Dudley’s World: ‘Victoria’ and the Surprising Comforts of a One-Take Thriller
A Column by Jordan Brooks
Devil in the Details: On Guillermo del Toro and ‘Crimson Peak’
“Perhaps he is finding a way to explore the realm of the fantastic in a new way, a more honest way. Honest, but even more horrifying.”
Cult Vault, Part One: Female Sexuality as Camp Comedy in ‘Showgirls’ and ‘Burlesque’
“In a camp performance, female sexuality can be turned back around to reveal that these traditionally patriarchal ideals aren’t always as attractive as imagined.”
‘The Huntsman: Winter’s War’ Turns Snow White Into Keyser Söze
“Considering how little ‘Winter’s War’ really has to do with its predecessor and subject, they might as well just make her the lead for a third film.”
‘Southbound’ and the Anatomy of a Horror Anthology
“If the director’s approach to the material isn’t to your liking — say he’s too harsh to his characters or revels in gore for gore’s sake — a new direction, even within the confines of the broad horror genre, is just around the corner.”
DMG’s Jeff Nichols RetroSpecial: ‘Midnight Special’ (2016)
“Jeff Nichols remains one of the greatest working American directors, and no studio interference can ever dilute that.”
The Feminine Grotesque #7: She’s a Loaded Gun – On ‘The Last Seduction’
“As Bridget Gregory in ‘The Last Seduction,’ Linda Fiorentino is like the shock of hearing a gunshot in the dead of night. She embodies, more than any other character, the ethos of the modern femme fatale.”
Of Love and Other Demons: ‘Dark Habits’ (Pedro Almodóvar, 1983)
A Weekly Column on Love and Erotica in Cinema by Justine A. Smith
The Allegory of Emotional Abuse in Tahmineh Milani’s ‘Two Women’
“From the safe, warm college campus scenarios that unfold in bathrooms, bus stops and classrooms, we see fringes of an increasingly conservative religious movement nipping at the edges of the screen.”
The Feminine Grotesque #6: Neon Nightmare – On ‘Jawbreaker’
A Series by Angelica Jade Bastién
Vaguebande: Luis Buñuel’s ‘Un Chien Andalou’ (1929)
A Column by Q.V. Hough
We Failed This Film: Darren Aronofsky’s ‘The Fountain’ (2006)
A Series by Dylan Moses Griffin
Of Love and Other Demons: ‘Viridiana’ (Luis Buñuel, 1962)
A Weekly Column on Love and Erotica in Cinema by Justine A. Smith
The Exquisite Surreality of Luis Buñuel’s ‘The Exterminating Angel’
“A comically surreal masterpiece, Luis Buñuel’s The Exterminating Angel proves an enduring and lighthearted experience, time after time, each viewing influenced by the last, and each new symbolic theory dashed moment by moment.”
Realism and Subjectivity in Luis Buñuel’s ‘Los Olvidados’
“The realism of Los Olvidados is balanced by striking moments of subjectivity, and they’re crucial to the film’s particular representation of urban poverty.”
The Subversive Power of ‘Pee-wee’s Big Adventure’
“Thirty years after its release, the gender play, sexual politics and physical comedy shine as brightly as the 100-watt headlight on its star’s beloved bike.”
‘The Young One’ Sees Luis Buñuel Tackle the American South
“With The Young One, Buñuel rejects the surrealism that would define his early films and almost all the European work that followed, presenting a rather straightforward narrative with superficial similarities to a Tennessee Williams screenplay.”
The Insular Visions of ‘Krisha’
“It’s too late to force her way back to a seat at the table. She should have never tried to get closer.”
The Feminine Grotesque #5: Lilith’s Heir – On ‘The Strange Love of Martha Ivers’
A Series by Angelica Jade Bastién
Of Love and Other Demons: ‘Alucarda’ (Juan López Moctezuma, 1978)
A Weekly Column on Love and Erotica in Cinema by Justine A. Smith