Recap: Hannibal ‘Aperitivo’
“This week’s hour was the first of the season not directed by Vincenzo Natali, and his aesthetic sensibility/attention to detail feels missing throughout the episode.”
Intimate Observations: True Detective ‘The Western Book of the Dead’ (Recap)
“This is Los Angeles pulp fiction — not a mystical world of sky monsters and poetic speeches.”
Review: David Gordon Green’s ‘Manglehorn’
“Seldom more than a vehicle for Pacino to exercise his considerable (and still active) talents, Manglehorn is a string of engaging and breathtaking images that, when strung together, become a subdued meandering plot devoid of any real meaning.”
Recap: Hannibal ‘Secondo’
“Hannibal’s origins become comparable to the Joker in The Dark Knight: there are possible explanations for why he is the way he is, but none of them seem to be wholly accurate…”
Review: Miroslav Slaboshpitsky’s ‘The Tribe’
“The film is nothing if not an audacious directorial debut; a grand, horrifying cinematic mission statement that might particularly appeal to the likes of Michael Haneke and, especially, Gaspar Noé.”
This House Is Not a Home: On John Cassavetes’ Troubled Families
An Essay by Phuong Le
Game of Thrones Recap: ‘Mother’s Mercy’
“Game of Thrones may disappear from the conversation for brief lulls, but it always returns with full force — it is doing something right.”
Recap: Hannibal ‘Primavera’
“After the intense aesthetic focus of last week’s “Antipasto,” Hannibal’s shift in character focal point for this week’s “Primavera” brings with it a different thematic center: religion.”
Recap: Game of Thrones ‘The Dance of Dragons’
“Now in its fifth season, Game of Thrones has long settled in the category of dread built on anticipation.”
Recap: Hannibal ‘Antipasto’
“Without a definite timeline to hold onto, we’re left to focus on the visual minutiae, and, as always, this might be the most fascinating aspect of Hannibal.”
Review: Stéphane Lafleur’s ‘Tu dors Nicole’
“Change doesn’t always have to be monumental, and small films like Tu dors Nicole can still be great without high stakes.”
Recap: Louie ‘The Road Part 2’
Max Bledstein on the ‘Louie’ Season 5 Finale
Love in the Time of Cabiria
An Essay by Kyle Turner
Review: Adam Carolla and Nate Adams’ ‘Winning: The Racing Life of Paul Newman’
“A plethora of heart-pounding footage (race and off-track) is at the heart and soul of Winning: The Racing Life of Paul Newman.”
Recap: Game of Thrones ‘The Gift’
“The threat of rape hangs over all the women of Game of Thrones, and it is beginning to weigh on the audience.”
Review: Gil Kenan’s ‘Poltergeist’
“This Poltergeist is an efficient, amiably entertaining riff on an established thrill ride, but the film does little to spook long-term.”
Recap: Louie ‘The Road Part 1’
“One assumes that C.K. won’t spend the entire season finale depicting the further redemption of his protagonist, so it’s certainly conceivable that “The Road: Part Two” will bring new dimensions to the arc. As of now, though, it doesn’t appear to offer much.”
Review: Collin Schiffli’s ‘Animals’
“Crossing the boundaries of reality, Animals tackles drug abuse from an insider’s perspective by inviting the audience to share in an experience so uniquely alienating, it is impossible to fully comprehend.”
‘Lacombe, Lucien’ and the Early Novels of Patrick Modiano: ‘La Place de l’étoile (The Place of the Star)’
“Out of the author’s first three novels, this might be the one that stays far from the themes of Lacombe, Lucien, and surely is the one that feels more juvenile, as La Place de l’étoile was published when Modiano was 23 years old.”
The Occupation Quadrilogy: ‘Lacombe, Lucien’ and the Early Novels of Patrick Modiano
An Introduction to Jaime Grijalba’s Series on Patrick Modiano