A Trip to the Sensory Deprivation Tank: Comparing ‘Fringe’ and ‘Stranger Things’
“Perhaps, in an alternate-parallel-upside-down universe somewhere, Fringe was a massive sensation on Netflix or Amazon Prime.”
‘Modern Times’: Charlie Chaplin Finds Freedom in the Age of Industry
“‘Modern Times’ is emblematic of a ‘Hollywood realism,’ with a rather immaculate industrial setting, strategically tattered clothing and deliberately designed destitution.”
John Huston’s Legacy and ‘The Dead’ (1987)
John Huston’s talent was in the insinuation of the unseen environment lying beyond closed doors. Even in lesser films, like Key Largo, one can feel the cruel and merciless outdoor fighting beyond the set. Our comfort in life is temporary — an endless guerilla battle where humanity has been pitted against […]
Punk Celebrates Its 40th Birthday with a Night at the Movies
“Relying heavily on the sheer talent of its leading performers, and the loud boisterousness of the music that defined an era, Alex Cox’s ode to punk is pure Anarchy in the UK.”
What Has Been Seen Cannot Be Unseen: Kiyoshi Kurosawa’s ‘Pulse’
“The internet is nor symptom nor cure; it simply exists as another conduit for the best and worst habits we have.”
Of Love and Other Demons: ‘The Docks of New York’ (Josef von Sternberg, 1928)
A Weekly Column on Love and Erotica in Cinema by Justine A. Smith
Studio Ghibli Forever: An Initiation – ‘The Wind Rises’
“Almost as if something out of a Japanese elementary school history class, Miyazaki’s last Studio Ghibli film leaves me with a great sense of numbness rather than the invigorating wonder I have come to expect from the master of anime.”
Why Criticism: Bechdel and Comics as Film Criticism
A Column on Film Criticism by Justine A. Smith (@redroomrantings)
Two Drink Minimum: ‘BoJack Horseman’ Season 3 Recaps (Part 3 of 4)
Two Drink Minimum is a Comedy-Based Column by Jacob Oller.
Heroes and Villains: The Night Of ‘The Art of War’ (Recap)
“Naz is both incredibly lucky and liable to have his luck run out at any minute.”
Preacher Recap: ‘Call and Response’
Ryan E. Johnson on the season finale of AMC’s ‘Preacher.’
Two Drink Minimum: ‘BoJack Horseman’ Season 3 Recaps (Part 2 of 4)
“This may be the midpoint of the season, but it already feels like these cycles of self-delusion are about to crash.”
Of Love and Other Demons: ‘Suicide Club’ (Sion Sono, 2001)
A Weekly Column on Love and Erotica in Cinema by Justine A. Smith
Two Drink Minimum: ‘BoJack Horseman’ Season 3 Recaps (Part 1 of 4)
“Despite being under the ‘Two Drink Minimum’ banner, make no mistake: ‘BoJack Horseman’ is not a comedy.”
Studio Ghibli Forever: An Initiation – ‘Ponyo’
“Perhaps not the film for the adventurous young adult, Ponyo proves that remarkable visual inventiveness more-than makes up for candy-sweet morals and glass-fragile plot lines.”
Why Criticism: Jean Epstein and Photogénie
A Column on Film Criticism by Justine A. Smith
‘Indignation’ Has a Palpable Humanity to Its Fury
“Where Indignation deviates a little from its otherwise classical trappings is in its structure.”
Just Dropped In to See What Condition My Skin Condition Was In: The Night Of ‘A Dark Crate’ (Recap)
“There’s nothing more indicative of the flaws in HBO’s ‘The Night Of’ than Jack Stone’s eczema.”
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?”
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