Writer/film critic at www.tyburrswatchlist.com. Ex-Boston Globe, EW. Pulitzer Finalist, 2017. @tyburr.bsky.social
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Articles by Ty Burr
'Power Surge' review: Mergers go to the movies
Ty Burr Tim Burton's stylish 1989 movie, “Batman,” wasn't only a forerunner of the superhero films to come in the following decades. As Terry Semel, the head of Warner Bros. Studios at the time, noted, it was also “the first time we utilized the whole machine of the company”—all the cross-marketing, product tie-ins, T-shirts and more.
‘Power Surge’ Review: Mergers at the Movies
Hollywood studios in the 1990s were perfecting the art of the blockbuster even as indie filmmakers found new ways to reach ordinary moviegoers. Michael Keaton during the filming of 'Batman' (1989). Getty Tim Burton’s stylish 1989 movie, “Batman,” wasn’t only a forerunner of the superhero films to come in the following decades. As Terry Semel, the head of Warner Bros.
‘Reflections’ Review: Behind the Lens, a Light Touch
The cinematographer Roger Deakins aims for economy when shooting a film. Every image should be essential to the story. Roger Deakins on the set of “Fargo” (1996). Everett Collection Any movie lover with half a mind knows that the auteur theory is bunk. Standing alongside the director of any given film are dozens of handmaidens willing the work into being: production and costume designers, score composers, casting directors and so on down the list of credits.
‘The Last Kings of Hollywood’ Review: The Unlikely Titans
The director Steven Spielberg during the making of "Jaws" (1975). The Legacy Collection/THA/Shutterstock It’s November 1977. Three men are flying in a private plane from Los Angeles to Washington, D.C., for a gala event at Jimmy Carter’s White House. They are filmmakers, each of whom has directed, in succession, the biggest box-office moneymaker of all time. And, as Paul Fischer relates in “The Last Kings of Hollywood,” all of them are miserable.
‘No Other Choice’: Four stars and a full body count Original
‘No Other Choice’: Four stars and a full body count (washingtonpost.com) ‘No Other Choice’: Four stars and a full body count By Ty Burr 2026010810020400 "I'd kill for that job," you say, but would you really? Maybe in this economy, and maybe if you lived in a society where what you did for a living defined everything about you: social status, wife and children, the respect of your peers, your existence as a man.
Symphonies of Suspense
Try GOLD - Free The Wall Street Journal | November 01, 2025 Hitchcock & Herrmann AMONG HIS many cinematic and pop-culture achievements—perfecting the cinema of suspense, implicating the audience in a kind of voyeurism, exploring the theme of the “wrong man” victimized by mysterious enemies—Alfred Hitchcock could fairly be cred This story is from the November 01, 2025 edition of The Wall Street Journal.
‘Hitchcock & Herrmann’ Review: Symphony of Suspense
Among his many cinematic and pop-culture achievements—perfecting the cinema of suspense, implicating the audience in a kind of voyeurism, exploring the theme of the “wrong man” victimized by mysterious enemies—Alfred Hitchcock could fairly be credited for helping to invent the modern movie book. Prior to the appearance of “Hitchcock/Truffaut” in 1966, there was no literary genre for celebrating, analyzing or documenting the work of a filmmaker or the making of a film.
Generate Key Takeaways At first glance, Kathryn Bigelow’s “A House of Dynamite” seems out of step with the moment. With everything else going on in the world — rising prices, incoming climate change, an administration sending armed forces into its own cities — do we really need a suspense thriller about the possibility of nuclear Armageddon? Even if it’s a surpassingly smart and crackling piece of work?
‘The Smashing Machine’ shows a different facet (and face) of the Rock
• • You can save this article by registering for free here. Or sign-in if you have an account. Article content The Smashing Machine is a strange one: a bio-drama about the emotional sensitivities of a professional fighter. Starring Dwayne Johnson, no less, and brought to us by writer-director Benny Safdie, half of the Safdie brothers team that has made such itchy, electrifying films as Good Time (2017) and Uncut Gems (2019). Advertisement 2 Don't have an account?
REVIEW: ‘The Smashing Machine’ shows a different facet (and face) of the Rock
Those movies offered newly raw sides of their stars, Robert Pattinson and Adam Sandler respectively, and, in a less volatile way, “The Smashing Machine” shows a different facet of the Rock. I’m not sure anyone asked for this movie, but I’m not unhappy it’s here. Johnson plays Mark Kerr, the competitive wrestler who became one of the breakout stars of mixed martial arts as that sport evolved in the late 1990s.
