry Potter films, British wunderkind David Yates decided it was time to leave Hogwarts...

16.10.2023 2

Observer

Rex Reed

Everyone’s Ignoring ‘The Winter House’ But This Film Deserves a Closer Look

Lili Taylor is another in a long list of first-rate actors who has inexplicably eluded stardom in favor of good work in solid but overlooked films and...

15.10.2023 3

Observer

Rex Reed

‘The Royal Hotel’: Why Make This Movie at All?

In the Australian film The Royal Hotel, Liv and Hannah, two Canadian girls looking for kicks while backpacking Down Under, run out of money in a...

10.10.2023 2

Observer

Rex Reed

‘Foe’ Is a 1-Star, Deadly Bore, Rambling Heap of Junk

One door closes, another one opens. No sooner did I sign off on the unexpected cornucopia of riches that comprised two weeks of the Toronto...

10.10.2023 3

Observer

Rex Reed

‘Fair Play’ Left a Nasty Taste in My Mouth

A love and revenge drama set in the cutthroat world of high finance, Fair Play is a powerful and disturbing feature debut film by writer-director...

02.10.2023 2

Observer

Rex Reed

Rex Reed’s Top Picks From the 2023 Toronto Film Festival

The gloom and doom persistently pumped out of Hollywood in the middle of the Writers Guild and SAG-AFTRA strikes cast a predictably shadowy pall...

19.09.2023 2

Observer

Rex Reed

e65caab4f33aed339ba5480f47838511