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.”
Sequestered: American Crime Story ‘A Jury in Jail’ (Recap)
“Even if the focus on the jurors in ‘A Jury in Jail’ misfires, there’s more than enough territory left to explore as The People v. O.J. Simpson comes to a close.”
Review: Kirk Jones’ ‘My Big Fat Greek Wedding 2’
“MBFGW2 is like going to a Greek restaurant and ordering a sleeve of unsalted saltines.”
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.”
Recap: Girls ‘Queen for Two Days’
“I know I say this every week, but it must be said again: this is such a good season of Girls.”
Recap: Vinyl ‘Cyclone’
“‘Cyclone’ is the most trying episode of Vinyl yet for anyone less than fascinated with Bobby Cannavale’s Richie Finestra”
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
Review: Zoe Cassavetes’ ‘Day Out of Days’
“An unquestionably personal work, Day Out of Days exposes the inequity of Hollywood’s interior while highlighting just how important female voices are in telling the story of human existence.”
You Better Well Be the Ringmaster: American Crime Story ‘Conspiracy Theories’ (Recap)
“American Crime Story has done an impressive job of imbuing well-known facts with enough intrigue to make them play like gripping fiction, and ‘Conspiracy Theories’ is no exception.”
Donald Trump, ‘London Has Fallen’ and the So-Bad-It’s-Good Candidacy
“A once-pure appreciation of misplaced passion, the hallmark of so-bad-it’s-good entertainment has been capitalistically leveraged.”
Jacques Tardi Adaptation ‘April and the Extraordinary World’ Offers a Thrilling Alternate History
“The extraordinary world of April and the Extraordinary World is no simple one, and it’s welcome that its worldview veers away from the simplistic.”
Recap: Girls ‘Old Loves’
“The fourth episode of Girls’ still-terrific fifth season is the first point at which the end of the series comes into sharp focus.”
Recap: Vinyl ‘He in Racist Fire’
“There was a return this week, in grand fashion, of Horrible Coke Faces.”
Review: Gavin Hood’s ‘Eye in the Sky’
“Eventually, Hood can’t avoid the chance to step up to the pulpit and offer a stance. But even as the film orchestrates its grandly emotional and proudly manipulative climax, it means nothing and everything.”
Review: Dan Trachtenberg’s ’10 Cloverfield Lane’
“True to form, the narrative beats of 10 Cloverfield Lane do unspool more than progress, but the difference is that they’re always based in character.”