JAKE COYLE

Film writer and critic

Coyle is a film writer and critic for The Associated Press.

This image released by Netflix shows Michael Fassbender as an assassin in a scene from "The Killer." (Netflix via AP)

Movie Review: In David Fincher’s ‘The Killer,’ an assassin hides in plain sight

“The Killer” is a terse, minimalist thriller in the cool, cold-hearted tradition of Jean Pierre Melville’s “Le Samouraï.”

★★★★

This image released by Participant/Pantelion Films shows Eugenio Derbez in a scene from "Radical." (Participant/Pantelion via AP)

Movie Review: In ‘Radical,’ an unorthodox teacher in a violent Mexican border town

“Radical” is a conventional but stirring entry in the crowded canon of uplifting educator tales like “Stand and Deliver,” “Lean on Me” and “The Class.”

This image released by Amazon Prime Video shows Gael Garcia Bernal in a scene from "Cassandro." (Amazon Prime Video via AP)

The strike has dimmed the spotlight on the fall’s best performances. Here’s 13 you shouldn’t miss

One of the many impacts of Hollywood’s lengthy actors strike has been that most performers haven’t been able to promote their work. Movies have continued to flow into theaters and onto streaming services, but without their usual promotional blitzes.

This image released by A24 shows Cailee Spaeny as Priscilla, in a scene from "Priscilla." (Sabrina Lantos/A24 via AP)

Movie Review: Teen dreams and adult nightmares in Sofia Coppola’s ‘Priscilla’

Dreamily gazing at the album covers of Elvis Presley was not, statistically speaking, a rare habit among American teen girls in the late 1950s and early ’60s. But for Priscilla Ann Wagner, teenage fantasy became a strange and surreal reality.

FILE - Tom Cruise attends the premiere of "Mission: Impossible, Dead Reckoning — Part One" at Jazz at Lincoln Center's Frederick P. Rose Hall, July 10, 2023, in New York. On Monday, Oct. 23, Paramount Pictures shifted the release date of the eighth installment of the “Mission: Impossible” franchise, “Dead Reckoning — Part Two,” from June 28 next year to May 23, 2025, signaling a new wave of release-schedule juggling for Hollywood studios as the SAG-AFTRA strike surpasses three months of work stoppage. (Photo by Evan Agostini/Invision/AP, File)

Next ‘Mission: Impossible’ delayed a year as actors strike drags on

The eighth installment of the “Mission: Impossible” franchise has been postponed a year, signaling a new wave of release schedule juggling for Hollywood studios as the actors strike surpasses three months of work stoppage.

This image released by Apple TV+ shows Robert De Niro, left, and Leonardo DiCaprio in a scene from "Killers of the Flower Moon." (Melinda Sue Gordon/Apple TV+ via AP)

Swift bests Scorsese at box office, but ‘Killers of the Flower Moon’ opens strongly

In a movie match-up almost as unlikely as “Barbie” and “Oppenheimer,” Martin Scorsese took on Taylor Swift in cinemas over the weekend.

This image released by Netflix shows Annette Bening as Diana Nyad in a scene from the film "Nyad." (Liz Parkinson/Netflix via AP)

Movie Review: In ‘Nyad,’ Jodie Foster swims away with a showcase for Annette Bening

In “Nyad,” there are two feats of perseverance on display. First, there is the ceaseless determination of Diana Nyad, played by Annette Bening, to accomplish a marathon swim from Cuba to Florida across 110 miles of open, shark-infested waters.

Filmmaker Errol Morris poses for a portrait to promote his film, "The Pigeon Tunnel" a documentary about John le Carré, during the Toronto International Film Festival, Tuesday, Sept. 12, 2023, in Toronto. (Photo by Joel C Ryan/Invision/AP)

Q&A: Errol Morris on his John le Carré documentary ‘The Pigeon Tunnel’

John le Carré, whose birth name was David Cornwell, died in 2020. But before his death, the author of “The Spy Who Came in From the Cold” and “Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy” sat down with documentarian Errol Morris for a series of interviews in the film “The Pigeon Tunnel.”

This image released by Apple TV+ shows Lily Gladstone, left, and director Martin Scorsese on the set of "Killers of the Flower Moon." (Melinda Sue Gordon/Apple TV+ via AP)

Martin Scorsese is still curious — and still awed by the possibilities of cinema

“Killers of the Flower Moon” is an audacious big swing by Martin Scorsese to continue his kind of ambitious, personal filmmaking on the largest scale at a time when such grand, big-screen statements are increasingly a rarity.

