Belief in Justice: American Crime Story ‘The Verdict’ (Recap)
“It’s hard to tell from the show what exactly Alexander and Karaszewski believe about Simpson’s guilt, but that doesn’t keep them from being any less interested in him as a human being.”
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.”
Recap: Girls ‘Hello Kitty’
“Girls is so fucking good this year.”
Recap: Vinyl ‘E.A.B.’
“Because, man, when Vinyl sucks, it really sucks. But when it doesn’t suck… it doesn’t suck. Read that back as early 70s Iggy Pop, it’s a better line that way.”
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.”
Review: Robert Budreau’s ‘Born to Be Blue’
“Budreau is smart enough to illuminate the non-existent divide between the master performer and the man who sticks a needle in his arms, as Baker knows that he needs to stay clean to keep working, but only heroin can numb the pain.”
Of Love and Other Demons: ‘Dark Habits’ (Pedro Almodóvar, 1983)
A Weekly Column on Love and Erotica in Cinema by Justine A. Smith
Tempering Irony: American Crime Story ‘Manna from Heaven’ (Recap)
“However much we’ve laughed at the characters in the preceding episodes, ‘Manna from Heaven’ focuses on understanding why they act as they do.”
Review: Alice Winocour’s ‘Disorder’
“It is rare for a film to look objectively at war’s after effects and the violence it instills on its participants, and yet Alice Winocour’s Disorder is not concerned with pity or ferocity.”
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.”
Recap: Girls ‘The Panic in Central Park’
“‘The Panic in Central Park’ is a richly realized half hour of television, maybe the best episode in the history of a show that’s had some awfully good ones.”
Recap: Vinyl ‘The King and I’
“Is there any point to Richie being an asshole? Is Richie even a character? What is it about Richie Finestra as a protagonist that requires this story be set in the early 70s?”
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