REVIEW: ‘The Smashing Machine’ shows a different facet (and face) of the Rock
• You can save this article by registering for free here. Or sign-in if you have an account. Dwayne Johnson stars as Mark Kerr in "The Smashing Machine." /A24 Reviews and recommendations are unbiased and products are independently selected. Postmedia may earn an affiliate commission from purchases made through links on this page. “The Smashing Machine” is a strange one: a bio-drama about the emotional sensitivities of a professional fighter.
REVIEW: ‘The Smashing Machine’ shows a different facet (and face) of the Rock
Author of the article: Washington Post Ty Burr, The Washington Post Published Oct 02, 2025 • 4 minute read You can save this article by registering for free here. Or sign-in if you have an account. Dwayne Johnson stars as Mark Kerr in "The Smashing Machine." Photo by Eric Zachanowich /A24 Article content Reviews and recommendations are unbiased and products are independently selected. Postmedia may earn an affiliate commission from purchases made through links on this page.
Review | ‘The Smashing Machine’ shows a different facet (and face) of the Rock Original
“The Smashing Machine” is a strange one: a bio-drama about the emotional sensitivities of a professional fighter. Starring Dwayne Johnson, no less, and brought to us by writer-director Benny Safdie, half of the Safdie brothers team that has made such itchy, electrifying films as “Good Time” (2017) and “Uncut Gems” (2019).
Review | Daniel Day-Lewis returns in ‘Anemone.’ It doesn’t deserve him. Original
Because we should always support our grown children in everything they do, it is good that Daniel Day-Lewis has come out of early retirement to act, co-write and be directed in a movie by his son, Ronan Day-Lewis. And because the world’s moviegoers have sorely missed the father in the eight years since “Phantom Thread” — Day-Lewis père’s previous film and, as he said in 2017, his last — it is good that the son has coaxed him back to the screen. As a family reunion, “Anemone” is admirable.
‘One Battle After Another’: Paul Thomas Anderson’s timely masterpiece
• • You can save this article by registering for free here. Or sign-in if you have an account. Article content Some movies come along at exactly the moment they’re needed. In the opening minutes of One Battle After Another, Paul Thomas Anderson’s epic marvel of serious entertainment, a strike team of radical activists descends on a border detainment facility by night.
REVIEW: Matthew McConaughey propels intense action in ‘The Lost Bus’
“The Lost Bus” is a story of real-life heroism that plays like a runaway tour through a burning house. Based on events that took place during the 2018 Camp Fire – the deadliest and most destructive wildfire in California history – the movie is effective human drama but is more successful as a visceral, digitally enhanced theme park ride. If you are at all interested, I advise you to see the movie in theaters before it reroutes on Oct.
REVIEW: Matthew McConaughey propels intense action in ‘The Lost Bus’
Author of the article: Washington Post Ty Burr, The Washington Post Published Sep 25, 2025 • 3 minute read You can save this article by registering for free here. Or sign-in if you have an account. America Ferrera and Matthew McConaughey in "The Lost Bus." MUST CREDIT: Apple TV+ Photo by Apple TV+ /Apple TV+ Article content “The Lost Bus” is a story of real-life heroism that plays like a runaway tour through a burning house.
REVIEW: Matthew McConaughey propels intense action in ‘The Lost Bus’
• You can save this article by registering for free here. Or sign-in if you have an account. Article content “The Lost Bus” is a story of real-life heroism that plays like a runaway tour through a burning house. Based on events that took place during the 2018 Camp Fire – the deadliest and most destructive wildfire in California history – the movie is effective human drama but is more successful as a visceral, digitally enhanced theme park ride.
Matthew McConaughey propels an intense action script in ‘The Lost Bus’ Original
Matthew McConaughey propels an intense action script in ‘The Lost Bus’ (washingtonpost.com) Matthew McConaughey propels an intense action script in ‘The Lost Bus’ By Ty Burr 2025092509005000 "The Lost Bus" is a story of real-life heroism that plays like a runaway tour through a burning house.
