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A.A. Dowd

A.A. Dowd

Writer

A.A. Dowd, or Alex to his friends, is a writer and editor based in Chicago. He has held staff positions at The A.V. Club and Time Out Chicago, and is a member of the National Society of Film Critics.

A man walks into a simulation in The Thirteenth Floor.

25 years ago, The Matrix led a mini movement of sci-fi simulation thrillers

From The Matrix to eXistenZ to The Thirteenth Floor, 1999 was an unusually robust year for sci-fi movies that put the world inside a computer.
An alien egg cracks open with the tagline "In space no one can hear you scream" underneath in the Alien movie poster.

Does the sci-fi classic Alien have the best movie marketing campaign ever?

With Ridley Scott's 1979 sci-fi masterpiece Alien back in theaters, let's revisit its iconic tagline, poster, and trailer.
Chris Evans and Scarlett Johansson strike a hero pose in a still from Captain America: The Winter Soldier

The best Marvel movie just turned 10 this year. Here’s why it’s still a blast to watch

There are funnier and more inventive entries in the MCU, but Captain America: The Winter Soldier is still the platonic ideal of a Marvel movie.
A woman is probed by a machine in The Beast.

The Beast review: a gonzo sci-fi movie with a touch of David Lynch

David Lynch meets Cloud Atlas meets Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind in the ambitious sci-fi whatsit The Beast, starring Dune 2 actress Léa Seydoux.
A man looks away from 2 cops in Ripley.

Ripley review: Netflix’s terrifically tense thriller

Originally developed for Showtime, Ripley, Netflix's beautifully shot adaptation of The Talented Mr. Ripley, features a brilliant performance by Andrew Scott.
Franck Gastambide aims a gun out a truck window in a still from The Wages of Fear

Netflix just remade one of the best thrillers of all time. Is it worth watching?

Netflix just quietly premiered a remake of one of the best thrillers ever made. But is this latest version worth watching or just another disappointing retread?
Godzilla and Kong race into battle in a still from Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire

Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire review: a very flimsy monster mash

In Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire, Godzilla joins forces with King Kong for a Hollywood monster movie without a fraction of the power of Godzilla Minus One.
David Dastmalchian and Laura Gordon speak to a possessed Ingrid Torelli on the set of a talk show in a still from Late Night with the Devil

Late Night with the Devil review: a fun talk-show Exorcist

David Dastmalchian plays a talk show host summoning evil on live TV in the entertaining but rarely scary found-footage horror movie, Late Night with the Devil.
Jake Gyllenhaal pushes an identical Jake Gyllenhaal in a still from the movie Enemy

Before Dune: Part Two, Denis Villeneuve made 2 unnerving Jake Gyllenhaal thrillers

Premiering in the fall of 2013, two Jake Gyllenhaal movies, Prisoners and Enemy, set director Denis Villeneuve on the path to Arrival, Dune, and Dune: Part Two.
Ryan Gosling and Margot Robbie as Barbie and Ken singing in a car in Barbie.

All the 2024 Best Picture Oscar nominees, ranked

From Barbenheimer to Poor Things, these are the 2024 nominees for Best Picture, ranked from worst to best.
Timothée Chalamet gazes upon a distant explosion in a still from Dune: Part Two

Dune: Part Two review: a beautifully numbing sci-fi epic

Denis Villeneuve completes his two-part adaptation of Frank Herbert's classic novel with Dune: Part Two, another amazing looking, but plodding sci-fi epic.
A woman holds a birthday cake in Birth.

You probably haven’t seen this underrated 2004 thriller. Here’s why you should watch it now

Nicole Kidman plays a woman with a very strange dilemma in an oddball 2004 mystery that deserves a second look.
John David Washington wears a mask in a still from Tenet

Is Christopher Nolan’s Tenet the misunderstood masterpiece some claim it to be?

Christopher Nolan's only box-office disappointment, Tenet, returns to IMAX theaters this weekend. Is it the misunderstood masterpiece some fans claim it to be?
Margaret Qualley and Geraldine Viswanathan peer around a corner in a still from Drive Away Dolls

Drive-Away Dolls review: a wacky Coens caper, minus a Coen

Margaret Qualley and Geraldine Viswanathan take a madcap road trip in Drive-Away Dolls , the first comedy Ethan Coen has made without his brother, Joel.
Ezekiel stands in front of a billboard in Madame Web.

With Madame Web bombing, it’s time to ask: Who wants a Spider-Verse without Spider-Man?

Madame Web is the latest Sony superhero movie to flop — and further proof that building a Spider-Movie movie universe without Spider-Man was a mistake.
4 women stand on a city street in Madame Web.

Madame Web review: the worst movie of 2024 so far

Dakota Johnson does not say your favorite line in the remarkably lousy Spider-Man offshoot Madame Web, which should be avoided at all costs.
A woman ignites a lighter in The Royal Hotel.

