Congrats — and welcome back to NYC — to Manohla Dargis, who returns, in print at least, to the Big Apple as film critic for the New York Times. She replaces Elvis Mitchell, who left last month, and joins A.O. “Tony” Scott and Stephen Holden.

According to Nikki Finke’s piece, Dargis, who is being allowed to stay in L.A., was hired as much for her ability to write longer film think pieces as for her daily reviewing. Dargis has always figured out how to strike that balance between thoughtful ideas and rhetorical provocation, so here’s hoping that the Sunday Arts and Leisure section becomes more of a read with her there.