Film Critic
Chief film critic for The Wrap and co-host of the podcast Linoleum Knife
PROFILE
Alonso Duralde
Guest
FROM Alonso Duralde
Press Play with Madeleine Brand
Is it worth seeing 'The Dark Tower' if you haven’t read the Stephen King books? Our film critics discuss “Detroit,” which centers on the Detroit riots of summer 1967 the Algiers Motel incident that left three black men killed; “The Dark Tower,” adapted from the series by Stephen King and starring Idris Elba and Matthew McConaughey; and “Kidnap,” an action flick with a female lead.
Press Play with Madeleine Brand
What's new in Despicable Me 3? Our movie critics talk about the return of the Minions, Will Ferrell and Amy Poehler building an illicit casino in “The House,” and the story of a gigantic pig that made a big showing at the Cannes Film Festival.
Press Play with Madeleine Brand
Captain Jack Sparrow returns, and Netflix gets booed at Cannes Our critics review the fifth franchise of “Pirates of the Caribbean;” “War Machine,” in which Brad Pitt plays General McMahon and Ben Kingsley portrays Hamid Karzai; and “Baywatch,” a film adaptation of the old David Hasselhoff series. We also look at what’s been going on at the Cannes Film Festival.
Press Play with Madeleine Brand
Is Katherine Heigl memorable as a psycho ex in 'Unforgettable?' Our critics review “Unforgettable,” a thriller starring Katherine Heigl and Rosario Dawson; “A Quiet Passion,” a costume drama about poet Emily Dickinson; and a film about one of the first celebrity chefs, “Jeremiah Tower: The Last Magnificent.”
Press Play with Madeleine Brand
How does 'Logan' stack up to previous X-Men films? Our critics review the next X-Men film “Logan;” the teen melodrama “Before I Fall;” and “The Last Word,” which stars Shirley MacLaine as a curmudgeon who wants approval of her obituary before she dies.
Press Play with Madeleine Brand
Oscar nominations: La La Land sweeps, Amy Adams weeps We get a round-up of the nominees, the snubs, and who’s favored to take home the golden statuette.
Press Play with Madeleine Brand
Film: ‘Snowden,’ a Christian rock doc & two sequels New film releases this week include Oliver Stone’s “Snowden,” a Christian rock doc , and two sequels – rom-com “Bridget Jones’s Baby” and horror flick “Blair Witch.” What’s good?
Press Play with Madeleine Brand
‘Ben-Hur’, new Herzog documentary On our weekly movie segment, we review a new remake of “Ben-Hur” from an inventive Russian director, and a new animated film from upstart Portland studio Laika called “Kubo and the Two Strings.” Plus, we review “Lo and Behold, Reveries of the Connected World,” a new documentary from Werner Herzog, and “War Dogs,” a comedy about two guys who get a big Pentagon contract, starring Jonah Hill.
Press Play with Madeleine Brand
New Releases: Bourne, Bad Moms and New Documentaries On our Friday movie segment, we discuss the latest installment in the action spy series about Jason Bourne, which features a reteaming of actor Matt Damon and director Paul Greengrass. Then a comedy with a lot of big names called Bad Moms, and a thriller called Nerve. Two documentaries are also out this weekend, both about influential figures from film: photographer and filmmaker Robert Frank and Hollywood costume designer Orry-Kelly.
Press Play with Madeleine Brand
LA’s Outfest Has Come a Long Way Since ‘82 Outfest , LA’S LGBTQ film festival, opened last night with a gala screening of “The Intervention,” a film about friends who go on a trip to break up a marriage. The festival has come a long way since it began in 1982 as the "Gay and Lesbian Media Festival and Conference." Alonso Duralde, one of Press Play’s regular film reviewers is a Senior Programmer at Outfest.
Press Play with Madeleine Brand
Reviews of “Money Monster” and Two Indie Comedies We’ve got a hostage crisis thriller starring George Clooney and a couple of indies rocking the cinema this weekend. Love and Friendship and The Lobster are two very different comedies crafted by beloved independent film directors.
Press Play with Madeleine Brand
Movie Reviews: 'The Jungle Book' and a New 'Barbershop' Movie There’s a remake, a sequel and a musical flick at the movies this weekend. We have reviews of The Jungle Book , Barbershop: The Next Cut and the musical coming-of-age flick Sing Street .
Press Play with Madeleine Brand
Friday Film Roundup: ‘Batman vs. Superman: Dawn of Justice’ One of the most highly anticipated movies of the year is out today, and it might be somewhat less anticipated after the terrible reviews. We’re talking Batman vs Superman: Dawn of Justice. We’ll also talk about the late great Garry Shandling. The comedian died yesterday at the age of 66.
Press Play with Madeleine Brand
Friday Film The latest Nicholas Sparks romance movie is out this weekend. It’s called “The Choice.” The New York Times says it’s “filmed like an ad for erectile-dysfunction medication.” Ouch. Is it really that bad? We find out about that and more in our regular Friday film roundup.
Recommended
Press Play with Madeleine Brand
Why is Trump so behind on filling staff jobs, establishing concrete policies? Yesterday Donald Trump signed a “decision memo” to revamp the air traffic control system. But there was little legislative detail in the plan. There’s not much to other splashy announcements from the White House, including tax cuts and the arms deal with Saudi Arabia. And hundreds of positions are unfilled in federal agencies.
Good Food
Shaking up the USDA, 'The Beef Cookbook' and 'Tartine All Day' Peggy Lowe explains why Trump’s pick for USDA Secretary is rattling rural America. Dario Cecchini talks future plans for Chianti ramen, and Richard Turner shares cuts from “PRIME: The Beef Cookbook.” Writer Matthew Sedacca looks at the controversy behind liquid smoke. Jonathan Gold tries Chengdu-style dishes, and Elisabeth Prueitt of Tartine fills us in on the latest. Plus, chef Michael Beckman shares a recipe for cactus confit.
Press Play with Madeleine Brand
Trump says goodbye Paris Accord: What does it mean for U.S. and the planet? President Donald Trump announced Thursday that the U.S. will withdraw from the Paris Climate Accord, the landmark international agreement to limit greenhouse gas emissions. Trump was to renegotiate a new deal, but will that happen?