PETERSON REVIEWS
space
-
Faster, Pussycat!
On ‘Grindhouse.’
-
The ‘Mission: Impossible’ Franchise Defies the Odds — Again
Notes on the latest addition to a series that, in the last decade, seems only to get better and better.
-
A Local Connection to ‘Oppenheimer’
Talking with the site manager of the Manhattan Project National Historical Park’s Hanford location before the release of ‘Oppenheimer.’
-
The Profound Blandness of ‘Krull’
‘Krull’ famously bombed at the box office, only to in recent years be heralded by many as a fantasy movie actually worth savoring. I can’t say I’m among them.
-
‘Wham!’ and ‘Joy Ride’ Celebrate the Good Times
A new documentary and a new comedy, reviewed.
-
Bombs Away
On ‘Cutthroat Island’ and ‘The Long Kiss Goodnight,’ two infamous collaborations between Renny Harlin and Geena Davis.
-
Though Overlong, ‘Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny’ (Mostly) Delivers
Plus: Margaret Qualley and Christopher Abbott electrify the otherwise slight ‘Sanctuary.’
-
Caped Crusaders
On the two movies that put a halt to the comic-strip movie boom of the early-to-mid-1990s.
-
Richard Gere and Debra Winger Take ‘An Officer and a Gentleman’ to the Next Level
Taylor Hackford’s “An Officer and a Gentleman” is well-made and acted and sometimes emotionally effective. Its trouble is a fundamentally not that interesting premise.
-
‘The Mack’ Benefits from Its Director’s Disinterest in Romanticization
None of the movie is rendered with the heightened, pulpy quality of similarly conceived movies of its decade — 1972’s ‘Superfly’ and 1975’s ‘Dolemite’ come to mind — even when some of its dialogue is unintentionally funny.
-
In ‘No Hard Feelings,’ Jennifer Lawrence Finally Lets Loose
Plus: Elevated by a quietly stellar Scarlett Johansson performance, ‘Asteroid City’ is Wes Anderson’s best movie in nearly a decade.
-
One Rhythm Nation, Under a Groove: On Janet Jackson at Climate Pledge
Jackson’s show at the Seattle venue was a reminder of her greatness.
OCTOBER 2026
The Theme is ‘Thrills and Chills’
ASDFJHGSD
The Surprising Sensitivity of ‘The Leopard Man’
This proto-slasher from 1943 takes pains to show that its victims are more than their fates.
August 19, 2026
May 25, 2026
May 13, 2026
Strong, Stoic Types
Director-star Paul Newman’s 1971 treatment of Ken Kesey’s ‘Sometimes a Great Notion’ perceptively observes the corrosiveness of toxic masculinity.
August 7, 2026
Working Girls
‘Broken Mirrors,’ Marleen Gorris’ 1984 follow-up to her still-transcendent feminist drama ‘A Question of Silence,’ expands on its predecessor’s themes while dramatically improving on its writer-director’s aesthetic command.
July 9, 2026
Found Connections
Donna Deitch’s ‘Desert Hearts’ was a breakthrough for lesbian representation in cinema. It also achieves another rarified thing: Characters who feel like they exist outside a screenplay’s bounds.
June 30, 2026
