The Horror of 'Men' Doesn’t Go Far Enough

The latest in pop-culture news, recaps, and reviews, plus close reads, profiles, interviews, and more from Vulture.com. [Brand Logo]( movie review [The Horror of Men Doesn’t Go Far Enough]( Alex Garland’s latest body-mangling film lacks the depth and bravado it needs to succeed. Photo: A24 Lately, when I walk into a movie theater, I am desperate to feel. In this total darkness, surrounded by strangers, is the potential for poetry and challenge. Film, at the height of its powers, isn’t just a material, aesthetic, and visual experience but a spiritual one, and the writer-director Alex Garland has met my expectations before. As the screenwriter for the fiery, closed-quarters Sunshine and the zombie treatise 28 Days Later, Garland moved through the ecstatic wonders of genre fiction before turning his attention to directing with the slippery and imperfect Ex Machina. That 2014 science-fiction film was equal turns beguiling and frustrating, and it wasn’t until 2018’s Annihilation that Garland was able to create — alongside cinematographer Rob Hardy and stars including Natalie Portman — a work of potent complication. Nestled into its scenes of body mangling and its formal experimentation is a story about depression and loss. Garland and his collaborators found a way to communicate these ideas with subtlety and without forgetting the queasy pleasures that can be found in horror. [Read The Story »]( Devour pop culture with us. [Subscribe now](for unlimited access to Vulture and everything New York. The Latest TV Recaps • [This Is Us:]( One Last Ride • [Conversations With Friends:]( Who Says You Can’t Have It All? • [Conversations With Friends:]( You Are the Bane of My Existence Stories We Think You’ll Like 1. [PinkPantheress Fans Only Everyone’s a main character at the anonymous singer’s live New York debut.]( 2. [Tom Cruise’s Last Stand Thirty-six years after the original, Top Gun: Maverick eulogizes the actor’s entire career — and an America that may not exist anymore.]( By Bilge Ebiri 3. [Ahead of Their Brian Wilson Tribute Album, a Very She & Him Q&A Zooey Deschanel and M. Ward on the Beach Boys, harmonies, and why their band has lasted this long.]( By Rebecca Alter 4. [Checking In on Netflix’s Original Movies: May 2022 Edition A Rebel Wilson rom-com, a World War II espionage thriller, a Bollywood genre mashup, and more.]( By Charles Bramesco [Learn more about RevenueStripe...]( 5. [Tom Cruise Is Being Boring at Cannes The once-infamous agent of chaos has overcorrected his press strategy as he promotes Top Gun: Maverick at the French festival.]( By Rachel Handler 6. [A Celebration of Life for Margot Robbie’s Alleged Letterboxd Account Fans found an account appearing to belong to the Barbie star … then it went dark.]( By Zoe Guy [Learn more about RevenueStripe...]( Vulture Recommends We consume it all so you don’t have to. [Watch Angelyne,]( which has an awareness of the limitations of the biopic and the talking-head documentary and a willingness to disrupt both. To find the truth? Maybe. But whose? [Read more from Vulture]( Next week at Union Hall Vulture’s weekly comedy show, Pretty Major, will feature Vannessa Jackson, Joyelle Nicole Johnson, Jay Jurden, Drew Michael, Allison O’Conor, and Zach Zimmerman. [Buy tickets here.]( Tuesdays at 7 p.m. Union Hall, Brooklyn, NY Introducing Dinner Party, a lively new evening newsletter about everything that just happened. [Sign up]( to get it every weeknight. [logo]( [facebook logo]( [instagram logo]( [twitter logo]( [unsubscribe](param=daily) | [privacy notice]( | [update preferences]( This email was sent to {EMAIL}. Was this email forwarded to you? [Sign up now]( to get this newsletter in your inbox. [View this email in your browser.]( You received this email because you have a subscription to New York. Reach the right online audience with us For advertising information on email newsletters, please contact AdOps@nymag.com Vox Media, LLC 1201 Connecticut Ave. NW, 12th Floor Washington, DC 20036 Copyright © 2022, All rights reserved