The Power of Alternative History in Barry Jenkins’ Series’ ‘The Underground Railroad’
Barry Jenkins’ beautiful and brutal adaptation of Colson Whitehead’s alternative history, ‘The Underground Railroad’, indulges in compelling retro Afrofuturism.
Chris Barsanti
Chris Barsanti is an habitual scrivener on books and film for the lucky readers of PopMatters, Film Journal International, Film Racket, and Publishers Weekly, and has also been published in The Chicago Tribune, The Millions, The Barnes and Noble Review, and The Virginia Quarterly Review. He is a member of the National Book Critics Circle and New York Film Critics Online. His books include Filmology: A Movie-a-Day Guide to the Movies You Need to Know, Eyes Wide Open 2013: The Year's 25 Greatest Movies (and the 5 Worst), and The Sci-Fi Movie Guide: The Universe of Film from 'Alien' to 'Zardoz'. His writings can be found here.
‘Doom’ Illustrates Niall Ferguson’s Historical Flaws
While historian Niall Ferguson’s broad survey of human catastrophe, Doom, has erudition, insight, and sweep, it is frequently derailed by contrarian carping.
Ronald Brownstein Celebrates and Elegizes LA’s ’70s-Era Cultural Dominance
Ronald Brownstein’s ode to ’70s Los Angeles is, like so many California stories, less about a sustained moment than a bright and briefly thrilling mirage.
‘French Exit’ Resembles a Trans-Atlantic ‘Arrested Development’’
In deadpan funny ‘French Exit’ Michelle Pfeiffer and Lucas Hedges play a mother and son stubbornly resistant to the real world.
‘Coming 2 America’? Sure, Why Not?
Eddie Murphy and Arsenio Hall’s unasked-for sequel, ‘Coming 2 America’, clears its very low bar and reminds that Wesley Snipes is a damn movie star.
‘Soul City’ and the Southern Utopia that Never Was
Thomas Healy’s ‘Soul City’ shines a light on the obstacles Black activist Floyd McKissick faced to create an inclusive community in America.
‘The United States vs. Billie Holiday’ Makes Tragedy Tawdry
Lee Daniels’ melodramatic mess, ‘The United States vs. Billie Holiday’, squanders every chance to turn Holiday from a victim into a person.
Time-Transcending Paranoia in ‘The Parallax View’
Fear of unseen powers causing public tragedies was so widespread in 1974 America that filmmakers knew audiences would believe the corporate murder machine of The Parallax View.
How the Cultural Revolution Turned China Against Itself
Yang Jisheng's remarkable historical autopsy, The World Turned Upside Down, is scrupulous in detailing the Cultural Revolution's horrors and insanities but too often leaves out the human side of history.
Cerebral ‘Mank’ Is a Gabby and Stylized Origin Story for ‘Citizen Kane’
While this roustabout story about Herman Mankiewicz's battle to write the Orson Welles classic is clearly impressed with itself, Mank is easily David Fincher's best work since Zodiac.
Giddy and Buzzy ‘The Prom’ Compresses ‘Glee’ into a Single Film
Ryan Murphy's Netflix adaptation of the satirical musical about Broadway stars inserting themselves into a same-sex school dance controversy, The Prom, hits his sweet spots and his weaknesses.