Trapped in the Long Tomorrow: ‘Blade Runner’, Cyberpunk, and Our Stuck Future
Blade Runner serves our vision of an inevitable dystopian future because we live in a “stuck future”, refusing to heed cyberpunk’s warning.
drama
The King of Monsters Returns to His Roots in ‘Godzilla Minus One’
Takashi Yamasaki’s Godzilla Minus One returns to the roots of the origin story with essential drama that gives weight to the monstrous spectacle.
Fantasy Made Reality in William Oldroyd’s Adaptation of Ottessa Moshfegh’s ‘Eileen’
William Oldroyd and Thomasin McKenzie discuss sympathising with a young woman caught between fantasy and reality in the adaptation of Ottessa Moshfegh’s Eileen.
Getting High on Your Own Supply: ‘Scarface’ as an Allegory of Capitalism
Scarface implies that under capitalism, “getting high on your own supply” is inevitable, as the system is based on the exploitation of dissatisfaction.
Director Christos Nikou Scratches Below the Surface of ‘Fingernails’
Can love be determined by an algorithm? In our interview with director Christos Nikou, he scratches below the surface of his sci-fi romance, Fingernails.
Spoof of Spooks ‘Slow Horses: Season 3’ Is a Wild Ride
Slow Horses is acutely aware that it’s entertainment. Many scenes play like spoofs of the straight-faced crummy thrillers that pose as prestige cinema.
Twisted and Ambitious ‘The Curse’ Watches and Condemns Us
Satirizing the struggles of a married couple shooting an HGTV show, Showtime miniseries The Curse bends genres and points fingers to monstrous effect.
The Amplified Silence in Scorsese’s ‘Killers of the Flower Moon’
There are taboo subjects in the context of Indigenous Americans in Killers of the Flower Moon. Scorsese’s film only amplifies the silence surrounding them.
Todd Solondz’s Satire ‘Happiness’ Still Unsettles
Todd Solondz’s 1998 satire, Happiness, is a savage takedown of the family-focused, banal sitcoms of the decade with a message that resonates to this day.
American Mythology in Terrence Malick’s ‘Days of Heaven’
Days of Heaven questions modernity and neoliberalism while simultaneously critiquing the Agrarian Myth, Manifest Destiny, and the Myth of the Noble Savage.
‘The Queen of My Dreams’ Is Not What She Seems
Director Fawzia Mirza and actress Nimra Bucha on their generational dramedy The Queen of my Dreams and what it means when the queen is not what she seems.
‘Lessons in Chemistry’ Reminds We Can’t Have Everything
Lessons in Chemistry shows that our complicated, muddled lives are burdensome, and we must endure and subvert if we are to evolve and find our foothold.