Alonso Duralde, TheWrap’s film reviews editor, has written about film for Movieline, Salon, Village Voice and MSNBC.com. He also co-hosts the “Linoleum Knife,” “Maximum Film!” and “Breakfast All Day” podcasts. A member of the Los Angeles Film Critics Association and the National Society of Film Critics, Duralde has discussed cinema on TCM, CNN and ABC, among others, and was a regular contributor to FilmStruck. He is the author of “Have Yourself a Movie Little Christmas” and “101 Must-See Movies for Gay Men” and the co-author of “I’ll Be Home for Christmas Movies”; his history of queer Hollywood will be published by TCM/Running Press in 2024.
Experience:
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‘Ouija’ Review: As Entertainingly Silly and Juvenile as a Slumber-Party Séance
There’s no taking this witchboard business seriously for a second, but as PG-13 fright flicks for tweens go, signs point to a few decent scares and at least one good idea
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‘Big Hero 6’ Review: Disney’s Superhero Epic is Smart Translation of Japanese Anime
Yes, it’s a super-team origin story, but one told with wit, style and human feeling
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‘Listen Up Philip’ Review: Jason Schwartzman’s Portrait of the Artist as a Young Jerk
The blisteringly funny new feature from writer-director Alex Ross Perry pulls no punches in its portrayal of obnoxious authors and the suffering women they leave in their wake
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‘The Book of Life’ Review: Guillermo del Toro Gives Us a Wonderful Afterlife
Vibrant animated tale — featuring the voices of Diego Luna, Zoe Saldana, and Channing Tatum — celebrates remembering the dead but also living life to one’s own tune
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‘Whiplash’ Review: J.K. Simmons Makes an Unforgettable Bad Mentor in Riveting Jazz-Tinged Drama
Miles Teller’s young drummer is driven to greatness or madness — or maybe both — in Damien Chazelle’s Sundance hit
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‘St. Vincent’ Review: Bill Murray Wallows in Feel-Good Clichés
This cloying film costarring Melissa McCarthy should have “FOR YOUR CONSIDERATION” stamped on every frame
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‘Alexander…Very Bad Day’ Review: Steve Carell Steers This Blandly Sweet, Chaos-Deficient Family Comedy (Video)
This tame farce needs a lot more mishaps to merit all those titular adjectives
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‘Pride’ Review: Gay Activists, Striking Miners Unite to Fight the Power
Though slightly overstuffed, this British comedy-drama has the stirring power of a protest anthem — and it’s funny, too
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‘Kill the Messenger’ Review: Jeremy Renner’s Muckraking Feels Half-Baked in This Biopic
Suspense and intrigue are replaced with sanctimony and cliché in this unsatisfying portrait of a reporter
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‘Reclaim’ Review: Ryan Phillippe and Rachelle Lefevre Are Fooled Twice, and Then Some, in Island Thriller
But heroes do win back some audience goodwill in a suspenseful sequence that’s a literal cliff-hanger
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‘Tusk’ Review: Kevin Smith’s Walrus Monster Horror Comedy a Baffling Mishmash (Video)
The comedy bits aren’t funny and the horror moments aren’t scary, but no one can accuse this oddball movie starring Justin Long, Michael Parks, and Haley Joel Osment of phoning it in
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‘Atlas Shrugged III’ Review: Ayn Rand Trilogy Chugs Listlessly to Its Climax
When a franchise’s acting, directing, writing, cinematography, effects and music are this terrible, utter lack of competence trumps political ideology
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‘My Old Lady’ Review: Maggie Smith, Kevin Kline Dazzle as Light Comedy Gives Way to Drama
Kristin Scott Thomas co-stars in this surprising tale that takes dark and unexpected twists from the frothy spree you might expect
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‘The Maze Runner’ Review: Dylan O’Brien Trapped in a Labyrinth That Goes Nowhere Interesting
Part “Lord of the Flies” and part “Cabin in the Woods,” this puzzle-box gets less interesting as we learn more about what’s going on
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‘The Theory of Everything’ Review: Eddie Redmayne Gives Body and Soul to a By-the-Numbers Biopic
Toronto 2014: The stars give explosive life to the fascinating, complex life of Stephen Hawking
