David Sims
Select another critic »For 351 reviews, this critic has graded:
-
50% higher than the average critic
-
2% same as the average critic
-
48% lower than the average critic
On average, this critic grades 2.1 points higher than other critics.
(0-100 point scale)
David Sims' Scores
- Movies
- TV
Score distribution:
-
Positive: 233 out of 351
-
Mixed: 78 out of 351
-
Negative: 40 out of 351
351
movie
reviews
- By Date
- By Critic Score
-
- David Sims
Knock at the Cabin avoids this problem partly through its deft casting, with Bautista serving as the most pivotal player. So much of the movie revolves around Leonard’s surreal monologues; the actor keeps a firm grasp on Leonard’s belief in his every word.- The Atlantic
- Posted Feb 2, 2023
- Read full review
-
- David Sims
In reality, Skinamarink is just a 100-minute symphony of the vibes being very, very off, a crescendo of creeping dread that eventually overwhelms the viewer.- The Atlantic
- Posted Jan 21, 2023
- Read full review
-
- David Sims
Yes, Gerard Johnstone’s M3GAN is pulled from January’s bucket of mostly low-budget pablum, but it’s cheeky and knowing enough to stand out from the slop.- The Atlantic
- Posted Jan 12, 2023
- Read full review
-
- David Sims
Baumbach does his best to infuse his film with mundane dread, but for the viewer, existential horror can be easily confused with a lack of energy.- The Atlantic
- Posted Jan 6, 2023
- Read full review
-
- David Sims
Babylon is the kind of grandiose folly that at least gives the viewer a big old mess to chew on.- The Atlantic
- Posted Dec 29, 2022
- Read full review
-
- David Sims
The final battles in The Way of Water are rousing, but they’re also feats of geography, astonishing in how they manage to keep the audience focused on a huge ensemble of characters who are jumping between various locations.- The Atlantic
- Posted Dec 13, 2022
- Read full review
-
- David Sims
Even with the gore and the gorgeous visuals that typically accompany a Guadagnino project, Bones and All too often feels frustratingly tame.- The Atlantic
- Posted Nov 30, 2022
- Read full review
-
- David Sims
The Menu is unique, because it casts Slowik as both hero and villain. He’s not wrong to simmer with hatred for his elitist customers, but he’s also seething at the fact that he has, in fact, become one of them, propped up by the very system they created.- The Atlantic
- Posted Nov 18, 2022
- Read full review
-
- David Sims
Spielberg’s storytelling has plenty of humor and verve, but it has a devastating sense of self-awareness as well. In focusing on a boy who puts a camera between himself and the world, Spielberg essays both the power in that perspective, and the limitations.- The Atlantic
- Posted Nov 11, 2022
- Read full review
-
- David Sims
Although the sequel’s running time is more sprawling and its narrative goals more diffuse than its predecessor’s, it shares the same strengths. Wakanda Forever is fueled by intricate world-building, stunningly designed sets and costumes, and an interest in the geopolitical implications of superheroism that’s far more nuanced than most Marvel movies allow.- The Atlantic
- Posted Nov 8, 2022
- Read full review
-
- David Sims
Barbarian serves up all the requisite thrills with panache, but it also provokes deeper, longer-lasting reflections. That balance is why the film has continued spreading so organically months after its release, and why it’ll keep tempting viewers down to the basement for years to come.- The Atlantic
- Posted Nov 4, 2022
- Read full review
-
- David Sims
Johnson once excelled at playing anti-heroes you could root for and boo cheerfully all in one breath, but now he’s just another silent grump who’s never allowed to lose a fight.- The Atlantic
- Posted Oct 21, 2022
- Read full review
-
- David Sims
Every visual composition is meticulously arranged, and every surreal twist of imagery feels nuanced and earned. But most important, the world around Tár seems real and tangible, so when it slips into chaos, the viewer becomes as overwhelmed as the protagonist.- The Atlantic
- Posted Oct 7, 2022
- Read full review
-
- David Sims
