Movie Reviews

Is Coppola’s $120M ‘Megalopolis’ ‘bafflingly shallow’ or ‘remarkably sincere’? Critics can’t tell

Published

2 years ago

May 17, 2024

Is Coppola’s 0M ‘Megalopolis’ ‘bafflingly shallow’ or ‘remarkably sincere’? Critics can’t tell

Francis Ford Coppola’s 40-year passion project “Megalopolis” has finally arrived, but critics are divided on whether the science fiction epic was worth the wait.

The film, which premiered at Cannes Film Festival, has received mixed reviews from festivalgoers, with some calling the drama “staggeringly ambitious” and others dubbing the long-awaited movie “absolute madness.”

Deadline and The Guardian report “Megalopolis” received a seven-minute standing ovation Thursday night. Coppola, 85, first conceived the film in the 1970s and development began in 1983. After several false starts and cancellations, the “Godfather” filmmaker revived the project in 2019 and used $120 million of his own money to fund it.

The ensemble cast includes Adam Driver, Giancarlo Esposito, Nathalie Emmanuel, Aubrey Plaza, Shia LaBeouf, Jon Voight, Jason Schwartzman, Laurence Fishburne, Kathryn Hunter and Dustin Hoffman.

The film follows an architect who “wants to rebuild New York City as a utopia following a devastating disaster,” according to IMDb. The movie is a “Roman Epic fable set in an imagined Modern America,” according to the film synopsis on the Cannes website.

Driver plays Cesar Catilina, a “genius artist who seeks to leap into a utopian, idealistic future,” but Mayor Franklyn Cicero, played by Esposito, “remains committed to a regressive status quo, perpetuating greed, special interests, and partisan warfare.” Emmanuel plays the mayor’s socialite daughter, Julia, “whose love for Cesar has divided her loyalties, forcing her to discover what she truly believes humanity deserves.”

Francis Ford Coppola’s ‘Megalopolis’ trailer abuzz ahead of Cannes Film Festival debut

In the caption for the movie’s trailer on YouTube, Coppola said, “Our new film MEGALOPOLIS is the best work I’ve ever had the privilege to preside over.”

‘Megalopolis’ Rotten Tomatoes score matches critics’ split

Critics are split evenly down the middle on the star-studded film. On Rotten Tomatoes, 50% of 24 critics’ reviews were positive.

Cannes 2024 to feature Donald Trump drama, Francis Ford Coppola’s ‘Megalopolis’ and more

Esther Zuckerman of The Daily Beast wrote that the film is a “laughingstock” and “stilted, earnest, over the top, CGI ridden, and utterly a mess.” The Guardian’s Peter Bradshaw wrote that the film was “megabloated and megaboring” and a “bafflingly shallow film, full of high-school-valedictorian verities about humanity’s future.”

Meanwhile, David Fear of Rolling Stone said the film is “uncompromising, uniquely intellectual, unabashedly romantic, broadly satirical yet remarkably sincere about wanting not just brave new worlds but better ones.” And Bilge Ebiri of Vulture said the movie “might be the craziest thing I’ve ever seen. And I’d be lying if I said I didn’t enjoy every single (expletive) second of it.”

Joshua Rothkopf of the Los Angeles Times called out fans and critics with expectations of the film being a “masterpiece,” saying there is “much to enjoy” from the “weird” and “juicy” film.

Coppola has said his film “Apocalypse Now” suffered a similar fate, with polarizing criticisms upon its release at Cannes in 1979 before ascending to acclaim and becoming a New Hollywood classic.

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Movie Reviews

Mana Shankara Vara Prasad Garu Review: USA Premiere Report

Published

2 hours ago

January 11, 2026

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Mana Shankara Vara Prasad Garu Review: USA Premiere Report

U.S. Premiere Report:

#MSG Review: Free Flowing Chiru Fun

It’s an easy, fun festive watch with a better first half that presents Chiru in a free-flowing, at-ease with subtle humor. On the flip side, much-anticipated Chiru-Venky track is okay, which could have elevated the second half.

