William Bibbiani is a professional film critic and member of the Los Angeles Film Critics Association (LAFCA) 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 Twitter (and various other social medias) at @WilliamBibbiani.
Experience:
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‘Funan’ Film Review: Bleakly Powerful Animated Film Captures Real-Life Historical Horror
Two parents try to survive, and to reunite their family, under the Khmer Rouge in this effective and hauntingly minimalist feature
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‘Dark Phoenix’ Film Review: X-Men Saga Wraps Up With Overly Familiar, Mediocre Sequel
It’s not as bad as “The Last Stand,” although it does recycle many of that film’s plot points
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‘Domino’ Film Review: Brian De Palma Half-Heartedly Directs Terrorism Thriller
You can sense the auteur perking up with his bad guys shoot their own violent propaganda, but this is otherwise a snooze
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‘Aladdin’ (2019) Film Review: Guy Ritchie Delivers Chintzy Live-Action Remake With Will Smith
Seemingly set in a sanitized corner of Adventureland, the real fantasy offered here is getting to be in Will Smith’s entourage
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‘The Professor and the Madman’ Film Review: Mel Gibson and Sean Penn Lack Definition in OED Biopic
The book about the creation of the Oxford English Dictionary thrilled readers, but this screen adaptation is listed under “boring”
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‘Tolkien’ Film Review: Laughable Biopic Indulges in Infinite Great-Artist Clichés
Nicholas Hoult is set adrift in a film seemingly more interested in Tolkien as a spawner of blockbusters than as a man of letters
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‘Meeting Gorbachev’ Film Review: Werner Herzog Gets Up Close and Personal With Former Soviet Leader
Herzog and André Singer’s film is no definitive historical portrait, but it is an intimate one
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‘Penguins’ Film Review: Ed Helms Narrates a Plucky Pygoscelis in Disneynature’s Latest Doc
Sun Valley 2019: The Adélie penguin is smaller than his flightless cousins but makes for an engaging subject in this new Disney nature doc
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‘Master Z: Ip Man Legacy’ Film Review: Michelle Yeoh and Dave Bautista Kick It in Gorgeous, Muddled Martial-Arts Tale
Barely a sequel to the prior “Ip Man” movies, this pulpy crime tale still delivers the action and a gloriously artificial Hong Kong
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‘Hellboy’ Movie Review: Rebooted Superhero Saga Hits the Hard-R Horror Sweet Spot
Neil Marshall’s take is scruffier than Guillermo del Toro’s,, sprawling out into multiple horror sub-genres — and that’s a good thing
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‘The Haunting of Sharon Tate’ Film Review: Sleazy Thriller Exploits Manson Murders
Tate and her four fellow victims deserve better than this witless grotesque, which ghoulishly throws in documentary footage alongside re-enactments
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‘Out of Blue’ Film Review: Patricia Clarkson Tracks a Killer in Unwieldy Philosophical Whodunit
This adaptation of a Martin Amis novel wants to be both coolly contemplative and a detective thriller, and the balance rarely holds
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‘The Hummingbird Project’ Film Review: Jesse Eisenberg Launches an Overly Ambitious Scheme
Alexander Skarsgård and Salma Hayek co-star in a watchable caper comedy that fumbles when it becomes too serious
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‘Wonder Park’ Film Review: Original Animated Film Thrillingly Celebrates Youthful Imagination
This colorful cartoon might not be an instant classic, but it’s a noble effort — and we could use more of those
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‘Triple Frontier’ Film Review: Oscar Isaac Leads All-Star Crew on Grim Heist
As the film’s professional soldiers see their ethics disappear, so too does the excitement in J.C. Chandor’s action saga
