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.
29 Jul 2019
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Short Stories: Siblings
Whatever the plot lines of a work of fiction, if it features siblings as important characters, various rich themes are mined. This issue of Short Stories brings forth the sibling-inspired works of Martha Bátiz, K Anis Ahmed, Jenny Zhang, Lidudumalingani, and Kseniya Melnik.
29 Jul 2019
The Willful Child in HBO's 'My Brilliant Friend'
HBO's My Brilliant Friend feels almost radical for its raw and un-romanticized depiction of female friendship and resistance in all its emotional complexities.
24 Jun 2019
'Pet Sematary' Is a Welcome Resurrection
Tense, unflinching, and completely self-aware, Pet Sematary veers away from its source material in satisfying ways, yet remains true to Stephen King's uncompromising vision.
05 Apr 2019
Harold Lloyd Proves Himself a Real Hickory in Silent Film 'The Kid Brother'
Over 90 years later, silent film The Kid Brother works well as entertainment for modern audiences, for whom its calculated old-fashioned corn and apparent simplicity aren't a problem but par for the course.
04 Apr 2019
Nora Krug's 'Belonging' Could Serve as a Model for Understanding Collective Responsibility
In graphic novel Belonging, Nora Krug takes a single idea – her family's involvement in the Second World War and Nazi Germany – and pursues it with relentless, forensic determination.
04 Feb 2019
'Mary Poppins Returns' Is Practically Passable, in Every Way
Even with few truly catchy numbers and a cumbersome plot, Mary Poppins Returns has enough bright-eyed optimism to almost escape the shadow of the toe-tapping original.
18 Dec 2018
'The Electric Woman', Death, and Life in a Circus Sideshow
Tessa Fontaine's memoir will dazzle.
25 Jul 2018
What Went Wrong with Tim Story's 'Fantastic Four'?
Tim Story's film should have been a smash. So why did it fail in its adaptation of the groundbreaking Marvel comic book?
22 Mar 2018
An Ageless Dance in '95 and 6 to Go'
This documentary about a Japanese Immigrant in America during and after WWII dances with history, memory, and friendship.
13 Mar 2018
'South Pole Station' Presents an UnFamiliar but Believable World
South Pole Station is an unflinching yet loving look at family in all its forms.
09 Dec 2017
In 'Quest', Inner-City American Life Is Given the Treatment It Deserves
Director Jonathan Olshefski has made a stirring call for the placement of low-income, inner-city families into our collective consciousness.
08 Dec 2017
'The Sisters Chase' Gives Us a Protagonist Worth Taking the Journey With
Sarah Healy's The Sisters Chase introduces a flawed heroine for the ages in its breezy, affecting narrative.
02 Jun 2017
'Til Death Do You Part: And Other Thoughts About Family
Annabelle Gurwitch's humorous memoir, Wherever You Go, There They Are, captures how one is forever in the thralls of the family -- no matter the form that family takes.
02 May 2017
Just How Would Captain Fantastic Feel About His Own Film?
An average day at Ben Cash's commune -- at least in his mind -- would make Iron Man competitions look like intermediate intramural fluff.
29 Jul 2016
Don't Sign the Lease Just Yet
The journey in Housebreaking is gripping even though the payoff is light.
19 Jul 2015
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