Canned Memories: The Presentation of Time in ‘Chungking Express’
“By dissecting and re-representing time through the cinematic apparatus, ‘Chungking Express’ demonstrates that modern life is not unequivocally devoid of romanticism.”
The Loneliness of the Contract Killer: Music in ‘Murder by Contract’
“It’s telling that all of the human interactions in ‘Murder by Contract’ involve either money or business. The illusions of the profit motive and market forces have alienated Claude from his own emotions and left him broken and alone.”
‘Neon Genesis Evangelion’: Subversion, Psychoanalysis and the Lasting Appeal of Demanding Art
“In ‘Evangelion,’ youth is depicted not as an event to look back on with nostalgia, but as an arduous task to be overcome. Shinji’s story is one that demands he confront rather than escape…”
Ghosts in the Hills: On the Haunting of Hollywood
“Sometimes, films set in and around Hollywood manage to capture a sense about the place that’s strange and uncanny, a place in love with its past and afraid of its future, leaving nothing but ghosts behind to haunt the hills, and to walk the empty mansions.”
Fated, Faithful, Fatal: Ranking and Reviewing 25 years of Marilyn Manson
Mike Thorn on 25 Years of Marilyn Manson
Everything But the Beak and Feet: ’10 Things I Hate About You’ at 20
“‘10 Things I Hate About You’ has that slap-you-in-the-face energy. Wake up, it shouts, teen movies can be smart, empowering, entertaining and funny all at once. And they really don’t get much better than this.”
A Waning Arcadia: Early 80s Punk Cinema
“The characters in ‘Ladies and Gentlemen, the Fabulous Stains,’ ‘Smithereens’ and ‘Suburbia’ find in punk rock a convenient shorthand for authenticity, a posture which presages its eventual absorption into the very mechanisms it sets out to oppose.”
Attack the Headlines: How Joe Cornish’s Films Subvert Gloomy British News Stories
“That Cornish has managed to make two films that can easily be viewed as thoughtful ruminations on the state of Britain in the centre of two national crises should be applauded.”
An Exploration of Bonds, Losses and Resilience in Hirokazu Kore-eda’s Family Dramas
“Kore-eda has the caring, loving eyes of a father who cannot help but follow all his children walking hand in hand towards the horizon.”
The Kids Aren’t Alright: A Preview of Rendez-Vous with French Cinema 2019
Marshall Shaffer on Film Society of Lincoln Center’s Rendez-Vous with French Cinema 2019
Hope and Despair: Paul Schrader’s ‘First Reformed’ Screenplay
“For Paul Schrader, First Reformed’s visual style realizes ideas of transcendental style that he first theorized at the beginning of his career. But that style only works because it serves the story and character he crafted so carefully.”
A Divine Madness: Gregory La Cava’s ‘Gabriel Over the White House’
“There is little doubt that ‘Gabriel Over the White House’ was a test balloon of sorts, priming the audience for a discussion on the merits of the strongman leader, asking them what they would be willing to sacrifice in order to ameliorate the national plight.”
‘Finding Dory,’ Restoring Relationships and Finding a Way to View Mental Illness
“Sometimes, there’s a moment in your life when you’re experiencing something that perfectly intersects with a character on screen.”
Out Among the Stars: Warren Beatty Reflects on Revolution in ‘Reds’
“Just as Reed’s real-life contemporaries reflect on the revolutionary ideals of their era in ‘Reds,’ Beatty bears witness to his own, staring down a massive canvas of his contemporaries’ successes and failures, the romance of their innovations and the exclusionary nature of their excess.”
Fight Like a Man: The ‘Rocky’ Series and Masculinity
“The ‘Rocky’ films have given us great heroes. Their protagonists are sweet and kind, courageous and indominable. They have given us so much to cheer for. But they’ve also grown out of an idea of masculinity that is deeply, meaningfully flawed.”
Hell Hath No Fury: How Women Dominated Horror in 2018
“The future of horror isn’t female, it’s the present. And it’s about bloody time.”
We Are Our Media: ‘Assassination Nation’ and Pop Art Society
“Part of me expects something as grandiose as ‘Assassination Nation’ to happen in real life, and that’s what’s especially terrifying.”
‘Glass’ Is a Superhero Movie for People Who Like Analyzing Superhero Movies
“Where DC trades in grim realism and Marvel does the whole snarky, joke-a-minute thing, the Shyamalanverse is a flavor all its own, a world where superheroes exist, but they don’t wear capes and their lives are usually pretty awful.”
Multiple Maniacs: ‘Split’ and the Uncanny
“Despite sharing a universe with ‘Unbreakable,’ M. Night Shyamalan’s ‘Split’ fits into a deeper cinematic legacy of psychosexual horror, one that speaks to our sense of the uncanny…”
‘The Village’: A Slow Burner Fueled by Power Lies
“‘The Village’ is indeed a fantastic movie, and one that deserves more credit. That is the twist that actually matters.”