David Rooney

Jean-Jacques Beineix’s ravishing 1981 neo-noir, DIVA, made high-style over substance a swoon-inducing virtue. No wonder it became such an influential global arthouse sensation. Can’t wait to see the 4K restoration opening Aug. 22 in NY and 29 in LA, with other cities to follow.

‘The Naked Gun’ Review: Liam Neeson Nails the Deadpan Goofiness, but Pamela Anderson Is the Scene-Stealer in Uneven Legacy Sequel Paul Walter Hauser and Danny Huston also appear in director Akiva Schaffer’s police procedural spoof built around the son of Leslie Nielsen’s Frank Drebin.

Liam Neeson honors the deadpan legacy of Leslie Nielsen with blissful self-irony but Pamela Anderson steals every scene in THE NAKED GUN, a reboot of the police procedural spoof that yields plenty of laughs even if it starts running out of steam midway.
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‘Together’ Review: Dave Franco and Alison Brie in a Bonkers but Wildly Fun Fusion of Body Horror and Codependency Angst Writer-director Michael Shanks’ romantic nightmare, which also stars Damon Herriman, follows a dysfunctional couple whose union is put to the test when strange forces overcome them.

In theaters Friday, TOGETHER stars Dave Franco and Alison Brie as a couple testing the limits of codependency after falling under the influence of a supernatural cult. A squirm-inducing, often hilarious jolt of bonkers gross-out horror.
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One of the movies I'm most looking forward to at the Venice Film Festival. THE HANDMAIDEN and DECISION TO LEAVE are two of the best films of the last decade.

The 25 Best Horror Movies of the 21st Century, Ranked From razor-edged satires to dark fairy tales, inspired haunted house riffs and nerve-shredding accounts of supernatural possession, the 2000s have been a goldmine for fright freaks.

Anxious times can yield exceptional horror movies and the 21st century has had plenty of both. Here’s 25 bone-chilling favorites that messed with my dreams, ranked. Feel free to respond with your own picks.
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‘The Fantastic Four: First Steps’ Review: Pedro Pascal and Vanessa Kirby Lead Appealing New Crew to Break Marvel Property’s Six-Decade Curse Ebon Moss-Bachrach, Joseph Quinn and Julia Garner also star in Matt Shakman’s superhero adventure, in which the team must save Earth from a “Devourer of Worlds.”

Appropriately for Marvel's First Family, THE FANTASTIC FOUR: FIRST STEPS is about family as a force of hope, strength and unity. Pedro Pascal, Vanessa Kirby, Ebon Moss-Bachrach & Joseph Quinn nail that rousing dynamic with real feeling. Above all, it's fun.
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Wow, fascinating

I think it was a photograph that was then hand-painted, done by an SF artist. Not sure if it's the only one in existence but there probably aren't many of them.

‘Eddington’ Review: Joaquin Phoenix and Pedro Pascal Shoot Blanks in Ari Aster’s Neo-Western, Which Confuses Absurdism With Incoherence Emma Stone and Austin Butler are also featured in this epic portrait of a country torn apart by paranoid conspiracy theories, divisive politics and pandemic insanity.

Ari Aster's Covid hothouse neo-Western starring Joaquin Phoenix & Pedro Pascal, EDDINGTON, is now in theaters. It's getting a generous pass from many critics, even a full-throated endorsement from some. Wish I shared that enthusiasm.
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No, I wish! Friends in San Francisco have a copy in pride of place on their townhouse stairwell

Hah, thank you! But we forgot the bouquet, and turns out a Kim Novak chignon isn't the easiest hairdo to pull off in 60 seconds!

Continuing our VERTIGO pilgrimage, my partner as Kim Novak as Judy Barton/Madeleine Elster contemplating Carlotta Valdes. Should I be concerned?

I endorse this since I'm always way too liberal with plot details. Hope you enjoy the movie.

Thank you for noticing, David! I live for Valerie Perrine's Miss Teschmacher. Also Sarah Douglas' Ursa.

‘Superman’ Review: James Gunn Gives DC Studios’ Crown Jewel a Gleaming Polish With Help From David Corenswet and Rachel Brosnahan Nicholas Hoult co-stars as criminal mastermind Lex Luthor, who twists public opinion to turn the world against the superhero, while pitting him against metahuman adversaries.

Anyone with an enduring love for the first two Christopher Reeve SUPERMAN movies will get a big kick out of James Gunn's overstuffed, sometimes chaotic but funny, playful and deeply affectionate take on the DC crown jewel. Plus, there's Krypto!
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In theaters July 18, Kiyoshi Kurosawa's CLOUD is a slow-burn, suspenseful thriller about a bored factory worker seduced by the quick-buck rewards of black-market online resale until it comes back to bite him in the ass in a violent climax. Hypnotic stuff; loved never knowing where it would go next.

‘The Old Guard 2’ Review: Charlize Theron and KiKi Layne Bring All the Right Moves, but Netflix Sequel Doesn’t Have the Same Kick Uma Thurman and Henry Golding join the returning cast in this follow-up to 2020’s adaptation of the graphic novel series about immortal soldiers battling to protect humanity.

