Godfrey Reggio’s Beautifully Bewildering ‘Once Within a Time’
Once Within a Time‘s beautifully bewildering carnival of pop surrealist imagery will haunt you long after its 51-minute concludes.
comedy
Men Are So Lovely and Dry: Saltburn’s Queer Narrative Failures
Saltburn sparked discussion for its shocking sex scenes, but for all its stylized images and clever gendered trope inversions, its queer promises are empty.
The Old Days Were Outrageous – You Couldn’t Say Anything
History of offense, protest, and censorship Outrageous is more of a clip show but also a riotous reminder that nothing in the cancel culture wars is new.
‘Laurel & Hardy: Year One’ Shows Why 1927 Was a Vintage Year for Comedy
Most of the comedies in Laurel & Hardy: Year One starred others, so this set shows the evolution of the dual film by film, getting better as they go along.
Nicolas Cage Descends into Self-Loathing in ‘Dream Scenario’
Nicolas Cage uses every bit of his talent to play an irredeemable, self-loathing character trapped in a nightmare scenario in Kristoffer Borgli’s Dream Scenario.
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.
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.
‘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.
Nordic Comedy of Manners ‘The Hypnosis’ Is Full of Surprises
Is Nordic comedy of ‘bad’ manners The Hypnosis a story of a woman’s liberation and coming-of-age? Or is it a dream about entitled and privileged rebellion?
Modern-Day Minstrelsy in Cord Jefferson’s ‘American Fiction’
Cord Jefferson’s provocative satire on race and literature, American Fiction, skewers modern-day minstrelsy and performative allyship.
‘Chameleon Street’ Pushes the Limits of Independent Cinema
Chameleon Street has a finger on the throbbing pulse of shifting cultures that see youth through punk, new wave, and hip-hop.
‘Frasier’ Is Back, But Are We Still Listening?
America is a more polarized political and social landscape since the original Frasier aired. Since it was never a socially conscious comedy like many of today’s sitcoms, who is this reboot for?