Film & TV
March 15, 2024
How ‘Civil War’ Managed to Thread an Impossible Needle
Alex Garland’s film, which premiered in Austin during SXSW, accomplishes something few movies have.
Film Review
Film & TV
March 11, 2024
Is It Still ‘Road House’ If the Plot Makes Sense?
Amazon’s remake, which premiered at SXSW, swaps Patrick Swayze’s soulfulness for a more coherent script—but is that a good thing?
Film & TV
December 12, 2023
‘The Iron Claw’ Captures the Tragedy of the Von Erichs, but Not the Triumphs
The film portrayal of the Dallas wrestling titans delivers an emotional suplex, but it could have used more moves.
Music
December 6, 2023
In ‘Renaissance,’ Beyoncé Finds Freedom in Control
The concert film is a performance masterpiece, but it also raises questions about the artist’s messaging.
Film & TV
October 5, 2023
Leave ‘The Exorcist’ Alone
David Gordon Green’s decades-late and beyond-unnecessary sequel, ‘The Exorcist: Believer,’ commits various forms of cinematic sacrilege.
Film & TV
June 23, 2023
Wes Anderson’s ‘Asteroid City’ Made Me Feel Like I’m From Another Planet
The 1950s-set comedy is being hailed as the director’s best work in years, and I can’t figure out why.
Film & TV
May 16, 2023
‘Hypnotic’ Is Robert Rodriguez at His Robert Rodriguezest
Hypnotic, the supernatural thriller starring Ben Affleck that opened on Friday, is Robert Rodriguez’s twenty-first movie. The lifelong Texan is more prolific than almost any of his ’90s indie-film contemporaries—Quentin Tarantino, whose Reservoir Dogs debuted about a year before Rodriguez’s El Mariachi, has only made ten!—and that’s including a
Film & TV
April 21, 2023
A Radical New Eco-Thriller Film Asks: Does the Climate Crisis Justify Blowing Up an Oil Pipeline?
The movie uses a classic heist format to tackle the hot topic of climate change.
Film & TV
March 15, 2023
Eva Longoria Is a Flamin’ Hot Movie Director
The Corpus Christi native’s directorial debut is a self-assured, joyful ode to inclusivity and snack foods.
Film & TV
February 1, 2023
In ‘Magazine Dreams,’ Jonathan Majors Builds Himself Up to Fall Apart
The Texas-raised actor returned to Sundance for the premiere of his latest film—a brutal, impressive character study of a troubled bodybuilder.
Film & TV
January 31, 2023
The Year’s Most Fascinating Documentary Won’t Be at the Oscars
Margaret Brown’s remarkable ‘Descendant’ deserved to take its case for reparations to an audience of millions.
Film & TV
December 29, 2022
Ten Notable Performances From Texan Actors in 2022
From ‘Stranger Things’ to the Sex Pistols, from the Houston suburbs to the outskirts of Texas City, these were the actors who got our attention.
Film & TV
November 24, 2022
‘Devotion’ Makes a Case for Dozens More Movies Costarring Glen Powell and Jonathan Majors
There’s potential for the two to be an iconic duo, a new generation’s Robert Redford and Paul Newman.
Film & TV
November 11, 2022
‘Selena Gomez: My Mind & Me’ Is a Horror Film About Fame
Multiple times throughout the documentary, Gomez repeats that she no longer craves stardom. But what the singer wants instead remains unclear.
Film & TV
October 28, 2022
How Gen Z Women Found Their Joker in ‘Pearl’
The titular character of director Ti West’s latest horror movie, ‘Pearl,’ is a young Texan who’s had it with the people and society that keep her repressed.
Film & TV
October 19, 2022
‘Halloween Ends’: Stabbing Around in the Dark
David Gordon Green’s rebooted horror trilogy concludes with another search for meaning, yet again, in senseless murder.
Film & TV
September 30, 2022
At Fantastic Fest, the Sick Get Sicker and the Rich Get Eaten
The Austin-based film festival returned for another round of horror and fantasy, now tinged with some distinctly real-world anxieties.