#AnilRavipudi gets the credit for presenting Chiru in his best, most likable form, something that was missing from his comeback.

With a simple story, fun moments and songs, this has enough to become a commercial success this #Sankranthi

Rating: 2.5/5

First Half Report:

#MSG Decent Fun 1st Half!

Chiru’s restrained body language and acting working well, paired with consistent subtle humor along with the songs and the father’s emotion which works to an extent, though the kids’ track feels a bit melodramatic – all come together to make the first half a decent fun, easy watch.

– Mana Shankara Vara Prasad Garu show starts with Anil Ravipudi-style comedy, with his signature backdrop, a gang, and silly gags, followed by a Megastar fight and a song. Stay tuned for the report.

U.S. Premiere begins at 10.30 AM EST (9 PM IST). Stay tuned Mana Shankara Vara Prasad Garu review, report.

Cast: Megastar Chiranjeevi, Venkatesh Daggubati, Nayanthara, Catherine Tresa

Writer & Director – Anil Ravipudi
Producers – Sahu Garapati and Sushmita Konidela
Presents – Smt.Archana
Banners – Shine Screens and Gold Box Entertainments
Music Director – Bheems Ceciroleo
Cinematographer – Sameer Reddy
Production Designer – A S Prakash
Editor – Tammiraju
Co-Writers – S Krishna, G AdiNarayana
Line Producer – Naveen Garapati
U.S. Distributor: Sarigama Cinemas

Mana Shankara Vara Prasad Garu Movie Review by M9

Movie Reviews

Primate

Published

14 hours ago

January 11, 2026

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Every horror fan deserves the occasional (decent) fix, andin the midst of one of the bleakest movie months of the year, Primatedelivers. There’s nothing terribly original about Johannes Roberts’ rabidchimpanzee tale, but that’s kind of the …

Movie Reviews

1986 Movie Reviews – Black Moon Rising | The Nerdy

Published

1 day ago

January 10, 2026

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1986 Movie Reviews – Black Moon Rising | The Nerdy

by Sean P. Aune | January 10, 2026

Welcome to an exciting year-long project here at The Nerdy. 1986 was an exciting year for films giving us a lot of films that would go on to be beloved favorites and cult classics. It was also the start to a major shift in cultural and societal norms, and some of those still reverberate to this day.

We’re going to pick and choose which movies we hit, but right now the list stands at nearly four dozen.

Yes, we’re insane, but 1986 was that great of a year for film.

The articles will come out – in most cases – on the same day the films hit theaters in 1986 so that it is their true 40th anniversary. All films are also watched again for the purposes of these reviews and are not being done from memory. In some cases, it truly will be the first time we’ve seen them.

This time around, it’s Jan. 10, 1986, and we’re off to see Black Moon Rising.

Black Moon Rising

What was the obsession in the 1980s with super vehicles?

Sam Quint (Tommy Lee Jones) is hired to steal a computer tape with evidence against a company on it. While being pursued, he tucks it in the parachute of a prototype vehicle called the Black Moon. While trying to retrieve it, the car is stolen by Nina (Linda Hamilton), a car thief working for a car theft ring. Both of them want out of their lives, and it looks like the Black Moon could be their ticket out.

Blue Thunder in the movies, Airwolf and Knight Rider on TV, the 1980s loved an impractical ‘super’ vehicle. In this case, the car plays a very minor role up until the final action set piece, and the story is far more about the characters and their motivations.

The movie is silly as you would expect it to be, but it is never a bad watch. It’s just not anything particularly memorable.

1986 Movie Reviews will continue on Jan. 17, 2026, with The Adventures of the American Rabbit, The Adventures of Mark Twain, The Clan of the Cave Bear, Iron Eagle, The Longshot, and Troll.