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Matthew Dougherty
Tomatometer-approved critic
Publications:
Movies reviews only
| Rating | T-Meter | Title | Year | Review |
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Hit Man (2023) |
The story goes where you expect it to, Powell and Arjona keeping it alive as it starts to feel like we’re going through the motions of a typical interpersonal crime story, albeit a comical one. It all generally works, just not in the most interesting way. - Awards Daily
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| Posted Oct 05, 2023
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Maestro (2023) |
...it’s hard not to feel like the whole thing is an awards grab circa the Kiss of the Spider Woman era, when filmmakers were still getting mainstream audiences used to the idea of queer characters in general. - Awards Daily
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| Posted Oct 05, 2023
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Strange Way of Life (2023) |
Strange Way of Life may not be disappointing per se, but for the morsel that it is combined with its genre gimmicks and limited ambitions, it can feel like an extended Super Bowl ad for film nerds. - Awards Daily
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| Posted Oct 02, 2023
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The Boy and the Heron (2023) |
This is one of the all-time great filmmakers not just making a comeback but showing us a deeper side of himself by remixing elements from his best work to create something familiar yet uniquely close to the heart. - Awards Daily
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| Posted Oct 02, 2023
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Evil Does Not Exist (2023) |
Evil Does Not Exist’s anti-capitalist wonders aren’t quite enough to help the pacing get where it needs to be. - Awards Daily
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| Posted Oct 02, 2023
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May December (2023) |
For all the daggers and barbs that make May December such a delicious watch, it’s Melton that ascends it into something genuinely affecting. - Awards Daily
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| Posted Oct 02, 2023
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Poor Things (2023) |
Not enough can be said about Stone here. Her incredibly physical performance coupled with pitch-perfect comedic timing and, when Tony McNamara’s brilliant script calls for it, sincerity make it an easy career-best for the starlet. - Awards Daily
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| Posted Oct 02, 2023
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Foe (2023) |
Once Foe goes hammy, it becomes propulsive in a way that’s hard to look away from. The story refuses to end and we’re just here to watch it crash and burn. It always looks good, though. - Awards Daily
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| Posted Oct 02, 2023
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All of Us Strangers (2023) |
Writer-director Andrew Haigh’s moody, devastating supernatural love story juxtaposes queer past with queer present, muddying the answer in ways that feel as true as they do pessimistic. - Awards Daily
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| Posted Sep 23, 2023
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Stars at Noon (2022) |
Stars at Noon is a challenging film, though not always in the ways you want it to be. But the
strength of Denis’ style and direction are, at this stage in her career, undeniable. - Awards Daily
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| Posted Oct 08, 2022
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Aftersun (2022) |
Aftersun, the splash-of-cold-water debut from Charlotte Wells, is where the falsehoods of movies and memories meet. The results are nothing short of masterful. - Awards Daily
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| Posted Oct 08, 2022
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Bones and All (2022) |
It’s at once horror, romance, coming of age, and a classic episodic American road trip movie. And for the most part, Guadagnino and screenwriter David Kajganich succeed in making these various pieces sing together as a cohesive whole. - Awards Daily
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| Posted Oct 08, 2022
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White Noise (2022) |
By the time the credits roll, it feels like you’ve watched two very different films involving the same family, one of them being much more enjoyable. - Awards Daily
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| Posted Oct 08, 2022
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Tár (2022) |
16 years was far too long to wait for Field’s next feature, but it’s finally here, and it’s great. - Awards Daily
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| Posted Oct 08, 2022
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Showing Up (2022) |
Showing Up is very much a Reichardt film in that it walks the thin line between quietly affecting drama and being a total snoozefest. - Awards Daily
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| Posted Oct 08, 2022
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The Eternal Daughter (2022) |
The Eternal Daughter may not offer the kind of long-lasting souvenirs of the director’s previous work, but it may still be her most flat-out enjoyable watch yet. - Awards Daily
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| Posted Oct 08, 2022
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Decision to Leave (2022) |
The results, however, pale in comparison to his masterstrokes, even if the film itself still works overall. But then perhaps standing up to the likes of Oldboy and The Handmaiden is no small task. - Awards Daily
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| Posted Oct 08, 2022
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Huesera: The Bone Woman (2022) |
Guided by Cervera’s assured hand, the film often achieves a squirmy, gets-under-your-skin kind of horror. - Awards Daily
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| Posted Jun 24, 2022
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C'mon C'mon (2021) |
Their pitch-perfect chemistry enlivens this quiet road drama about the perspectives of our youth with emotionality that won't leave a dry eye in the house. - IGN Movies
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| Posted Nov 09, 2021
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Red Rocket (2021) |
Director Sean Baker continues his strong career of shedding light on the fringes of American society with incredibly human stories. The undeniable center of Red Rocket, however, is a powerful turn from Simon Rex. - IGN Movies
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| Posted Oct 01, 2021
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Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt: Kimmy vs. the Reverend (2020) |
The special is still very much in the jolly spirit of the series, and finds its way to a rewarding finish that makes the journey worthwhile. - The Filtered Lens
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| Posted Aug 09, 2021
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The Suicide Squad (2021) |
While not quite the breath of fresh air that, say, Birds of Prey was last year, this is still the all too rare superhero flick made with purpose outside of what's coming next. - The Filtered Lens
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| Posted Aug 06, 2021
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Nine Days (2020) |
As Nine Days essentially becomes a slow unfurling of Will's criteria to be granted the gift of life, we're never made to understand why his criteria is important to begin with. - The Filtered Lens
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| Posted Aug 04, 2021
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The Green Knight (2021) |
