The Pervasive Injustices of ‘I May Destroy You’
“Problems do not vanish forever, so ‘I May Destroy You’ is about the constant fight. Repetition becomes revision. Paralysis becomes progress.”
George Kowalik
On Mimi Parker, ‘HEY WHAT’ and the Elevations of Low
“The lasting effect of Low’s music has never been more present than on ‘HEY WHAT.'”
London Film Festival Review: Noah Baumbach’s ‘White Noise’
“At its best, Noah Baumbach’s impressive and thoroughly decent adaptation of ‘White Noise’ interestingly discusses people’s relatable ownership of secrets yet complete inability to internalize them.”
London Film Festival Review: Mia Hansen-Løve’s ‘One Fine Morning’
“‘One Fine Morning’ is an exercise in comparatively calm, delicate cinema. It balances serenity with pathos and never strays from realism, in contradistinction to Hansen-Løve’s previous film — the highly metafictional, altogether more playful ‘Bergman Island.'”
The Enduring Legacy of LCD Soundsystem
“LCD Soundsystem’s enduring legacy has always perhaps been inevitable, not least because of the way that they make music ABOUT legacy, thematically and lyrically.”
‘Better Call Saul’ and Mechanisms of Obsessional Neurosis
“‘Better Call Saul’ is ultimately an interesting case study of adjacency that points to a more sustainable prequel model that television in general might wish to use in future.”
Finding Clarity in Claustrophobia: ‘Mass’ and ‘The Humans’
“In ‘Mass’ and ‘The Humans,’ the single location is used as a platform for ideas that seek universal understanding and collective empathy.”
Both the Sum and the Parts: Black Country, New Road’s ‘Ants from Up There’
“Black Country, New Road’s ‘Ants from Up There’ feels like a landmark moment in contemporary British alternative rock music.”
The Kendall-Shiv Opposition in ‘Succession’ Season 3
“The tension between spectator empathy and necessary critical distance are at the heart of Succession’s mixing pot of antiheroism and amorality, which is all that’s left when its humanism is squandered and its morally redemptive potential falls short.”
Julia Ducournau’s ‘Titane’: Influence, (Sur)Realism and the Avant-Garde
“Ducournau’s approach to cinematic lineage and influence in ‘Titane’ is a complicated one, as she develops her singular filmmaking style into something even more evasive and intricate than in ‘Raw.'”
The Great Unknown: Reading ‘Ferris Bueller’s Day Off’ Alongside Homer’s ‘Odyssey’
“If Ferris Bueller and his day off resemble something else universal, it is liberation. In the context of the journey, this is best understood as the ability to be in transit.”