Rory Doherty (he/him)

current AV Club is great. if you think it’s still stuck in its Spanfeller-mandated wasteland era you should give it another shot.

Jacob Elordi Is a Monster in 'Euphoria.' In 'Frankenstein,' He’s More Human Than Ever Elordi in Frankenstein demonstrates the clear difference between a territorial, self-obsessed narcissism and a messy, still-developing self-awareness.

I'm not crazy about Guillermo Del Toro's film, but I thought Jacob Elordi's performance was significant for an actor who's gotten comfortable playing similar shades of insidious hot men.

For @teenvogue.com, I wrote about the exorcism of Nate Jacobs in FRANKENSTEIN

www.teenvogue.com/story/jacob-...

Ian Somerhalder is giving one of the worst performances I've ever seen. But it feels so right here

It Was Just an Accident Is Jafar Panahi's Suspenseful and Human Search for Answers A procession of Iranian characters weigh both the value of vengeance and the pain of uncertainty in Jafar Panahi's It Was Just an Accident.

IT WAS JUST AN ACCIDENT is making its way to screens stateside (and just played LFF in the the UK), and I reviewed the film for @pastemagazine.bsky.social. A wry and moving film from Jafar Panahi, perhaps more about how life rolls on than actual revenge

www.pastemagazine.com/movies/it-wa...

The cuts and coverage on an average episode are so frenetic and severe, gotta hit that 43 minute runtime OR ELSE

Hundreds of episodes of this, working everybody to the bone up in Canada, drama and intrigue every fifteen minutes, the most furrowed, dyed brows I've ever seen. Bad TV used to mean something

I've been irregularly watching The Vampire Diaries with Gabby as it's basically her favourite show. The CW was and is such a marvel

33 Years Later, David Lynch's Notoriously Misunderstood Masterpiece Just Got A Huge Upgrade The critically panned prequel has deservedly earned classic status — and it has a 4K Blu-ray restoration to match.

Criterion have given TWIN PEAKS: FIRE WALK WITH ME a 4K upgrade; I wrote for Inverse about how, way before THE RETURN, Lynch shows us that returning to Twin Peaks was never an option.

The angels have all gone away.

www.inverse.com/entertainmen...

The Wild Political Story That Inspired 'One Battle After Another' How Paul Thomas Anderson's movie both draws from and differs from the Thomas Pynchon novel that inspired it.

Is One Battle After Another actually Pynchon? Is Vineland my friend? A brief rundown on adaptation for TIME!

time.com/7319399/one-...

'Slow Horses' Season 5 Premiere Recap: “Bad Dates” Slow Horses is back for another messy adventure with MI5’s least loved and, by this point, criminally undervalued department, who kick off Season 5 by dealing with “Bad Dates.”

'Slow Horses' Season 5 Opens with Multiple “Bad Dates.” @roryjdoherty.bsky.social recaps:

Leo’s great streak playing complete losers continues in One Battle After Another Funniest performance of the year continues a trend of entertaining stupidity and incompetence.

It's ONE BATTLE AFTER ANOTHER eve, and I wrote an appreciation of Leonardo DiCaprio playing hysterical losers for @flicks.bsky.social

Thank you sensai THANK YOU SENSAI

www.flicks.co.uk/features/one...

Leo’s great streak playing complete losers continues in One Battle After Another Funniest performance of the year continues a trend of entertaining stupidity and incompetence.

DiCaprio's turn in #OneBattleAfterAnother is the funniest performance of the year, says @roryjdoherty.bsky.social:

"A welcome evolution of an unmissable trend in the A-lister’s career: playing sad sack losers whose stupidity and incompetence threatens to collapse their whole life."

15 Years Ago, A Maligned Director Sneakily Made The Best Resident Evil Movie The best 'Resident Evil' film finally nailed the formula. And it only took Paul W.S. Anderson four tries.

Hey it's been fifteen years since RESIDENT EVIL: AFTERLIFE, which I made the case for being the best of the bunch for Inverse.

www.inverse.com/entertainmen...

Jacob Elordi Is a Monster in 'Euphoria.' In 'Frankenstein,' He’s More Human Than Ever Elordi in Frankenstein demonstrates the clear difference between a territorial, self-obsessed narcissism and a messy, still-developing self-awareness.

I wrote about Jacob Elordi in FRANKENSTEIN, easily the film's best performance, in the context of the very charismatic and monstrous characters he made his name with. For @teenvogue.com!

www.teenvogue.com/story/jacob-...