Netflix’s THE OLD GUARD 2, starring Charlize Theron & KiKi Layne, has many of the elements that made the first movie an unexpected surprise at the height of COVID lockdown. But crucially, the immortal warrior saga doesn’t have director Gina Prince-Bythewood
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‘Jurassic World Rebirth’ Review: Scarlett Johansson, Jonathan Bailey and Mahershala Ali Find Signs of Life in 32-Year-Old Dino Franchise Gareth Edwards takes the directing reins while original screenwriter David Koepp returns for this chapter about an extraction team seeking genetic samples from massive creatures in a tropical biospher...

Like its cross-bred dinosaurs, JURASSIC PARK REBIRTH is “engineered entertainment,” hatched primarily from the first and third parts of Spielberg’s original trilogy. But I had a good time, especially after the awful DOMINION. Scarlett Johansson > Chris Pratt
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Finally got around to Matt Wolf’s enthralling 2-part Paul Reubens doc for HBO, PEE-WEE AS HIMSELF. A unique talent who tucked away his queerness to serve a man-child alter ego that all but erased the man himself, then stripped of his dignity in overblown obscenity charges. Brought me to tears. 💔

‘Sauna’ Review: A Melancholy and Sensual Danish Drama About Queer Desire With Complications Director Mathias Broe explores the bumpy love story between a Copenhagen gay sauna worker and a trans man that exposes a divide in the ways they navigate the world.

Caught up at @ptownfilm.bsky.social with Mathias Broe's accomplished first feature, SAUNA, a sensitively handled queer romantic drama about a Copenhagen gay bathhouse employee who falls for a trans man. Melancholy and sensual. My THR review.
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The 40 Best Films About the Immigrant Experience From Ellis Island to Lampedusa, from Seoul to Senegal, filmmakers have used cinema to chart the hopes, heartbreak and quiet heroism of those who cross borders in search of something better.

Fantastic work by my indefatigable THR colleague Scott Roxborough on this roundup of 40 great films about the immigrant experience. And not just because most of my suggestions made the cut! Worth a read.
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Agreed, the sequel game for the most part is inevitable disappointment

‘M3GAN 2.0’ Review: Allison Williams in an Occasionally Fun but Overloaded AI Sequel That Botches Its Factory Reset Violet McGraw also returns as the orphaned niece of a roboticist whose rogue automaton companion must be reassembled to bring down an even deadlier doll.

The murderous robot with the retro-preppy fashion sense, the dead-eyed stare and the Regina George attitude remains a fabulous creation, but Gerard Johnstone's over-stuffed sequel, M3GAN 2.0, makes a poor trade-off, switching campy horror for messy action.
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It's a cliche of course, but she really is a national treasure. Not to mention the loveliest person. So inspiring that she's still working constantly and out there discovering adventurous new theater at age 94!

I hope so too. Such a terrific ensemble. The friend I went with is a producer who's working with Lois Smith on a new project. She had seen it and was so bowled over she organized tickets for him to catch it. Folks in the theater community are definitely talking about it.

I swear I'm not blowing smoke up your ass, but I was frustrated that I went over the word limit and couldn't add, "Special kudos to David Greenspan, Rachel Crowl and John McCrea." Congrats on all the well-deserved success the play is having. So brilliant. Hilarious but also unexpectedly moving.

Loved Jordan Tannahill’s meta-theatrical delight PRINCE FAGGOT at Playwrights Horizons. An eloquent, funny, seriously sexy exploration of queerness, not as a one-size-fits-all monolith but a glorious spectrum of experience without boundaries. Great stuff; grab tickets if u can.

I thought about that but calling it a Vertigo shot would just confuse a lot of readers. Dolly zoom is the more commonly used term, and this was designed to be a short and sweet anniversary piece, not something with a bunch of technology detours

‘Jaws’: The Prototype Summer Blockbuster Turns 50, Losing None of Its Bite Half a century ago, on June 20, 1975, Steven Spielberg’s classic shark thriller hit U.S. theaters and became an instant sensation. A day at the beach was never the same again.

Happy 50th birthday, JAWS. A few thoughts on my undimmed obsession with Steven Spielberg’s ageless shark shocker. Might have something to do with growing up on Australian beaches in the years before sonar systems & air surveillance changed shark detection.
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’28 Years Later’ Review: Jodie Comer and Aaron Taylor-Johnson in Danny Boyle’s White-Knuckle Sequel to His Apocalyptic Game-Changer Newcomer Alfie Williams and Ralph Fiennes also star in this reinvigoration of the undead franchise, which reunites the director with screenwriter Alex Garland.

I was scared stupid by 28 DAYS LATER in 2002, so no surprise I got infected again (sorry) at 28 YEARS LATER, reuniting director Danny Boyle & writer Alex Garland. Jodie Comer is outstanding, with great work also from newcomer Alfie Williams & Ralph Fiennes.
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