Cinema
A collection of 97 posts
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.
Thoughts on Longevity
Contemplation of such great age is intrinsically moving, perhaps because it releases us from the oppressive clamour of the moment.
A Rainy Day in New York—A Review
This is the territory with which Allen feels most familiar and confident—a spare, crisp, and yet intricately plotted tale that juggles characters and situations with sensitivity and bathos.
Death of an Old-Fashioned Clown: An Obituary of Fred Willard
Fred Willard was a kind of Holy Fool even among fools.
Easy Rider: 50 Years Looking for America—A Review
Bingen is right about one thing, though: Easy Rider really is an important movie—much more important than a simple measure of its quality would suggest—which is probably why the American Film Institute, among others, continues to rate it so highly.
Nineteen of the Loneliest Films Ever Made
Some of them are stylish pop art or lowbrow trash—depending on how initiated you are with their appeal. But they will also make you cry or simply stare at the screen with a detached jaw as you begin to rethink their implications behind your sterilized walls.
Farewell, My Lovely
Chinatown is a remarkable blend of screenwriter Robert Towne and director Roman Polanski’s antipodal sensibilities.
So Here's to You, Buck Henry
Most of us are distant spectators to the roped-off paintings that line the museums inside our aesthetic imaginations. Some of the pieces have been removed; others don’t have appropriate labels.
'The Report' Review—A Careful Examination of the CIA's Interrogation Methods
As unpleasant as this kind of harsh treatment was, defenders of EITs maintained that it fell short of torture.
'White Christmas' and the Triumphs of the Greatest Generation
Viewed as a romantic comedy, a bromance, or a musical, White Christmas may seem like just a lightweight piece of Hollywood fluff. But considered as a hymn to post-war America, it acquires additional depth.
'The Rise of Jordan Peterson'—A Review
The Rise of Jordan Peterson constructs a kaleidoscopic narrative that enables the viewer to look at the same sequence of events in several different ways.
Fear of a White Joker: When Did the Left Stop Caring About Crime's Root Causes?
The key to reducing violence amongst any demographic is in ascertaining the specific attributes of violent individuals.
'Cancel Culture,' Roaring Twenties-Style
The term “cancel culture” has become hotly contested of late. Critics say it is indiscriminately used to describe different degrees of mass opprobrium produced by transgressions that range from the trivial to the criminal. Now, while mob justice is never a particularly good idea, it is certainly true that some
Once Upon a Time...Film Critics Became Joyless—A Review
Tarantino is quintessentially American. He lets us linger and watch Tate in all her Technicolor radiance. He lets us love her. What’s more, he lets her watch and love herself.