Brutal and Unreformed
Sam Peckinpah’s ‘Straw Dogs’ at 50.
Charlotte Allen
· 33 min read
Cinema
A collection of 95 posts
In Praise of the Novelization—Pop Fiction's Least Reputable Genre
This month brings us the release of Quentin Tarantino’s Once Upon a Time in Hollywood. No, not the film. That came out in 2019. But now HarperCollins is publishing a novelization, written by Tarantino himself, and based on the earlier film. This particular type of fiction—the bastard offspring
Kevin Mims
· 20 min read
When Norman Jewison Turned His Camera on the Ultimate Superstar
Jewison, by contrast, had found himself both “curiously moved” and “flooded with exciting visual images” upon first hearing the album.
Ira Wells
· 12 min read
Remembering John Ball, the Writer Who Gave Us Virgil Tibbs
Sidney Poitier, who retired from acting 20 years ago, turned in many unforgettable screen performances over a career that spanned the entire second half of the 20th century. But his best known is almost certainly his portrayal of police officer Virgil Tibbs, the protagonist of Norman Jewison’s 1967 film
Kevin Mims
· 20 min read
'Allen v. Farrow': Intellectually Dishonest Propaganda Meets Emotional Blackmail
There is no doubt that part of the goal of Allen v. Farrow was to finish off both Allen’s career and his legacy by presenting a definitive guilty verdict in the court of public opinion.
Cathy Young
· 26 min read
Before 'Groundhog Day': The Time-Loop Novel that Started It All
On March 4th, the Ringer, a website that covers pop culture, featured an article entitled “We’re in a Time Loop of Time-Loop Movies.” Similar articles have appeared in many other pop-culture venues of late. Suddenly, time-loop stories seem to be everywhere. This month Hulu began streaming director Joe Carnahan’
Kevin Mims
· 11 min read
Struggling with Pixar’s 'Soul'
If heaven needs to be segregated, what hope does Earth have?
Colm O'Shea
· 12 min read
Carl Th. Dreyer's 'Day of Wrath' and the Power of the Punished
It is difficult to believe in heaven, but it is also difficult not to believe in a heaven.
Matthew Wardour
· 7 min read
Ray Russell's Incubus: A Lost Gem from America's Twentieth Decade
Hard as it might be to believe, the years that stretched from roughly 1967 through the bicentennial year of 1976 brought even more foment, outrage, unrest, and upheaval to America than the most recent decade has managed. The escalation of the Vietnam War, the student protests against that war, the
Kevin Mims
· 15 min read
Tennessee Williams and Woody Allen: Kindred Spirits to Illuminate our Tragicomic Existence
Allen and Williams are united by a sensibility that can be described as tragicomic, even if each inflects it differently.
Paul Hawkins
· 8 min read
The Hustler and the Queen
NOTE: This essay contains spoilers. The surprise success of the Netflix miniseries The Queen’s Gambit has brought me a great deal of delight—I’m a longtime fan of both the novel and its author, Walter Tevis. Just this summer, I wrote an essay about all the great American
Kevin Mims
· 14 min read
A Reasoned Judgment and a Reputation in Ruins
Depp has found that using the law to defend your reputation is a very expensive way of shattering it.
Matthew Scott
· 10 min read
What We Owe to ‘The Boys in the Band’—and Other Classics of Gay Film
I’m grateful to every straight director, actor, and writer who has taken up the cause over the last 60 years, and to their closeted friends and colleagues who inspired them.
Allan Stratton
· 15 min read
Don’t Listen to the Outrage. ‘Cuties’ Is a Great Film
Allan Stratton
· 12 min read
Remembering Reinaldo Arenas and His Enduring Lessons on Repression, Torment, and Exile
All in all, more than 130,000 set sail on rafts and boats made of rotten wood, house doors, truck tires, and anything else that could float.
Jorge C. Carrasco
· 7 min read