Category: Film
A Holy Dildo and a Little Bit of (Sapphic) Ecstasy: Benedetta
At a nunnery in the small Italian village of Pescia, called the Convent of Theatines, a girl named Benedetta (played at the beginning by Elena [Read More…]
Rashomon for Rape: The Last Duel
Told from three separate perspectives, Ridley Scott begins his epic narrative, The Last Duel on 29 December 1386—apparently, it takes going that far back in [Read More…]
Sean Penn Continues to be Madonna’s Most Embarrassing Ex After His Comments on Masculinity
Being a gay icon, part of the reason for Madonna’s status as such also stems from her flavor for overly butch men (so “butch” to [Read More…]
Meta Never Ends: Scream (2022) Takes Up the Mantle for Scream 4
In 1996, it was the Spice Girls who claimed that “friendship never ends.” The same year, perhaps Scream was establishing its own unspoken aphorism: “meta [Read More…]
But What Actually Happened to Jennifer By Staying in Pleasantville?: A Space-Time Continuum Conundrum
While there are many “suspension of disbelief” moments to be had in Gary Ross’ 1998 film, Pleasantville (including how Betty and George didn’t know what [Read More…]
Go Play Your Video Games: Free Guy and Pleasantville
For a movie that could have theoretically been just another “blip” of the 90s, Pleasantville has clearly been on some people’s minds of late. First, [Read More…]
The Alchemy of Torment in The Card Counter
The thing one can immediately observe about Paul Schrader’s visual style in The Card Counter is that he wants you to notice how shitty America [Read More…]
Silent Night: A Different Kind of Apocalypse Scenario Than the One in Seeking A Friend For the End of the World (Intermixed With Quietus Vibes)
A recent revisit to the not-so-far-fetched world of Children of Men reminded of a certain very useful tool that the government ought to start handing [Read More…]
The Anti-Lolita: Peter Bogdanovich’s Paper Moon
Peter Bogdanovich was perhaps that rare breed of director who was actually better as a result of starting out as a film critic (whereas Quentin [Read More…]
When You Think Your Mother’s a Bitch, Remember That Motherhood Is One: The Lost Daughter
Obscure, dark, murky. These are the words that more fittingly translate from the title of Elena Ferrante’s 2006 novel La Figlia Oscura. In translation, it [Read More…]
