William Bibbiani is a professional film critic and member of the Los Angeles Film Critics Association (LAFCA), the Critics Choice Association (CCA) and GALECA: The Society of LGBTQ Entertainment Critics. He has written film criticism for over 20 years and written for The Wrap since 2019. He is a frequent guest on KCRW’s Press Play with Madeline Brand. He also co-hosts The Critically Acclaimed Network, a series of podcasts dedicated to new, classic and cult film and TV reviews and retrospectives. His commentary tracks and essays can be found on Blu-ray special editions for films released by Arrow Video, Shout! Factory and Umbrella Entertainment. You can follow him on BlueSky (and various other social medias).
Experience:
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‘The Munsters’ Review: Rob Zombie Loves These Misfit Monsters but Fails to Make Them Funny
The writer-director seems to like the idea of kicking it with these iconic characters, but he never commits to crafting an actual story for them
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‘Wildflower’ Review: Kiernan Shipka Anchors One-of-a-Kind Coming-of-Age Drama
Toronto Film Festival 2022: The film tackles the unique challenges of being the adult child of intellectually disabled parents
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‘Goodnight Mommy’ Review: U.S. Remake of Austrian Thriller Pulls Back on the Tension
The cast, led by Naomi Watts, is uniformly excellent, but the script and direction constantly skimp on what made the original so memorable
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‘Pearl’ Film Review: Stunning Prequel Makes ‘X’ Even Better Than It Already Was
Mia Goth (who co-wrote with director Ti West) gives a sad, scary performance that deepens the character and her saga
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‘Butcher’s Crossing’ Film Review: Nicolas Cage Goes Full Captain Ahab in Environmental Western
Toronto Film Festival 2022: Gabe Polsky’s acid Western harshly examines the effects of Manifest Destiny, capitalism and macho pride on the American landscape
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‘Medieval’ Film Review: Ben Foster Action Saga Comes to Life Between the Conversations
The tale of Czech hero Jan Žižka is bold and violent on the battlefield but an utter slog when it gets mired in political intrigue
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‘Clerks III’ Film Review: Kevin Smith Tackles Aging and Mortality, But Also Weed Jokes, in Nimble Threequel
The graying slackers deal with old age and death, and Smith allows those elements not to be funny while still indulging in goofy whimsy elsewhere
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‘The Ghost of Richard Harris’ Review: Larger-Than-Life Actor Remembered Ruefully and Gratefully
Venice Film Festival 2022: The children and co-stars of the legendary movie star, musician and drunkard all have stories to tell about the screen icon
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‘Me Time’ Film Review: Kevin Hart and Mark Wahlberg Buddy Comedy Sours Into Pointless Netflix Product Placement
Netflix’s latest star-studded comedy falls flat
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‘Samaritan’ Film Review: Sylvester Stallone Knocks Heads in Clever Superhero Riff
Stallone stars as a retired superhero in the film from “Overlord” director Julius Avery
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‘Beast’ Film Review: Idris Elba’s Absentee Dad Battles an Angry, Hungry Lion
The real star here is veteran cinematographer Philippe Rousselot, who lets the tense action play out in long takes
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‘Inu-Oh’ Film Review: Feudal Anime Mixes Headbanging Pyrotechnics and Political Defiance
Masaaki Yuasa blends genres and ideas in a brilliantly intense and unhinged animated feature
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‘Summering’ Film Review: Four Girls Bid Farewell to Childhood in Hazy, Nostalgic Mystery
Director James Ponsoldt is less interested in crime-solving and more focused on childhood friendships and the melancholy of growing up
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‘Thirteen Lives’ Film Review: Ron Howard Spelunks Cautiously Into Cave-Rescue Tale
On the heels of two docs about the rescue of a Thai soccer team, Howard could have used less restraint and more emotion in retelling this story
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‘Resurrection’ Film Review: Rebecca Hall Keeps a Firm Grasp on Unsettling Familial Horror
Writer-director Andrew Semans’ script takes a big narrative swing, but Hall, Tim Roth and Grace Kaufman make it all seem believable