So many rom-coms rely on tiresome plot twists to keep their characters apart before getting them together, but all of the ups and downs in Bros’ romance feel emotionally necessary.- The Atlantic
- Posted Sep 30, 2022
- Read full review
-
- David Sims
Wilde’s film aims to be a feminist parable about how this idealized vision of the past is actually a curdled vision of coupledom. Abstractly, that’s a robust concept; in execution, the movie’s absurdity overpowers its message.- The Atlantic
- Posted Sep 28, 2022
- Read full review
-
- David Sims
The Woman King is a barn burner if you’re just looking for an invigorating night at the movies. But Prince-Bythewood’s real triumph is in grounding that sterling entertainment in a challenging dramatic text.- The Atlantic
- Posted Sep 28, 2022
- Read full review
-
- David Sims
Zemeckis certainly remains good at running a production that uses expensive-looking CGI. The actual narrative behind those visuals, however, seems to have vanished.- The Atlantic
- Posted Sep 28, 2022
- Read full review
-
- David Sims
The Gray Man is a completely anonymous viewing experience, a series of set pieces and pithy jokes that’s devoid of personality.- The Atlantic
- Posted Jul 22, 2022
- Read full review
-
- David Sims
Persuasion at times seems embarrassed by its source material, or at least overeager to spruce it up for audiences that might not be able to handle a gentler pace. The result is harried and forgettable—the complete opposite of Austen’s quietest, noblest heroine.- The Atlantic
- Posted Jul 21, 2022
- Read full review
-
- David Sims
Peele is not just making an inventive sci-fi thriller. Nope is tinged with the acidic satire that suffused his last two movies, as Peele examines why the easiest way to process horror these days is to turn it into breathtaking entertainment.- The Atlantic
- Posted Jul 20, 2022
- Read full review
-
- David Sims
Love and Thunder offers the usual lightning-streaked action and tossed-off gags, but this time, there’s not enough heft behind the flashiness.- The Atlantic
- Posted Jul 7, 2022
- Read full review
-
- David Sims
Luhrmann’s approach works for one reason: Elvis should be a mess. Presley’s adult life was chaotic, and it unfolded almost entirely in public, from his spectacular successes to his ignominious decline. Watching it play out on film ought to feel a little disorienting.- The Atlantic
- Posted Jun 30, 2022
- Read full review
-
- David Sims
What makes the first half of Spiderhead so compelling is that it’s injected with the unexpected; a shame, then, that the inventiveness drips out as the film’s running time winds down.- The Atlantic
- Posted Jun 21, 2022
- Read full review
-
- David Sims
While all of the film’s visual excitement is handled with Pixar’s usual polish, the intrigue is only surface-level.- The Atlantic
- Posted Jun 21, 2022
- Read full review
-
- David Sims
Making dinosaurs finally feel dull was a rather revealing storytelling choice for Trevorrow—viewers aren’t bored of seeing them on-screen, but he sure seems to be.- The Atlantic
- Posted Jun 8, 2022
- Read full review
-
- David Sims
The thrill of RRR is not the density of its storytelling, though—it’s the exuberance of it.- The Atlantic
- Posted Jun 8, 2022
- Read full review
-
- David Sims
By framing her characters’ inventiveness with boldly bizarre imagery, Schoenbrun is getting at what makes internet horror such a unique mode of cinema. The viewer is unsettled not just by the content, but by their ambiguous relationship to who’s sharing it.- The Atlantic
- Posted May 21, 2022
- Read full review
-
- The Atlantic
- Posted May 21, 2022
- Read full review
-
- David Sims
Other films have skewered an industry that’s intent on bludgeoning audiences with their own fading memories, but only Chip ’n Dale actually gives those memories a new life.- The Atlantic
- Posted May 21, 2022
- Read full review
-
- David Sims
I think Thyberg could have found even more to mine in a fully nonfiction movie; the biggest drawback of Pleasure is that it follows a fabricated protagonist who’s remote and one-dimensional. Bella is so defined by her stock story that it’s hard to grasp what’s motivating her beyond a desire for success, and the film gets bogged down in this staid narrative.- The Atlantic
- Posted May 21, 2022
- Read full review