WandaVision’s Grief Is America’s Grief
To cope with her grief WandaVision‘s Wanda reverts to a comforting but false alternate reality set in idealized 1950s America. Sound familiar?
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King Hu’s ‘Raining in the Mountain’ Is Rich with Gorgeous Atmosphere
The quiet, extended scenes in King Hu's Raining in the Mountain are full of beauty as well as tension and anticipation.
Sundance 2021: Sion Sono’s Gonzo ‘Prisoners of the Ghostland’
Prisoners of the Ghostland, starring a whacked-out Nicholas Cage, is exciting, wild, bold, and joyfully ridiculous -- pretty much what you expect from a Sion Sono film.
The Mandalorian’s Political Allegory: Diversity Is the Way
When the president of Lucasfilm Kathleen Kennedy announced there will be more than 10 Star Wars shows and films coming out, she declared that popular culture is a space of diversity. All stories can and should be told simultaneously and adjacently.
The Risky and Limited Life of Burt Reynolds’ Macho ‘Hooper’
Burt Reynolds' Sonny Hooper is a carefree and lovable guy whose reckless stunt pro lifestyle symbolizes the self-troubles and limitations toxic masculinity creates.
Forest Whitaker Film ‘Ghost Dog’ Is a Sampler’s Paradise
Jarmusch's 1999 classic Ghost Dog, now in a Criterion edition, freely mixes and matches Bushido philosophy, Mafia and samurai flicks, Ryūnosuke Akutagawa, and lo-fi hip-hop into a sly and dreamy comedy about role-playing.
‘Captain America: Civil War’ Mirrors Another Kind of American Civil War
In the Russo Brothers' Captain America: Civil War, friend turns on friend, and no easy resolution is reached. It's rather like the toxic online fan culture that followed the film's release.
Jacking-in to Kathryn Bigelow’s Lost Classic ‘Strange Days’
Cyberthriller Strange Days is the Kathryn Bigelow version of a Brian De Palma film—interrogating the male gaze of the immoral.
How ‘Watchmen’ and ‘The Boys’ Deconstruct American Fascism
Superhero media has a history of critiquing the dark side of power, hero worship, and vigilantism, but none have done so as radically as Watchmen and The Boys.
‘Avatar: The Last Airbender’ Nudges Out Conscience in Our Time of Crises
Avatar shows us that to fight for only the people we know, for simply the things that affect us personally, is neither brave nor heroic, nor particularly useful.
‘Spider-Man: Far From Home’ Makes the Most of Meta Commentary
Spider-Man: Far From Home ties up the themes of deception and Trump-era media manipulation and it ensures that the next Spider-Man film will be completely different from anything that came before.