The Best Films of 2025
Like life itself in these times the visceral, the absurd, and the morbid all take their rightful place in our eclectic compilation of Best Films 2025.
alex garland
‘Warfare’ Tells a Brutally Universal Story Through a Narrow Lens
Ray Mendoza and Alex Garland’s taut and astringent Iraq War film, Warfare, is horrifying but also quite human.
The Best Film of 2024
Our Best Film of 2024 commemorates intriguing films, emerging voices and celebrated doyens searching for stranger narratives and new angles on existing legends.
Alex Garland’s ‘Civil War’ Refuses Righteousness
Alex Garland’s Civil War refuses righteousness. Instead, it takes a hard, unflinching look at the true costs of war for everybody and everything it touches.
Why Does Alex Garland’s ‘Annihilation’ Perpetuate the Hidden Figure of Henrietta Lacks?
Alex Garland relied on HeLa easter eggs to proffer a "key" to the Shimmer in Annihilation, but his interpretation mimics the instrumentalization decried throughout Rebecca Skloot's The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks.
Annihilation’s Dreamy Death Drive
Grotesque mutations and alien visitors aside, Annihilation‘s reflections on why we engage in self-destruction centers the film’s diseased heart.
What ‘Annihilation’ Shows Us about the Future of Serious Nerd Movies
Contrary to Alex Garland’s disappointment that Paramount sold his film, Annihilation to Netflix, it might be a good thing for film nerds.
The Nature of ‘Annihilation’: An Interview with Director Alex Garland
In this interview with Alex Garland, he talks about how forms in nature inspire the haunting visual style of his thought-provoking sci-fi horror film Annihilation.
‘Annihilation’ Scares and Baffles in Equal Measure
Alex Garland's follow-up to Ex Machina is a visceral cinematic experience that, while plagued with structural problems, delivers plenty of thrills and eye-popping spectacle.
‘Ex Machina’ Appeals to Carbon-Based and AI Life Forms
Ex Machina treats its audience with reverence and care. As a result, it can be dissected and appreciated by humans and sentient robots alike.
The Best and Worst Films of Spring 2015
January through April is a time typically made up of award season leftovers, pre-summer spectacle, and more than a few throwaways. Here are PopMatters' choices for the best and worst of the last four months.
Callous Masculinity and Robot Sexuality Conflict in ‘Ex Machina’
Ex Machina doesn’t indict all nerds, but it does use the type to make a set of predictable points about masculinity, ego, and empathy.