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Aly Caviness

Tomatometer-approved critic
Biography:

Aly Caviness is a co-founder of Midwest Film Journal and member of the Indiana Film Journalists Association. She blames Jack Sparrow for her MA in colonial Atlantic history, Guy Pearce for her marriage, and Star Wars for her son.

Publications:

Reviews

Movies TV Shows
Frankenstein (2025) 85% EDIT “If del Toro could only get one thing right about Frankenstein, I think Mary would be proud that it was [...] the brief, shining moment that gives a Creature so cruelly rejected by his father the unconditional love he desperately craves. ” – Midwest Film Journal Oct 18, 2025 Full Review No Country for Old Men (2007) 93% EDIT “Whether the Coens have made better movies is subject to opinion but there is something incontrovertible about No Country’s status as god-tier filmmaking. Repeat viewings do nothing to lessen its staggering power. ” – Midwest Film Journal Oct 17, 2025 Full Review Lara Croft: Tomb Raider (2001) 21% EDIT “If you’re beginning to think that this movie works better as a collection of Angelina Jolie photoshoots set to a collection of certified bangers, then buddy, you are not wrong.” – Midwest Film Journal Oct 17, 2025 Full Review Cinderella (1950) 95% EDIT “You could argue that Cinderella is worth rewatching in 2019 for the animation — which truly is gorgeous — but that also gets you into some quagmire thanks to the poor 2005 Diamond Edition restoration that Disney continues to re-release...” – Midwest Film Journal Feb 13, 2025 Full Review Maria (2024) 76% EDIT “It is impossible to listen to Maria Callas, to watch Maria Callas, to watch and listen to Angelina Jolie performing Maria Callas, without imagining how it would feel in your own body to sing as she sings. ” – Midwest Film Journal Nov 27, 2024 Full Review Deep Water (2022) 35% EDIT “Despite a strong cast, Deep Water never quite comes together. Its a recipe with all the right ingredients but an entirely misguided execution. Hardly more than a pale shade of erotic thrillers past, Deep Water is nothing but an empty glass.” – Midwest Film Journal Mar 17, 2022 Full Review Marry Me (2022) 61% EDIT “As confident as it is competent, Marry Me delivers exactly what you expect nothing more, nothing less. And thats a compliment, by the way. ” – Midwest Film Journal Feb 10, 2022 Full Review The Piano (1993) 90% EDIT “The Piano is without a doubt a work of Art - inscrutable at times, and not without its flaws, but constructed so confidently that they are, in the end, forgivable.” – Midwest Film Journal Jan 30, 2022 Full Review Casino Royale (2006) 94% EDIT “Bond the man and Bond the franchise simply never recovered from allowing Vesper Lynd to die.” – Midwest Film Journal Dec 24, 2021 Full Review The Card Counter (2020) 88% EDIT “The Card Counter works best as a showcase for Isaac, with material from Schrader tailor-made to elicit one of the year's greatest performances.” – Midwest Film Journal Dec 23, 2021 Full Review Nightmare Alley (2021) 80% EDIT “Already brought brilliantly to the screen once in 1947, Nightmare Alley could only have been resurrected successfully in 2021 by a visionary such as Guillermo del Toro.” – Midwest Film Journal Dec 15, 2021 Full Review House of Gucci (2021) 61% EDIT “Lady Gaga swings as hard as she can, but it's not her fault House of Gucci is a miss.” – Midwest Film Journal Nov 25, 2021 Full Review The Last Duel (2021) 85% EDIT “The Last Duel is such a rich film, as visually sumptuous as it is intellectually formidable. It's a rewarding watch but not an easy one.” – Midwest Film Journal Oct 15, 2021 Full Review Spencer (2021) 83% EDIT “[Kristen Stewart] embodies Diana with a composed ferocity that is uniquely Stewart's but feels right for a woman in Diana's situation.” – Midwest Film Journal Oct 10, 2021 Full Review The Green Knight (2021) 89% EDIT “Beautiful in spite of the subtle rot woven throughout, Lowery's England is a quiet nightmare as often as it is a wondrous dream.” – Midwest Film Journal Jul 31, 2021 Full Review Cruella (2021) 75% EDIT “Disney doesn't usually do sympathy for the devil (or De Vil, as it were), but somehow, it works.” – Midwest Film Journal May 26, 2021 Full Review Wonder Woman 1984 (2020) 57% EDIT “Must a movie be good? Can it not rest its success on the luxurious power of Pedro Pascal's hair alone?” – Midwest Film Journal Dec 24, 2020 Full Review Mank (2020) 83% EDIT “David Fincher and Classic Hollywood: two great tastes that do not taste great together.” – Midwest Film Journal Dec 3, 2020 Full Review Rebecca (2020) 37% EDIT “"Rebecca" is a perfect adaptation of Daphne du Maurier's novel until it suddenly isn't.” – Midwest Film Journal Oct 20, 2020 Full Review Mulan (2020) 72% EDIT “Mulan is the first Disney live action remake that finds a successful balance between comfortingly familiar and refreshingly new.” – Midwest Film Journal Sep 5, 2020 Full Review Birds of Prey (and the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn) (2020) 79% EDIT “Birds of Prey is totally liberated from the garbage that came before it, aiming an eff-you glitter bomb directly at the patriarchy.” – Midwest Film Journal Feb 7, 2020 Full Review Last Christmas (2019) 47% EDIT “The combined charms of Emilia Clarke and Henry Golding do a lot to ground the film in a place that feels real and not too quirky.” – Midwest Film Journal Jan 30, 2020 Full Review The Gentlemen (2019) 76% EDIT “The Gentlemen wishes it were Ritchie's return to form, but after a decade of big-budget misfires, it can most generously be described as Tarantino-Lite.” – Midwest Film Journal Jan 23, 2020 Full Review Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales (2017) 30% EDIT “Dead Men Tell No Tales does nothing new and is exactly what you expect -- and that is perfectly okay.” – Midwest Film Journal Dec 6, 2019 Full Review Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them (2016) 74% EDIT “Is it a blatant cash grab from Warner Brothers or a creative return to an expansive world we all knew J.K. Rowling couldn't abandon entirely? Of course it's both.” – Midwest Film Journal Dec 6, 2019 Full Review
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