‘One Battle After Another’: Paul Thomas Anderson’s timely masterpiece Original
‘One Battle After Another’: Paul Thomas Anderson’s timely masterpiece (washingtonpost.com) ‘One Battle After Another’: Paul Thomas Anderson’s timely masterpiece By Ty Burr 2025092509002500 Some movies come along at exactly the moment they're needed. In the opening minutes of "One Battle After Another," Paul Thomas Anderson's epic marvel of serious entertainment, a strike team of radical activists descends on a border detainment facility by night.
‘A Big Bold Beautiful Journey’ is big, bold and sappy
• • You can save this article by registering for free here. Or sign-in if you have an account. Article content When you’ve made two small, exquisite movies that have delighted critics and won over discerning audiences, I guess you’ve earned the right to blow all that credit on a big-budget romantic fantasy. But, hoo boy, is A Big Bold Beautiful Journey a gamble – a rom-com with the “com” replaced by metaphysical meanderings through a couple’s purple psychic memories.
REVIEW: ‘A Big Bold Beautiful Journey’ is big, bold and sappy
Like many long-shot rolls of the dice, it’s a movie that sometimes cuts to the core of human feeling and sometimes has an audience cringing at its achingly whimsical pretensions. Depending on how you feel about such things, it will land on the knife-edge of kitsch or tumble off either side into powerful emotional truth or laughable corn. The Korean American filmmaker who goes by the name Kogonada is the one throwing heart and soul and CGI landscapes at the screen.
REVIEW: Cillian Murphy excels as a beleaguered headmaster in ‘Steve’
“Steve” is a nervous breakdown disguised as a movie, and while it’s almost exactly the opposite of enjoyable, it continues the impressive collaboration of star Cillian Murphy and Belgian director Tim Mielants after numerous episodes of “Peaky Blinders” and the stark 2024 drama “Small Things Like These.” Murphy continues to spend his “Oppenheimer” credit in smart and creative ways, and this drama set at a residential reform school for delinquent teenage boys offers ferocious performances and a...
REVIEW: ‘A Big Bold Beautiful Journey’ is big, bold and sappy
Author of the article: Washington Post Ty Burr, The Washington Post Published Sep 18, 2025 • 3 minute read You can save this article by registering for free here. Or sign-in if you have an account.
REVIEW: ‘A Big Bold Beautiful Journey’ is big, bold and sappy
Advertisement oop Skip to Content Advertisement 1 • You can save this article by registering for free here. Or sign-in if you have an account. Article content When you’ve made two small, exquisite movies that have delighted critics and won over discerning audiences, I guess you’ve earned the right to blow all that credit on a big-budget romantic fantasy.
REVIEW: Cillian Murphy excels as a beleaguered headmaster in ‘Steve’
• You can save this article by registering for free here. Or sign-in if you have an account.
REVIEW: Cillian Murphy excels as a beleaguered headmaster in ‘Steve’
Author of the article: Washington Post Ty Burr, The Washington Post Published Sep 18, 2025 • 3 minute read You can save this article by registering for free here. Or sign-in if you have an account.
Cillian Murphy excels as a beleaguered headmaster in 'Steve'
Generate Key Takeaways “Steve” is a nervous breakdown disguised as a movie, and while it’s almost exactly the opposite of enjoyable, it continues the impressive collaboration of star Cillian Murphy and Belgian director Tim Mielants after numerous episodes of “Peaky Blinders” and the stark 2024 drama “Small Things Like These.” Murphy continues to spend his “Oppenheimer” credit in smart and creative ways, and this drama set at a residential reform school for delinquent teenage boys offers...
Review | Cillian Murphy excels as a beleaguered headmaster in ‘Steve’
“Steve” is a nervous breakdown disguised as a movie, and while it’s almost exactly the opposite of enjoyable, it continues the impressive collaboration of star Cillian Murphy and Belgian director Tim Mielants after numerous episodes of “Peaky Blinders” and the stark 2024 drama “Small Things Like These.” Murphy continues to spend his “Oppenheimer” credit in smart and creative ways, and this drama set at a residential reform school for delinquent teenage boys offers ferocious performances and a...
‘A Big Bold Beautiful Journey’ is big, bold and sappy Original
‘A Big Bold Beautiful Journey’ is big, bold and sappy (washingtonpost.com) ‘A Big Bold Beautiful Journey’ is big, bold and sappy By Ty Burr 2025091809000700 When you've made two small, exquisite movies that have delighted critics and won over discerning audiences, I guess you've earned the right to blow all that credit on a big-budget romantic fantasy.