Film & TV
June 1, 2022
‘Top Gun: Maverick’ Is the Supersonic Schmaltz the Movies Need Right Now
Tom Cruise returns, with Austin’s Glen Powell in tow, for a crowd-pleasing sequel that just may pull embattled theaters out of the danger zone.
Film & TV
April 26, 2022
Bill Paxton’s ‘Frailty’ Was Nervy, Blasphemous, and Just About Perfect
The storied actor and Fort Worth native always wanted to direct. His gripping debut, released twenty years ago, showed us why.
Film & TV
March 30, 2022
In Defense of ‘Battleship,’ the ‘Friday Night Lights’ Reunion With Aliens
This is a film in which Academy Award nominee Jesse Plemons flirts with billionaire Rihanna, and for that it should be cherished.
Film & TV
March 22, 2022
Four New Movies Texans Won’t Want to Miss
The Lone Star State was well represented at this year’s SXSW, and these films feature settings, accents, and subject matter to remind you of home.
Film & TV
March 21, 2022
‘What We Leave Behind’ Was the Surprise Masterpiece of SXSW
El Paso filmmaker Iliana Sosa’s feature documentary debut follows her Mexican grandfather, reflecting on life, legacy, and connection.
Film & TV
March 19, 2022
A Christian Parent of a Trans Child Battles the Texas Government in a New Doc
‘Mama Bears’ ties together the stories of three conservative families with LGBTQ children, but as the only trans child in the film, Kai Shappley stands out.
Music
March 18, 2022
In New Documentary, Tanya Tucker Is All Legend
No country music fan will be disappointed by ‘The Return of Tanya Tucker,’ which puts the focus on artistry and that one-in-a-million voice.
Film & TV
March 15, 2022
‘X’ Is a Fun, Funny—And Feminist—Slasher
Writer-director Ti West’s return to horror is set in a creepy house in rural Texas. But that’s where the similarities with classic slashers ends.
Film & TV
March 14, 2022
Richard Linkater’s ‘Apollo 10½’ Continues a Winning Streak From America’s Most Successful Experimental Filmmaker
The light-on-plot, heavy-on-nostalgia animated feature is Linklater at his Linklaterest.
Film & TV
March 14, 2022
‘The Lost City’ Is an A-List Blockbuster From a Bygone Era
The joyful Sandra Bullock flick, chockablock with Hollywood’s finest, will lend itself to repeat viewings for many years to come.
Film & TV
February 18, 2022
The New ‘Texas Chainsaw Massacre’: They Came, They Sawed, They Didn’t Cut It
The sequel to Tobe Hooper’s slasher sucks all the fun out of psychotic cannibal killers—but it does have a message for Californians headed to Texas.
Film & TV
February 17, 2022
The Human Cost of Horse Racing
In ‘Jockey,’ Dallas director Clint Bentley draws dark lessons from a life lived on the track.
Film & TV
February 16, 2022
A Reconsideration of ‘SubUrbia,’ One of Richard Linklater’s Least-Loved Films
Richard Linklater’s ‘SubUrbia’ is ‘The Last Picture Show’ of the nineties.
Film & TV
February 10, 2022
‘Marry Me’ Is a Fun, Ridiculous Revival of the Big Budget Rom-Com
Jennifer Lopez and Owen Wilson, perhaps surprisingly, have enough chemistry to carry the film's outrageous premise.
Film & TV
January 31, 2022
‘Mija’ Captures the Beauty and Pressure of Life as a First-generation Daughter
More visual poem than documentary, the film tracks a music manager and singer who follow their dreams while providing for their undocumented parents.
Film & TV
January 13, 2022
Goodbye to ‘Search Party,’ the Show That Satirized a Generation
Comedies must choose whether to punch up or punch down; watching ‘Search Party’ has always made me feel like I’m punching myself.
