“In ‘Vox Lux,’ pop music is an emblem of pop culture and the distractions we use to soften the growing trauma of the nation. It also plays into the main question that Corbet raises: just how long can we cling onto pop culture before society gets so bad that nothing will help?”
“Perhaps dismissing von Trier’s work is the right course of action for those that have never found anything to connect to in his films. As for the rest of us (women)… the relationship will only continue to take warped, strained forms.”
“‘Scrooged’ carries on Dickens’ themes and message in a way that speaks the most directly and urgently to its audience, teaching that “the miracle” of giving can happen to all of us, at any time. Provided, of course, we can turn off the TV for just long enough.”
“Films like ‘Rocky II’ age well because the moments that now seem anachronistic serve to shed light on problems we still have today, delivered by the kind of characters viewers can sympathise with, even if one doesn’t agree with all their opinions.”
“As a largely disregarded noir B-side, ‘Pushover’ deliberately recalls its more famous predecessor, playing upon audience expectations of MacMurray’s screen persona to create an experience of déjà vu.”
“The body and the mind, and the horror therein, may be renewed through a metamorphosis of perception, as there is hope to be found in letting it, whatever it is, grow.”
“As much as ‘Hoop Dreams’ concerns the sports-centric plight of William and Arthur, it is perhaps even more significantly an illustrative case study of what perpetually imperils men (and women) of a certain social, economic and racial constitution.”
“‘Freddy vs. Jason’ is — like almost all horror movies — a signpost for the anxieties of an era, looking much like the prestige horror movies of today will look from the vantage point of the next decade.”