Robert Redford, el dios de la pantalla convertido en padrino del cine independiente
Esta duele, ¿verdad? Esta se siente como el final de algo, una parte de nosotros, de lo que fuimos, que nunca recuperaremos. Ciertas figuras públicas parecen tan longevas, tan entretejidas con su época, que su ausencia se siente como si a la mesa le faltara una pata y todo se deslizara hacia el borde. Robert Redford ha muerto, y con él se ha ido un ancla de nuestro pasado cultural colectivo.
Generate Key Takeaways This one hurts, doesn’t it? This one feels like the end of something, a part of us, of the way we were, that we’ll never get back. Certain public figures seem so long-lived, so interwoven with their times, that their absence feels like a leg’s come off the table, and everything’s sliding toward the edge. Robert Redford has died, and an anchor to our collective cultural past has gone.
Robert Redford: The hunk who fathered America’s indie film scene
Robert Redford: The hunk who fathered America’s indie film scene (washingtonpost.com) Robert Redford: The hunk who fathered America’s indie film scene By Ty Burr 2025091618163500 This one hurts, doesn't it? This one feels like the end of something, a part of us, of the way we were, that we'll never get back. Certain public figures seem so long-lived, so interwoven with their times, that their absence feels like a leg's come off the table, and everything's sliding toward the edge.
‘Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale’ goes out with an upper-class whimper Original
‘Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale’ goes out with an upper-class whimper (washingtonpost.com) ‘Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale’ goes out with an upper-class whimper By Ty Burr 2025091109003600 If I may borrow an idea from the French philosopher Jean Baudrillard for a moment, "Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale" is a simulacrum, a faithful copy of something that never actually existed.
Generate Key Takeaways I regret to report that Spinal Tap has become Dad Rock. “Spinal Tap II: The End Continues,” a sequel to the 1984 comedy classic and foundational mockumentary “This Is Spinal Tap,” was withheld from reviewers until the last moment, generally a sign that a movie is irredeemably bad. “Tap II” is not bad; it’s merely and mildly amusing, a disappointment in the way that going to see Bob Dylan in 2025 would be if you were expecting to see Bob Dylan from 1966.
‘The End Continues’ is lukewarm Tap water
Spinal Tap is back. Director Rob Reiner says they're still dialed up to 11 In 1984, the groundbreaking mockumentary This Is Spinal Tap lampooned heavy metal bands and rock documentaries — and introduced audiences to a new film genre. "What we were doing was not only satirizing heavy metal, we were satirizing the documentary form and the way in which documentaries were …
‘The Roses’ is a mismatch of British wit and American slapstick
• You can save this article by registering for free here. Or sign-in if you have an account. Article content The Roses is a remake of 1989’s The War of the Roses that plays like a battle of international comic sensibilities. On one hand, it stars Benedict Cumberbatch and Olivia Colman in a merry black comedy of British invective that keeps veering into genuine emotional pain. On the other hand, it’s a goofy American divorce farce set in sunny California with a supporting cast of sketch comedians.
“Rashomon” cumple 75 años: la obra maestra de Kurosawa que cambió para siempre la visión sobre la realidad
¿Cuándo la verdad se volvió poco confiable? ¿En qué momento un hecho ocurrido en la realidad pasó a ser solo una opinión más? ¿Cuándo dejamos de coincidir sobre lo que acaba de suceder? Mi voto es este: la verdad se convirtió en “verosimilitud” a fines de agosto de 1950, cuando se estrenó en Japón Rashomon de Akira Kurosawa, la única película a la que se le ha atribuido un principio epistemológico.
‘Tina’ is uplifted by a powerhouse performance
Middle-aged Polynesian music teacher Mareta Percival (Anapela Polataivao) finds her groove teaching choir in “Tina.” Courtesy of Rialto Distribution “Tina” — 2 stars Sometimes a two-star rating means the critic thinks a movie is simply average across the board. At other times, the rating is truly an average, balancing the good parts of a film against the less good parts. So it is with “Tina” (“Mother”), an inspirational drama from New Zealand.