Film & TV
December 17, 2021
‘The Tender Bar’ Pours Out a Warm, Flat Coming-of-age Drama
Texas actor Tye Sheridan stars alongside Ben Affleck in the sentimental yet skippable story of an aspiring writer, directed by George Clooney.
Film & TV
December 14, 2021
‘The Novice’ Puts a Nightmare Spin on the Traditional Sports Movie
The unnerving feature debut from Red Oak native Lauren Hadaway plumbs the gloomy depths beneath a college rower’s quest for greatness.
Film & TV
December 3, 2021
Filmed During Lockdown, ‘Red Stone’ Is a Return to Normal, Mediocre Thrillers
Fort Worth writer-director Derek Presley overcame unprecedented odds to make his otherwise unremarkable thriller about a tormented hit man.
Film & TV
December 1, 2021
Sean Baker’s Provocative ‘Red Rocket’ Gets Down and Dirty in Texas City
The latest from the director of ‘The Florida Project’ sees a scheming former porn star wash up along Texas’s Gulf Coast.
Film & TV
November 19, 2021
Mckenna Grace Is the Only Thing Alive About the New ‘Ghostbusters’
The rising Grapevine star brings fresh spirit to a movie that’s fatally preoccupied with reviving the dead.
Film & TV
November 3, 2021
‘The Harder They Fall’ Is a Fun, Stylish Revisionist Western
Dallas-raised actor Jonathan Majors leads a star-studded cast as outlaw Nat Love seeking revenge.
Style & Design
October 22, 2021
TM Recommends: Browse Beautiful Handmade Pottery at Gruene’s Texas Clay Festival
It’s a chance to buy your holiday presents early, the way you always swear you will.
Film & TV
October 21, 2021
‘The French Dispatch’ Is Wes Anderson at His Most Self-indulgent
The Houston filmmaker’s latest is a valentine to defiantly idiosyncratic storytellers like Wes Anderson.
Film & TV
October 15, 2021
‘Halloween Kills’ Time and Patience
The sequel to David Gordon Green’s franchise reboot is all filler, same old killer.
Film & TV
October 12, 2021
‘Hard Luck Love Song’ Is A Tune You’ve Heard Before, But It Hits All the Right Notes
Austin-raised writer-director Justin Corsbie’s debut about a down-on-his-luck troubadour feels as warmly familiar as the Americana songs that inspired it.
Film & TV
September 20, 2021
David Lowery Has a New Film About the Pandemic Already
The Dallas-based director's short is inscrutable, arty, and part of the excellent anthology ‘The Year of the Everlasting Storm.’
Music
September 16, 2021
‘The Nowhere Inn’ Delves Into St. Vincent but Leaves Plenty of Vacancies
Dallas’s mercurial pop phenom writes and stars in this loosely autobiographical satire that raises questions it doesn’t deign to answer.
Film & TV
July 30, 2021
Dev Patel’s Sexy New Christmas Movie Is a Gorgeously Knotty Myth About Going to Meet Death
Dallas-based director David Lowery’s ‘The Green Knight’ goes medieval on a hoary romance of King Arthur and Camelot.
Film & TV
July 29, 2021
Austin’s Lukas Haas Brings Menace to the Otherwise-Dismal ‘Midnight in the Switchgrass’
Megan Fox and Bruce Willis star in the thriller, which is very loosely based on an infamous Texas serial killer.
Film & TV
July 2, 2021
It’s Too Soon for ‘The Forever Purge’
The horror franchise attempts to skewer Trumpism, but the result makes for uncomfortable viewing.
Film & TV
May 18, 2021
‘The Get Together’ Throws a Party Even Shakey Graves Can’t Save
Texas filmmaker Will Bakke’s latest movie offers only a glimpse of the joys and pains of young adulthood.
Film & TV
March 25, 2021
‘The Last Blockbuster’ Is a Fond Farewell to the Nearly Defunct Video Chain
Each blue VHS box was a transmission from another planet that promised there were others like me somewhere.