Alison Willmore

Extremely exciting news: We're hiring a full-time film critic to come work with me at The A.V. Club!

You probably have an idea if you're qualified for this, but if there's something that's not in the job listing, I'm sure I can answer Qs www.linkedin.com/jobs/view/43...

Yeah, it did not exist when I was a teen — and it’s enormous! Still hard for me to wrap my head around

Okay but the important issue here: Cal High or Dougherty Valley?

And one more Movie Club dispatch, on Rob Reiner and on the theme that I think is at the core of WEAPONS slate.com/culture/2025...

Kevin O’Leary Wants to Be an Immortal Villain The Marty Supreme star and reality-TV heel sees Mr. Wonderful as a means to a greater end.

I had lunch with Mr. Wonderful www.vulture.com/article/how-...

An ewok-looking dog is watching THE PITT screeners on a laptop

He’s been issued stern spoiler warnings

I did not write the headline and nothing you're complaining about has relevance to the piece, which is my response to one from Dana about how her feelings are much more in line with yours, nor my post, which again make it clear this is my opinion

Well, it's a good thing I was talking about my feelings and not yours!

My second Slate Movie Club dispatch, in which I blather about my love of abrasive on-screen experiences and about Mary and Ronnie Bronstein

A relief to know this was for an actual study and that I wasn't actually unknowingly enlisted to fulfill someone's extremely specific kink lol

Awards envelope-inspired artwork for the Critical Darlings podcast, with drawings of Richard Lawson and of me

The first episode of Critical Darlings, the podcast @rilaws.bsky.social and I are hosting as part of the Blank Check Cinematic Universe, is live! JOIN US overcast.fm/+ABLIFo_rhLw

George Clooney’s Unconvincing Movie-Star Angst He plays a famous actor in Jay Kelly — but Clooney’s own relationship with celebrity is far more interesting.

Been wrestling with JAY KELLY, and why I think George Clooney's actual relationship with his own celebrity is more interesting than the emptiness-of-the-A-lister angst he performs on screen www.vulture.com/article/is-g...

Man, I'm never going back to Twitter, but getting replies that are either "PAYWALL" or "I can't take you seriously because you used hyperbolic language, I have never 'lost my mind' over anything" is a great reminder of why I have so much trouble getting motivated to post on here

Thanks for letting me know, unpleasant internet stranger!

The Underrated 2025 Movie That’s Going to Make People Lose Their Minds When It Hits Netflix The Warner Bros. deal comes after it had an absolutely incredible year at the movies.

Am joining @thehighsign.bsky.social, @justincchang.bsky.social, and @bilgeebiri.bsky.social to go deep on the year in movies as part of Slate Movie Club this year. Here's my first dispatch, on some of the smaller movies I loved alongside the much-discussed bigger ones

Feels great to be coming out of podcast semi-retirement and to be getting an excuse to blather about movies on the regular with Richard, who will soon be filled with regret when I try to make "wrong kid died!" into some kind of regular bit about HAMNET

Most underrated movie of the year! Just total delight!

THE NAKED GUN, BLACK BAG, ONE OF THEM DAYS, WEAPONS

CONGRATS!!!

In Defense of the Traditional Review Far from being a journalistic relic, as suggested by recent developments at the New York Times, arts criticism is inherently progressive, keeping art honest and pointing toward its future.

The Times's reassignment of four critics is one thing, but its downgrading of the so-called traditional review is altogether another:
www.newyorker.com/culture/the-...

That's very kind, Brian!

Ep. 313: Alison Willmore on Cannes 2025: Sound of Falling, Enzo, and a look at the lineup Podcast Episode · The Last Thing I Saw · 05/14/2025 · 25m

Met up with Nic Rapold, who was heroically coherent despite being fresh off a plane, on the terrace of the Palais to talk about SOUND OF FALLING and another early premiere, ENZO, on his podcast podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/e...

You are being far too generous with me, but thank you

We May Have Already Seen the Best Film at Cannes This Year The ambitious Sound of Falling kicks off the competition by setting a high water mark that will be hard for another film to reach.

Wrote about the German film SOUND OF FALLING, which just premiered at Cannes and kind of blew the top of my head off www.vulture.com/article/revi...

Screenshot from The New Yorker: One morning a few weeks ago, I met de Blasio at his regular coffee shop in Park Slope. He had just come from the gym—the same one that he’d insisted on commuting to every morning from Gracie Mansion, no matter how much grief the press gave him for it—and was wearing sweats. He held forth among his fellow-patrons with a spirit of magnanimous, possibly unreciprocated camaraderie, greeting a startled man by the door with a familiar “How you doing, brother?” and ordering his breakfast (scrambled egg whites, cheddar, ham, and tomato on multigrain toast) as “mi sandwich especial.” These days, de Blasio most often makes the news for his love life or for such momentous moves as dyeing his salt-and-pepper crewcut. But he’s sensed a bit of de Blasio nostalgia creeping into town. “Since I left office, the No. 1 thing that people come up to me on the street and talk about is pre-K,” he told me, lacing his iced espresso with a heavy pour of simple syrup. “The No. 2 thing that people talk about is that Onion headline.” He quoted it for me, savoring every word: “Well, well, well, not so easy to find a mayor that doesn’t suck shit, huh?”

bill de blasio in park slope, ordering his breakfast sandwich as “mi sandwich especial” and quoting the onion headline omg

www.newyorker.com/magazine/202...

At Milestone Films, Passing the Torch, but Keeping the Flame Alive

Man, at a time when we've gotten so resigned to commercial interests trampling art and community, reading this is just the coolest fucking thing www.nytimes.com/2025/05/06/m...

💔

Bing the black and white Great Dane, star of THE FRIEND, sprawled out on a rug like the big shot he is

Look at this massive lad, fresh from having rounded the talk show circuit, taking a break on the Angelika green room rug between Q&As

I've never been! Curious about what the city has committed to in terms of construction, etc.

Seriously, though, moving from a small expensive mountain town to a medium-sized expensive mountain town doesn't feel like it's going to do much to reinvigorate a festival that has felt more and more insular over the years