This 2023 thriller has been criminally overlooked. Here’s why you need to watch it in 2024

Ignored by audiences and critics, this underrated 2023 thriller set in an Australian dive bar from Hell is better than most of this year's Oscar nominees.
Godzilla destroys the city in a wide shot still from Godzilla Minus One

At 70, is Godzilla more popular (and better) than ever?

As other franchises falter, the radioactive reptile enjoys new popularity, thanks to Godzilla Minus One and his forthcoming reunion with King Kong.
Jason Statham broods in a still from The Beekeeper

The Beekeeper review: an awful, hilarious Jason Statham action movie

Jason Statham is hilariously nonchalant in the dreadful but sometimes funny John Wick wannabe The Beekeeper.
Enzo Vogrincic Roldán sits in the snow in a still from Society of the Snow

Society of the Snow review: Alive gets a dreary Netflix makeover

Though less hokey than the 1993 film Alive, this new Netflix movie similarly fails to get big drama out of the harrowing true of the Andes flight disaster.
Vin Diesel holds a car door like a shield in a still from Fast X

Are movie franchises dead, or are we just seeing the start of new ones?

Some of Hollywood's biggest franchises like Indiana Jones, Transformers, DC, and Marvel flopped this year, but are new ones coming to take their place?
Sofia Boutella strikes a cool pose with a stick against a pretty landscape in a still from Rebel Moon – Part One: A Child of Fire.

Rebel Moon review: A glum Star Wars ripoff from Zack Snyder

Zack Snyder realizes his vision of 'Seven Samurai with Jedis' with Rebel Moon – Part One: A Child of Fire, a glum, unsatisfying sci-fi epic on Netflix.
Ghostface brandishes a knife in a still from Scream VI

The 10 most underrated movies of 2023, ranked

From the latest Exorcist and Scream sequels to the blockbuster flop The Creator, these were the 2023 movies that deserved a better reception than they got.
Shot of Cillian Murphy in "Oppenheimer."

Oppenheimer was the movie of 2023. Here’s why

By almost any major metric, Christopher Nolan's grand historical epic Oppenheimer was the movie of 2023 — and that goes far beyond the whole Barbenheimer thing.
Emma Stone stands in front of Ramy Youssef in a still from Poor Things

Poor Things review: Emma Stone shines in a Frankensteinian sex comedy

Emma Stone reunites with the director of The Favourite for an even stranger comedy, the captivating feminist Frankenstein story Poor Things.
Godzilla roars at a school bus.

Godzilla without Godzilla? Stop turning blockbusters into streaming soap operas

Why do the small-screen adaptations The Last of Us, Monarch: Legacy of Monsters, and John Wick: The Continental all fail to live up to their source material?
Iman Vellani, Brie Larson, and Teyonah Parris look offscreen at something.

The Marvels review: the MCU’s shortest film is its biggest mess

Captain Marvel teams up with two Disney+ B-listers for the surprisingly shoddy MCU adventure The Marvels.
A man sits on a plane in The Killer.

The Killer review: David Fincher stylishly roasts himself

Michael Fassbender plays a dispassionate assassin in The Killer, an ultra-stylish and sneakily funny new thriller from David Fincher.
Chris Hemsworth's Thor poses with his hammer.

Is Thor: The Dark World really the worst Marvel movie?

Ten years later, the second Thor movie looks less like a low point for the MCU than a concerning harbinger of what the superhero franchise would become.
Cailee Spaeny applies makeup with a hand mirror.

Priscilla review: The anti-Elvis by Sofia Coppola

Sofia Coppola peers into the gilded cage again with her Priscilla Presley biopic, starring Cailee Spaeny and Jacob Elordi.
Jessica Biel looks terrified in a car.

Platinum Dunes polished horror’s grimy past for a new generation

Twenty years ago, Platinum Dunes remade almost every major horror classic from the '70s and '80s. Are the Michael Bay horror remakes as terrible as fans say?
Three teen sit and stare in horror in Final Destination.

Is Final Destination the best horror franchise we have right now?

With five movies and counting, the Final Destination series remains as ghoulishly entertaining as ever.
Robert De Niro sits in a car and talks to Leonardo DiCaprio, who leans against it.

Killers of the Flower Moon review: Scorsese’s monumental new epic

Martin Scorsese reunites with Leonardo DiCaprio and Robert De Niro for a devastating adaptation of the David Grann bestseller Killers of the Flower Moon.
Uma Thurman wields a samurai sword in Kill Bill Vol. 1.

20 years ago, Quentin Tarantino geeked out with Kill Bill

Twenty years ago, Quentin Tarantino returned with the wildly entertaining East-meets-West revenge epic Kill Bill.