Comedy Series ‘The Afterparty’ Is Among the Last of Its Kind
The second season of Apple TV’s funny, inventive, and self-indulgent comedy whodunnit The Afterparty is utterly unnecessary in the best way.
mystery
‘Last and First Men’ Is a Symphonic Meditation on Humankind’s Brevity
Last and First Men, an astounding and unusual art film, science fiction meditation, and visual symphony, is the first and only film created by the late Icelandic composer Jóhann Jóhannson.
The Unreality of Identity in David Lynch’s ‘Inland Empire’
Now that we’re awash in time loops and other realities, filmgoers are primed for three hours of David Lynch’s reality and identity-questioning film, Inland Empire.
Silent Film’s Raymond Griffith Pulled Tricksters Out of Top Hats
In Raymond Griffith: The Silk Hat Comedian, the two clever silent films Paths to Paradise and You’d Be Surprised, make a working-class hero out of a toff in a top hat.
It’s Too Hot to Hate in Climate Change Series ‘Extrapolations’
Scott Z. Burns’ audacious if dramatically uneven climate-change Apple TV+ series shows that while the Earth will change radically, people will not.
György Fehér’s Brooding Hungarian Film ‘Twilight’
To some extent, György Fehér’s murder mystery, Twilight feels like a brooding film about Communist hangover, about an inability to breathe.
“I’m a Murderer”: Poker Face’s Vegan Feeling
The new crime drama Poker Face is one of the few TV shows to serve up an authentically represented vegan sensibility.
Brandon Cronenberg’s Horror Film ‘Infinity Pool’ Isn’t Very Deep
Brandon Cronenberg’s horror film Infinity Pool lets the intriguing concept of body doubles married to themes of crime and punishment and the class system, go to waste.
In Thriller ‘The Night of the 12th’ Justice Is Absent
French true crime adaptation The Night of the 12th (La nuit du 12) is a response to the fraught relationship between men and women, and the detective as metaphor.
Sebastián Lelio’s ‘The Wonder’ Trashes History
What we have with The Wonder is a film that begins by discussing a historical crime and ends up committing one – or at least the narrative equivalent.
David Duchovny’s Mystery Novella ‘The Reservoir’ Drifts Between Fact and Hallucination
David Duchovny’s novella The Reservoir drifts into the murky depths of the fever dream state of isolation and dislocation.
‘The Pale Blue Eye’ Looks Upon the Poe You Didn’t Know
Scott Cooper’s The Pale Blue Eye has Edgar Allan Poe (Harry Melling) making an unconventional partner to Christian Bale’s 1830s sleuth.