Sometimes, the price of fame is a fan like Matthew
Matthew (Théodore Pellerin) knows the up-and-coming singer Oliver a little too well in “Lurker.” Courtesy of MUBI “Lurker” — 3.5 stars Because the planets sometimes align in curious ways, there are two indie films about male-friendship stalkers — each a success on the festival circuit — now in theaters. “Twinless” is the cute, funny one.
Sometimes, the price of fame is a fan like Matthew
Generate Key Takeaways Because the planets sometimes align in curious ways, there are two indie films about male-friendship stalkers — each a success on the festival circuit — opening in the D.C. area this week. “Twinless” is the cute, funny one. “Lurker” is the creepy, better one — better because beyond its immediate dramatic suspense (which is considerable), Alex Russell’s debut feature film arrives bearing uncomfortable truths about the symbiotic relationship between celebrities and hangers-on.
'Tina' is uplifted by a powerhouse performance
Generate Key Takeaways Sometimes a two-star rating means the critic thinks a movie is simply average across the board. At other times, the rating is truly an average, balancing the good parts of a film against the less good parts. So it is with “Tina” (“Mother”), an inspirational drama from New Zealand. Directed and co-written by the Samoan filmmaker Miki Magasiva, the movie features a unique central character, a powerhouse star performance and some truly uplifting choral singing.
‘Twinless’: A mournfully funny buddy movie about missing your other half Original
‘Twinless’: A mournfully funny buddy movie about missing your other half (washingtonpost.com) ‘Twinless’: A mournfully funny buddy movie about missing your other half By Ty Burr 2025090409003400 The young writer-director-actor James Sweeney may turn out to be one of the more unsettling filmmakers of his generation — I mean that as a compliment — but he's not quite there yet. He's getting closer, though, and his new movie, "Twinless," is an improvement over "Straight Up" (2019).
Austin Butler is ‘Caught Stealing’ in a gritty, comedic crime thriller
• • You can save this article by registering for free here. Or sign-in if you have an account. Article content It takes a while before Caught Stealing really takes off. Probably around the time Liev Schreiber and Vincent D’Onofrio show up as a pair of Hasidic gangster brothers who interrupt their murder spree to pick up a challah to bring home for Shabbas. Advertisement 2 Don't have an account?
‘Americana’ rides the Sydney Sweeney controversy in search of a point
The crowded Western crime noir “Americana” has had a curious journey to your local theater. Filmed in early 2022 and premiered at the SXSW festival in 2023, it’s getting a theatrical release on the heels of a headline-grabbing controversy surrounding one of its actors, Sydney Sweeney, and a jeans ad that some accuse of being white supremacist propaganda while others, including a parade of Fox News commentators, say is an overreaction (which still others say is an overreaction to the reaction).
The enduring, unsettling truth that ‘Rashomon’ showed us Original
The enduring, unsettling truth that ‘Rashomon’ showed us (washingtonpost.com) The enduring, unsettling truth that ‘Rashomon’ showed us By Ty Burr 2025083009003300 When did truth become unreliable? At what point did an event unfolding in reality become just another opinion? When did we stop agreeing about what just happened?
REVIEW: ‘The Roses’ is a mismatch of British wit and American slapstick
“The Roses” is a remake of 1989’s “The War of the Roses” that plays like a battle of international comic sensibilities. On one hand, it stars Benedict Cumberbatch and Olivia Colman in a merry black comedy of British invective that keeps veering into genuine emotional pain. On the other hand, it’s a goofy American divorce farce set in sunny California with a supporting cast of sketch comedians.
May the nearly perfect drama ‘A Little Prayer’ find its audience
Bill (David Strathairn) shares a special bond with his daughter-in-law Tammy (Jane Levy) in “A Little Prayer.” Courtesy of Music Box Films “A Little Prayer” — 4 stars Angus MacLachlan’s “A Little Prayer” made its first appearance at the Sundance Film Festival in 2023, and those of us who cherished it there were worried it might never see the light of day again.
‘The Roses’ is a mismatch of British wit and American slapstick Original
‘The Roses’ is a mismatch of British wit and American slapstick (washingtonpost.com) ‘The Roses’ is a mismatch of British wit and American slapstick By Ty Burr 2025082809000300 "The Roses" is a remake of 1989's "The War of the Roses" that plays like a battle of international comic sensibilities. On one hand, it stars Benedict Cumberbatch and Olivia Colman in a merry black comedy of British invective that keeps veering into genuine emotional pain.
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