'The Girlfriend' Is a Prime Example of How Cheap Streaming Shows Have Become There is something instantly appealing about The Girlfriend, which goes to some extremely dramatic places. But it is saddled with the cheapness inherent to this chapter in the streaming empire.

We love a savage review, and @roryjdoherty.bsky.social always provides. Read his take on Prime's expensively cheap thriller, 'The Girlfriend.'

This year’s Venice Film Festival winners and watchlist recommendations Soft disappointments were evenly balanced by satisfying discoveries at Venice this year. Here’s what to keep an eye out for in coming months.

There's not long to wait, with some of the big pics from Venice arriving in cinemas as soon as next month...

@roryjdoherty.bsky.social reports back from the fest, with plenty to add to your watchlists.

The True Story of Mark Kerr and 'The Smashing Machine' Kerr tells TIME about his MMA career, addiction and recovery, and working with Dwayne Johnson who portrays him in the new movie.

How wonderful to spend an hour talking to Mark Kerr, the Smashing Machine himself, about his incredible MMA story becoming Dwayne Johnson's big dramatic pivot – for TIME.

time.com/7314526/the-...

Family Thriller 'Playing Nice' Plays Unpleasant & Repetitive Playing Nice is a thriller about a malicious, powerful man consumed with violent, repressed urges. This is simple, classic Gothic material, handled without awareness of style or the pleasures of genre...

'Playing Nice' aims to be a classic Gothic thriller, but falls short of nailing the genre. @roryjdoherty.bsky.social reviews:

'Hostage's Trend of World Leader Thrillers Should Be Impeached Immediately Hostage lacks a sense of political realism or nuance, even before the miniseries delves into a ludicrous and mostly tension-free kidnapping plot that cuts to the heart of the British leadership.

Our U.K. resident, @roryjdoherty.bsky.social goes in on Netflix's 'Hostage' and the nonsensical political heroism streaming services put out even as they suck up to the current British and American leadership.

The LFF Critics' Support Fund - helping low income journalists to attend the London Film Festival due to a lack of institutional support - is back for a third year! Find out more and apply here: docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F...

These Are the Spike Lee Films That Defined a Generation. The Top Pick Might Surprise You. The legendary director's latest team-up with Denzel Washington, 'Highest 2 Lowest,' is energetic, exciting, and now out. But how does it stack up against his many modern classics?

I ranked every Spike Lee movie for Men's Health

www.menshealth.com/entertainmen...

“We’ve become very, very paranoid”: Ari Aster explains Eddington “It’s a film about the environment we’re living in right now, which is one in which we’re all siloed off from each other.”

I spoke to Ari Aster about cynicism, tech worship, and movies about phones for @flicks.bsky.social on the eve of EDDINGTON emerging in UK cinemas.

www.flicks.co.uk/features/wev...

“We’ve become very, very paranoid”: Ari Aster explains Eddington “It’s a film about the environment we’re living in right now, which is one in which we’re all siloed off from each other.”

Ari Aster’s first film grounded in a real, specific moment, #Eddington features just as much dread and uncertainty as his films about cults, demons, and psychosexual odysseys.

The director shares more about the pic (where everybody’s brain is now wired differently) with @roryjdoherty.bsky.social

Undercover Brits: The 'Alien' Franchise It took crotchety British director Ridley Scott to create the serene but chilling atmosphere that propelled Alien's slasher-in-space into an enduring franchise. Here are some of the other Brits in spa...

'Alien: Earth' honors a 45-year-plus tradition for the series – casting British actors in leading roles and then tearing them into bloody chunks. @roryjdoherty.bsky.social runs down ten of the best.

🥚NEW EP🥚 It's time to get silly with a very silly - and very beautiful - sequel, Steven Soderbergh's OCEAN'S TWELVE. We're joined by the great @roryjdoherty.bsky.social to talk Julias Roberts, gentleman thieves, metafiction, and more.

Check it out!

PodCastyForMe.com

These Are the Spike Lee Films That Defined a Generation. The Top Pick Might Surprise You. The legendary director's latest team-up with Denzel Washington, 'Highest 2 Lowest,' is energetic, exciting, and now out. But how does it stack up against his many modern classics?

I ranked every Spike Lee movie for Men's Health

www.menshealth.com/entertainmen...

Apple TV+'s 'Chief of War' Explores Colonialism From the Other Side Chief of War explores the fear of colonialism from a Hawaiian perspective (and language) in a series that is equal parts entertainment and historical preservation.

Apple TV+'s #ChiefofWar is a daring step forward for period dramas, offering an immersive experience in an endangered indigenous language without apology. @roryjdoherty.bsky.social reviews:

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