FILE - Director Raoul Peck poses for a portrait to promote his documentary film "Silver Dollar Road" during the Toronto International Film Festival on Sept. 9, 2023, in Toronto. (Photo by Joel C Ryan/Invision/AP, File)

Raoul Peck’s ‘Silver Dollar Road’ chronicles a Black family’s battle to hold onto their land

Raoul Peck’s “Silver Dollar Road” chronicles the story of the Reels family in North Carolina. For generations, the Reels have owned and lived on 65 waterfront acres, land that’s been in the family since the days of Reconstruction.

Actor Sandra Huller poses for a portrait to promote the film "Anatomy of a Fall" on Friday, Oct. 6, 2023, in New York. (Photo by Taylor Jewell/Invision/AP)

Sandra Hüller’s burdens of proof, in ‘Anatomy of a Fall’ and ‘Zone of Interest’

Since Justine Triet’s “Anatomy of a Fall” premiered at the Cannes Film Festival where it won the Palme d’Or, Sandra Hüller has been dogged by a question: Did she do it?

FILE - Taylor Swift performs during "The Eras Tour" in Nashville, Tenn., on May 5, 2023. Swift is releasing her "Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour” concert film on Oct. 13. (AP Photo/George Walker IV, File)

‘Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour’ will be a blockbuster — and might shake up the movie business

Movie theaters are readying for an onslaught like they’ve never seen before beginning Friday when “Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour” debuts.

This image released by Universal Pictures shows Ellen Burstyn, left, and Leslie Odom, Jr. in a scene from "The Exorcist: Believer." (Anne Marie Fox/Universal Pictures via AP)

Movie Review: ‘The Exorcist: Believer’ doesn’t desecrate the original but it won’t compel you

There may be no holier ground in horror than “The Exorcist.” As endlessly as William Friedkin’s 1973 film has been ripped off and resurrected, its power remains unalloyed.

★★★★

Aaron Jackson, from left, Josh Sharp and Bowen Yang pose for a portrait to promote the film "Dicks: The Musical" during the Toronto International Film Festival, Saturday, Sept. 9, 2023, in Toronto. (Photo by Joel C Ryan/Invision/AP)

With an audacious title and Bowen Yang playing God, ‘Dicks: The Musical’ dares to be gonzo

You don’t expect to see a movie named “Dicks: The Musical” on the marquee and neither did its makers.

FILE - Beyonce performs at a Get Out the Vote concert for Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton at the Wolstein Center in Cleveland, Ohio, Nov. 4, 2016. Beyoncé shined the brightest in a city full of Hollywood stars during the second night of her epic Renaissance Tour show on Saturday night, Sept 2, 2023. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik, File)

Beyoncé's Renaissance World Tour is over. But it’s coming to movie theaters soon

A documentary chronicling Beyoncé‘s just-concluded 39-city Renaissance World Tour will premiere in North American theaters Dec. 1, AMC Theaters announced Monday.

This image released by Neon shows a scene from "Ferrari." (Eros Hoagland/Neon via AP)

At the New York Film Festival, a sluggish fall movie season seeks a higher gear

Momentum has lately been hard to come by at the movies. The big trio of fall film festivals — Venice, Telluride, Toronto — came and went without the usual amount of buzz. With actors on strike, red carpets have been mostly bare.

Actor and SAG-AFTRA negotiator Frances Fisher, middle, raises her sign on a picket line outside Netflix studios on Tuesday, Sep. 26, 2023, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes)

In Hollywood writers’ battle against AI, humans win (for now)

After a 148-day strike, Hollywood screenwriters secured significant guardrails against the use of artificial intelligence in one of the first major labor battles over generative AI in the workplace.

FILE - Actor Fay Bainter, right, appears with actor Hattie McDaniel the night McDaniel won best supporting actress for her role in the 1939 film “Gone With the Wind” in Los Angeles on Feb. 29, 1940. McDaniel received a plaque, not an Oscar statuette, as was the custom for supporting actor winners of that era. The Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences has created a replacement of McDaniel's Academy Award plaque that it is gifting to Howard University. (AP Photo, File)

Film academy gifts a replacement of Hattie McDaniel’s historic Oscar to Howard University

Hattie McDaniel’s best supporting actress Oscar in 1939 for “Gone With the Wind” is one of the most important moments in Academy Award history.

This image released by Apple TV+ shows Eve Hewson, left, and Orén Kinlan in a scene from "Flora and Son." (Apple TV+ via AP)

Movie review: A star-making turn for Eve Hewson in the feel-good ‘Flora and Son’

John Carney, the Irish filmmaker of “Once,” “Sing Street” and “Begin Again,” makes the movie version of “three chords and the truth.”

