Preacher Recap: ‘Finish the Song’
“In many ways, the first season of AMC’s ‘Preacher’ has led to a slow descent into damnation for its characters.”
Cult Vault, Part Three: On Campy, Queer Figureheads In ‘Mommie Dearest’ and ‘The Rocky Horror Picture Show’
“So, what is it about these two figureheads of cult film that makes them so iconically and definitively camp?”
Of Love and Other Demons: ‘Cold Fish’ (Sion Sono, 2010)
A Weekly Column on Love and Erotica in Cinema by Justine A. Smith
Fantasia Fest 2016 (Video): Justine Peres Smith Interviews Adam Nimoy, Director of ‘For the Love of Spock’
Fantasia International Film Festival 2016: Justine A. Smith Interviews Adam Nimoy
Studio Ghibli Forever: An Initiation – ‘Howl’s Moving Castle’
“Abandoning messages of environmentalism and nonviolence, ‘Howl’s Moving Castle’ abandons the narrative moralities that typify the director’s style.”
Why Criticism: The Inexpressible ‘House of Psychotic Women’ by Kier-La Janisse
A Column on Film Criticism by Justine A. Smith
The Aural Horrors of Dario Argento’s ‘Suspiria’
“Can hearing something be scarier than seeing something?”
Two Drink Minimum: Mandie Fletcher’s ‘Absolutely Fabulous: The Movie’
“It’s like hanging out with your spoiled great aunt at Thanksgiving for an hour until she gets plastered and ruins everything.”
Classes, Clashes and the City of Michelangelo Antonioni’s ‘Le amiche’
“With ‘Le amiche,’ Antonioni further bridges the gap between comparatively conservative melodrama and the groundbreaking narrative and visual abstraction he would soon unleash.”
The Agony and the Eczema: The Night Of ‘Subtle Beast’ (Recap)
“Beyond racial insensitivity, the opening hours of ‘The Night Of’ have been marked by attempts at complexity which end up doing little to give characters depth.”
We Failed This Film: Joe Carnahan’s ‘The A-Team’ (2010)
A Series by Dylan Moses Griffin
Preacher Recap: ‘El Valero’
“As it’s proven in its previous episodes, ‘Preacher’ is not a show that markets in hope, and all that Jesse has left in his wake so far is a boy sent to Hell, a lost church, broken relationships and a dead dog.”
Of Love and Other Demons: ‘Tokyo Tribe’ (Sion Sono, 2014)
A Weekly Column on Love and Erotica in Cinema by Justine A. Smith
‘Adult Life Skills’ Boasts a Commanding Performance from Jodie Whittaker
“Two personified thumbs up.”
Studio Ghibli Forever: An Initiation – ‘Spirited Away’
“A careful reframing of the typical coming-of-age narrative, ‘Spirited Away’ displays a fondness those infinitely awkward years, while showing us all how important they were in making us who we are today.”
Why Criticism: James Agee – From Critic to Filmmaker
A Column on Film Criticism by Justine A. Smith
Two Drink Minimum: Dan Kwan and Daniel Scheinert’s ‘Swiss Army Man’
“Sing along with a corpse and come out the other side appreciating the bus ride home.”
Two Drink Minimum: ‘The Secret Life of Pets’, Looney Tunes and Animated Logic
“A series of goofy images isn’t a comedy.”
Chekhov’s Dogma: The Night Of ‘The Beach’ (Recap)
“The episode stumbles by dogmatically adhering to Chekhov’s gun more than is necessary or beneficial, but the talents of Zaillian, Price and the cast still give ‘The Night Of’ an excellent start.”
Preacher Recap: ‘He Gone’
“Viewers surely know that it’s not God behind Jesse’s powers, and ‘Preacher’ is about to unveil what evils Jesse will allow himself in order to save his land, and his life.”