Recent

'Ad Astra' Does Daddy Issues Well

Ad Astra has the astronomical humanism of Interstellar mixed with the morose nihilism of Apocalypse Now, fueled by a booster rocket of daddy issues.

Film

'Ad Astra' Says Goodbye to the Great White God

At its better moments, James Gray and Dan Bradley's Ad Astra brings forth larger themes beyond the usual space action-thriller.

Film

A Private Revolution: Jean-Luc Godard's Second Wave

Jean-Luc Godard's cinematic oddities First Name: Carmen, Détective, and Hélas pour moi, newly released on Blu-ray from Kino Lorber, embody the vast landscape of possibilities open to the director during the '80s and '90s.

Film

'Official Secrets' Is a Devastating Reminder of the Power of Deception

Gavin Hood's thriller about British whistleblower Katharine Gun's attempt to stop the Iraq War, Official Secrets, is nothing special artistically, but its intense relevance burns the screen.

Film

The Primal Instinct that Drives Wild Things in 'Gone to Earth' and 'The Wild Heart'

Powell and Pressburger's Gone to Earth, and David O. Selznick's revision, The Wild Heart, take a philosophical inquiry into whether animals have souls and to what extent humans are animals.

Film

How Bruce Springsteen-Inspired Film, 'Blinded by the Light', Came to Light

Director Gurinder Chadha and author/journalist Sarfraz Manzoor discuss the culture clash that inspired their film, Blinded by the Light, based on Manzoor's cross-cultural memoir, Greetings from Bury Park.

Film

It's New Dynasty, Same as the Old Dynasty, in King Hu's 'The Fate of Lee Khan'

The only truth in The Fate of Lee Khan is expressed physically, for these devious, untrustworthy characters become themselves only when fighting. Truly, we shall know them by their actions.

Film

Doris Day Plays Kit and Mouse in Hitchcock Imitator, 'Midnight Lace'

Followed on a foggy night, a menacing voice on the telephone, trapped in an elevator... Doris Day's Kit Preston verges on a nervous breakdown in Midnight Lace.

Film

Tarantino Descends to the 9th Circle in 'Once Upon a Time...In Hollywood'

Once Upon a Time...In Hollywood is the clearest signal yet of Quentin Tarantino's transition from creative referentialist to repeat offender, standing somewhere between revisionism and recidivism.

Film

Is Caballero's 'The Incredible Shrinking Wknd' a New Generation's 'Groundhog Day'?

Filmmaker Jon Mikel Caballero's The Incredible Shrinking Wknd explores the naïve supposition that reliving the past is an advantageous opportunity.

Film

'Heaven Can Wait' and Lubitsch's Love of Romance's Paradoxes

Heaven Can Wait is Lubitsch's most successful film due to his ability to turn a period-piece into an enchanting story about the human condition.

Film

Jane Goldman's 'Game of Thrones' Prequel Will Be Better Than the Original

As Empress of the Fantasists, if you will, Jane Goldman's prequel to Game of Thrones promises to be far less straightforward, way messier, and much more fun -- even without the dragons.

Television

'Once Upon a Time...in Hollywood' Is Tarantino's Alternate History Theory of Moviemaking

Tarantino's surprisingly warm fantasy mash-up of California dreamin' and arthouse B-movie revenge fantasy, Once Upon a Time...in Hollywood, is dreamy but sacrifices coherence for the indulgence of changing history.

Film

Quentin Tarantino's 'Once Upon a Time...in Hollywood' Is a Baffling Act of Historical Revisionism

The legendary director's hotly anticipated ninth film, Once Upon a time... in Hollywood, applies his trademark wit to '60s Hollywood, but ultimately it's an oddly conservative machismo, not inventive filmmaking, that shines through.

Film

BBC's 'Fleabag' and the Inescapable Awkward Family

Phoebe Waller-Bridge's Fleabag forces viewers to sit down at the dinner table with "the family", which is a game of conversational hot potato -- and nobody wants the f*cking potato.

Television

Pop Ten

The 60 Best Albums of 2009

The 25 Best Classic Progressive Rock Albums

The 10 Best Debut Albums of 2009

The 100 Greatest Alternative Singles of the '80s: Part 1: 100 - 81

Jackie Chan's 10 Best Films

The 100 Greatest Alternative Singles of the '80s: Part 2: 80 - 61

Collapse Expand Pop Ten

Mixed Media

Collapse Expand Mixed Media

PM Picks

Collapse Expand Pm Picks

Ad Astra has the astronomical humanism of Interstellar mixed with the morose nihilism of Apocalypse Now, fueled by a booster rocket of daddy issues.

At its better moments, James Gray and Dan Bradley's Ad Astra brings forth larger themes beyond the usual space action-thriller.

Jean-Luc Godard's cinematic oddities First Name: Carmen, Détective, and Hélas pour moi, newly released on Blu-ray from Kino Lorber, embody the vast landscape of possibilities open to the director during the '80s and '90s.

Gavin Hood's thriller about British whistleblower Katharine Gun's attempt to stop the Iraq War, Official Secrets, is nothing special artistically, but its intense relevance burns the screen.

Powell and Pressburger's Gone to Earth, and David O. Selznick's revision, The Wild Heart, take a philosophical inquiry into whether animals have souls and to what extent humans are animals.

Director Gurinder Chadha and author/journalist Sarfraz Manzoor discuss the culture clash that inspired their film, Blinded by the Light, based on Manzoor's cross-cultural memoir, Greetings from Bury Park.

The only truth in The Fate of Lee Khan is expressed physically, for these devious, untrustworthy characters become themselves only when fighting. Truly, we shall know them by their actions.

Followed on a foggy night, a menacing voice on the telephone, trapped in an elevator... Doris Day's Kit Preston verges on a nervous breakdown in Midnight Lace.

Once Upon a Time...In Hollywood is the clearest signal yet of Quentin Tarantino's transition from creative referentialist to repeat offender, standing somewhere between revisionism and recidivism.

Filmmaker Jon Mikel Caballero's The Incredible Shrinking Wknd explores the naïve supposition that reliving the past is an advantageous opportunity.

Heaven Can Wait is Lubitsch's most successful film due to his ability to turn a period-piece into an enchanting story about the human condition.

As Empress of the Fantasists, if you will, Jane Goldman's prequel to Game of Thrones promises to be far less straightforward, way messier, and much more fun -- even without the dragons.

Tarantino's surprisingly warm fantasy mash-up of California dreamin' and arthouse B-movie revenge fantasy, Once Upon a Time...in Hollywood, is dreamy but sacrifices coherence for the indulgence of changing history.

The legendary director's hotly anticipated ninth film, Once Upon a time... in Hollywood, applies his trademark wit to '60s Hollywood, but ultimately it's an oddly conservative machismo, not inventive filmmaking, that shines through.

Phoebe Waller-Bridge's Fleabag forces viewers to sit down at the dinner table with "the family", which is a game of conversational hot potato -- and nobody wants the f*cking potato.

Starz' Vida is a political act.