Jerry Harrison, from left, David Byrne, Chris Frantz and Tina Weymouth, of the band Talking Heads pose for a portrait to promote the film "Stop Making Sense" during the Toronto International Film Festival, Monday, Sept. 11, 2023, in Toronto. (Photo by Joel C Ryan/Invision/AP)

Talking Heads on the once-in-a-lifetime ‘Stop Making Sense’

For nearly four decades, the Talking Heads documentary “Stop Making Sense” has exerted an inexorable pull on all who encounter the frenetic fever of arguably the finest concert film ever made.

Richard Linklater poses for a portrait to promote the film "Hit Man" during the Toronto International Film Festival, Sunday, Sept. 10, 2023, in Toronto. (Photo by Joel C Ryan/Invision/AP)

Richard Linklater’s movie ‘Hit Man,’ with Glen Powell, sells to Netflix for $20M

The Toronto International Film Festival may be over but it’s biggest sale has just gone through. Netflix has acquired Richard Linklater’s “Hit Man,” starring Glen Powell, for $20 million.

This image released by Warner Bros. Pictures shows Taissa Farmiga as Sister Irene in New Line Cinema's horror thriller "The Nun II." (Warner Bros. Pictures via AP)

‘Nun 2' narrowly edges ‘A Haunting in Venice’ over quiet weekend in movie theaters

“The Nun 2” and “A Haunting in Venice” virtually tied for the No. 1 spot in U.S. and Canadian theaters over the weekend, with a slight edge carrying the horror sequel over the Hercule Poirot mystery. That is according to studio estimates Sunday.

This image released by MGM shows Erika Alexander, left, and Jeffrey Wright in a scene from "American Fiction." (Claire Folger/MGM-Orion Releasing via AP)

‘American Fiction’ wins People’s Choice award at Toronto Film Festival

Cord Jefferson’s “American Fiction,” a biting satire starring Jeffrey Wright as a disillusioned academic, has won the People’s Choice Award at the Toronto International Film Festival, a much-watched bellwether in the Oscar race.

This image released by the Toronto International Film Festival shows a scene from the film "Les Indésirables." (Benjamin Seznec/TIFF via AP)

On movie screens in Toronto, home is a battleground

As the Toronto International Film Festival winds down after a week of wall-to-wall premieres, there has been no more fraught turf than the land that families try to eke out a life on, amid geopolitical storms knocking on the front door.

This image released by Amazon Prime Video shows Gael Garcia Bernal in a scene from "Cassandro." (Amazon Prime Video via AP)

Movie Review: ‘Cassandro,’ with Gael Garcia Bernal as a liberated luchador, is a winner

Anyone who has eagerly followed Gael Garcia Bernal since his breakthrough roles in “Amores Perros” and “Y tu mamá también” likely never foresaw him one day in the world of lucha libra wrestling.

Richard Linklater poses for a portrait to promote the film "Hit Man" during the Toronto International Film Festival, Sunday, Sept. 10, 2023, in Toronto. (Photo by Joel C Ryan/Invision/AP)

Richard Linklater’s ‘Hit Man,’ with a movie-star turn by Glen Powell, is a Toronto festival hit

There’s been no shortage of hit-man movies at film festivals this fall. You could line them up on a rooftop somewhere, each with their sniper rifles aimed out at audiences.

This image released by Netflix shows Jeffrey Mackenzie Jordan, left, and Colman Domingo as Bayard Rustin in a scene from "Rustin." (Parrish Lewis/Netflix via AP)

‘Rustin’ puts a spotlight on a undersung civil rights hero

Bayard Rustin, the civil rights activist and primary architect of the 1963 March on Washington, who often worked tirelessly out of the limelight, takes center stage in the new Netflix drama “Rustin.”

FILE - Louis C.K. appears at the Vanity Fair Oscar Party in Beverly Hills, Calif., on Feb. 28, 2016. A new documentary, "Sorry/Not Sorry," premiering at the Toronto International Film Festival delves into the allegations made against comedian Louis CK and the fallout for the women who came forward. (Photo by Evan Agostini/Invision/AP, File)

A new documentary reexamines the Louis CK scandal, 6 years later

A new documentary premiering at the Toronto International Film Festival examines the Louis C.K. scandal six years later.

This image released by Sony Pictures shows Paul Dano as Keith Gill in a scene from "Dumb Money." (Claire Folger/Sony Pictures via AP)

‘Dumb Money’ goes all in on the GameStop stock frenzy — and may come out a winner

Think of movies about the financial system and your mind is almost sure to go to Gordon Gekko and “Wall Street” or Leonardo DiCaprio’s gyrating Jordan Belfort in “The Wolf of Wall Street.”

Review: In ‘Tina,’ the final word from a legendary survivor

In the opening moments of the HBO documentary “Tina,” Tina Turner doesn’t just command the stage as she’s belting out “Ask Me How I Feel” for a giant stadium of fans.