Alonso Duralde (born May 18, 1967) [1] is an American film critic, author, and podcaster. He has been a writer and editor for The Film Verdict, The Wrap , The Advocate and MSNBC.com.
Duralde was born in East Point, Georgia, the youngest of seven children born to Spanish immigrants. [2] He attended Vanderbilt University and currently lives in West Hollywood, California with his husband, fellow writer and film critic Dave White. [3] They co-host the podcast Linoleum Knife, which began in late 2010. He was raised Catholic, but now identifies as an atheist.
In January 2010, Duralde was a contestant on Jeopardy! [4] [5] [6]
He was the artistic director at the USA Film Festival/Dallas for five years. He was also the former arts and entertainment editor at the national gay and lesbian magazine The Advocate . In 2007, he became the film critic for MSNBC.com, and in 2009, his reviews began appearing regularly on The Rotten Tomatoes Show .
Duralde is a member of the Los Angeles Film Critics Association and the National Society of Film Critics. His writing has appeared in The Village Voice , Movieline , and Detour.
From 2011 to 2023, Duralde was the senior film critic for The Wrap , [7] which also synidcated his reviews to the Reuters wire. He also co-hosted the TYT Network program What the Flick?! alongside Ben Mankiewicz of Turner Classic Movies, Christy Lemire of The Associated Press and Matt Atchity of Rotten Tomatoes. After What the Flick?! was cancelled, he and Lemire began hosting the film podcast Breakfast All Day. [8]
In 2023, Duralde joined the website The Film Verdict as its chief U.S. film critic. [9]
My Left Foot: The Story of Christy Brown is a 1989 biographical comedy-drama film directed by Jim Sheridan adapted by Sheridan and Shane Connaughton from the 1954 memoir by Christy Brown. A co-production of Ireland and the United Kingdom, it stars Daniel Day-Lewis as Brown, an Irish man born with cerebral palsy, who could control only his left foot. Brown grew up in a poor working-class family, and became a writer and artist. Brenda Fricker, Ray McAnally, Hugh O'Conor, Fiona Shaw, and Cyril Cusack are featured in supporting roles.
Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang. Although the name "Rotten Tomatoes" connects to the practice of audiences throwing rotten tomatoes in disapproval of a poor stage performance, the direct inspiration for the name from Duong, Lee, and Wang came from an equivalent scene in the 1992 Canadian film Léolo.
Christopher Hemsworth is an Australian actor. He rose to prominence playing Kim Hyde in the Australian television series Home and Away (2004–2007) before beginning a film career in Hollywood. In the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), Hemsworth starred as Thor in the 2011 film of the same name and reprised the role in several subsequent instalments, which established him among the world's highest-paid actors.
Benjamin Frederick Mankiewicz is an American television journalist and host for Turner Classic Movies. He is a progressive political commentator for The Young Turks. He has served as a film critic for the 2008–2009 season for the TV program At the Movies and the web series What the Flick?!
James Peter Maxwell Dornan is an actor, model, and musician from Northern Ireland. The recipient of two Irish Film and Television Awards, he has been nominated for a BAFTA Television Award and a Golden Globe Award. In 2020, he was named one of Ireland's greatest film actors by The Irish Times.
Christy A. Lemire is an American film critic and host of the movie review podcast Breakfast All Day. She previously wrote for the Associated Press from 1999 to 2013, was a co-host of Ebert Presents at the Movies in 2011 and co-hosted the weekly online movie review show What The Flick?! until 2018. She currently reviews under the Breakfast All Day brand, on YouTube and Patreon, with Alonso Duralde.
Ignatiy Igorevich Vishnevetsky is a Russian-American film critic, essayist, and columnist. He has worked as a staff film critic for The A.V. Club and written for Mubi.com and the Chicago Reader.
Martha Marcy May Marlene is a 2011 American psychological thriller-drama film written and directed by Sean Durkin in his directorial feature film debut, and starring Elizabeth Olsen, John Hawkes, Sarah Paulson, and Hugh Dancy. The plot focuses on a young woman suffering from delusions and paranoia after returning to her family from an abusive cult in the Catskill Mountains.
Afternoon Delight is a 2013 American comedy-drama film written and directed by Joey Soloway. It stars Kathryn Hahn, Juno Temple, Josh Radnor, and Jane Lynch. The film premiered at the 2013 Sundance Film Festival, where it was awarded the U.S. Dramatic Directing Award. It was given a limited theatrical release in the United States on August 30, 2013.
Free Birds is a 2013 American animated science fiction comedy buddy film directed by Jimmy Hayward, who co-wrote the screenplay with the film's producer Scott Mosier. The film stars the voices of Owen Wilson, Woody Harrelson, and Amy Poehler, with supporting roles by George Takei, Colm Meaney, Keith David, and Dan Fogler. It follows Reggie and Jake, two turkeys who travel back to the first Thanksgiving to get turkey off the menu.
A Most Violent Year is a 2014 crime drama film written and directed by J. C. Chandor, who also co-produced with Neal Dodson and Anna Gerb. It stars Oscar Isaac as a fuel supplier who tries to adhere to his own moral compass amid the rampant violence, corruption and decay that threaten his family and business. The film also stars Jessica Chastain, David Oyelowo, Alessandro Nivola, and Albert Brooks.
The Pyramid is a 2014 American found footage supernatural horror film directed by Grégory Levasseur, in his directorial debut, produced by Alexandre Aja, and distributed by 20th Century Fox. The plot follows an archaeological team attempting to unlock the secrets of a lost pyramid only to find themselves hunted by an insidious creature. The film stars Ashley Hinshaw, Denis O'Hare, James Buckley, and Daniel Amerman. The Pyramid was released on December 5, 2014, and was negatively received by critics.
Person to Person is a 2017 American drama film directed and written by Dustin Guy Defa. The film stars Michael Cera, Tavi Gevinson, and Abbi Jacobson.
Christmas, Again is a 2014 drama romance film written, directed, and produced by Charles Poekel. The film features Kentucker Audley in the lead role as a Christmas-tree salesman returning to New York City. The film had its premiere at the 2014 Locarno International Film Festival in Switzerland and also screened at 2015 Sundance Film Festival in the United States.
The Velvet Underground is a 2021 American documentary film directed and produced by Todd Haynes that chronicles the life and times of the rock band the Velvet Underground.
Linoleum is a 2022 American science fiction comedy-drama film written and directed by Colin West and starring Jim Gaffigan.
As They Made Us is a 2022 American drama film written, directed and produced by Mayim Bialik, in her feature directorial debut. The film stars Dianna Agron, Simon Helberg, Candice Bergen, Dustin Hoffman, Julian Gant, Charlie Weber and Justin Chu Cary. The plot follows Abigail (Agron) and the last moments that she and her family spend with her dying father (Hoffman). It was released in theaters and on video on demand by Quiver Distribution on April 8, 2022. It received positive reviews from critics.
The Curb is an Australian website focused on Australian films. It is based in Perth, Western Australia.
The Searching film series consists of American mystery-thriller screenlife films, including two theatrical movies, and one theatrical-streaming exclusive film. The plot of each movie centers around parent-child relationships, and depict the use of public records through technology in investigations of true crime.