Countless shots look as if they were painted directly into a medieval storybook. The film's aesthetic is a mixture of wonder and darkness that feels like it taps into the very origins of fantasy as a genre. - The Filtered Lens
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| Posted Jul 30, 2021
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Black Widow (2021) |
Black Widow earns its title by deepening and celebrating the titular heroine with a story that feels genuinely personal. - The Filtered Lens
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| Posted Jul 09, 2021
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Zola (2020) |
What could have been a zany screwball comedy that plays like a list of insane anecdotes thankfully gets a more thoughtful, sincere touch. - The Filtered Lens
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| Posted Jul 01, 2021
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Luca (2021) |
It's a simple but rewarding message well-told via a small scale story. Pixar's choice not to go too deep on this one simply allows the film to be what it wants to be. - The Filtered Lens
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| Posted Jun 18, 2021
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A Quiet Place Part II (2021) |
By no means is A Quiet Place Part II a perfect film, but as a piece of popular entertainment constructed as a purely cinematic thrill, a more perfect Welcome Back to Theaters movie hasn't yet presented itself. - The Filtered Lens
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| Posted May 28, 2021
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Judas and the Black Messiah (2021) |
It's as much a character study as it is a depiction of history, and with obvious parallels to our current moment, it actually advances the conversation rather than merely keeping it alive. - The Filtered Lens
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| Posted Feb 16, 2021
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Barb & Star Go to Vista Del Mar (2021) |
Barb and Star Go to Vista Del Mar is so ridiculously out there, and the simple truth is that many of these big comedic swings land almost perfectly. - The Filtered Lens
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| Posted Feb 13, 2021
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Promising Young Woman (2020) |
Promising Young Woman is a rare breed of cinema-an instant classic and one of the only genuinely unpredictable features of the last few years. - The Filtered Lens
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| Posted Dec 29, 2020
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Soul (2020) |
Soul is sneaky in a way that reminds you never to underestimate Pixar. - The Filtered Lens
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| Posted Dec 27, 2020
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Wonder Woman 1984 (2020) |
It's hard not wish it was more fleshed out and nuanced. - The Filtered Lens
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| Posted Dec 26, 2020
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Sylvie's Love (2020) |
On paper, Sylvie's Love is simple as hell, but with its two romantic leads having such unmovable ambitions, it powers its period setting into a more modern take on love. - The Filtered Lens
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| Posted Dec 23, 2020
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Jingle Jangle: A Christmas Journey (2020) |
You'll forget most of what happened in the plot within just a few minutes of the credits rolling, but the cheer it offers is likely to last longer. - The Filtered Lens
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| Posted Dec 17, 2020
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Black Bear (2020) |
Even with its flaws, Black Bear is an enthralling, visceral experience. - The Filtered Lens
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| Posted Dec 17, 2020
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Minari (2020) |
Minari is the art of filmmaking at its most precise and efficient without forgoing the canvas quality of the frame. - The Filtered Lens
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| Posted Dec 17, 2020
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Happiest Season (2020) |
It's refreshing to see a bright and shiny Christmas movie acknowledge that, for some people, family isn't going to be right answer at this time of year. - The Filtered Lens
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| Posted Nov 26, 2020
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Run (2020) |
While it doesn't bend the rules or invent any new ones, Run ticks all the boxes it needs to in surprising ways to come out on top. - The Filtered Lens
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| Posted Nov 22, 2020
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Borat Subsequent Moviefilm (2020) |
The sequel doesn't just repeat its predecessor's gimmicks for a new era, it builds off of them to create a new kind of movie magic, one that that catches important bigots and liars in the act, with their pants down. - The Filtered Lens
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| Posted Nov 02, 2020
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Enola Holmes (2020) |
...a smart but messy piece of popular cinema that twists the cliches it hits just enough to skirt by. - The Filtered Lens
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| Posted Sep 29, 2020
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Nomadland (2020) |
...this astounding work not only cements Zhao as a director to stay excited about, it positions her as a visual poet approaching the skill and lyricism of Terrence Malick. - The Filtered Lens
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| Posted Sep 25, 2020
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I'm Thinking of Ending Things (2020) |
As with Anomalisa and Synecdoche, New York, I'm Thinking of Ending Things is a valuable, personal expression that gets the very best from everyone involved. - The Filtered Lens
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| Posted Sep 06, 2020
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Mulan (2020) |
Gorgeous as the sets and cinematography can occasionally be, the film still feels safely engineered to be for American audiences. - The Filtered Lens
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| Posted Sep 04, 2020
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Yes, God, Yes (2019) |
Yes, God, Yes will undoubtedly resonate profoundly with the specific audience its net is trying to capture. - The Filtered Lens
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| Posted Jul 30, 2020
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The Old Guard (2020) |
The Old Guard is far too serious for its own good. - The Filtered Lens
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| Posted Jul 16, 2020
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Relic (2020) |
Relic feels like the first effective film in the genre to really feel inspired by and react to Hereditary. - The Filtered Lens
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| Posted Jul 15, 2020
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Palm Springs (2020) |
Director Max Barbakow, marking his debut, and writer Andy Siara craft a wonderfully smart, weird vehicle for Samberg, whose goofy smile and wide-eyed joke delivery continues be a winning combination. - The Filtered Lens
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| Posted Jul 13, 2020
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Babyteeth (2019) |
It's a film that earns the label of tragicomedy more than most others with similar aspirations. - The Filtered Lens
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| Posted Jun 23, 2020
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Da 5 Bloods (2020) |
The director's style is often the opposite of boring, but at two and a half hours, Da 5 Bloods cruises by without so much as a slow stretch. - The Filtered Lens
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| Posted Jun 13, 2020
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