Surviving Destruction: What Keeps Going in Eugenie Brinkema’s “Life-Destroying Diagrams”Jorge Cotte reviews Eugenie Brinkema’s “Life-Destroying Diagrams,” a monograph in defense of radical formalism....JORGE COTTEFILM
Unruly Bodies and Borders in Kira Kovalenko’s “Unclenching the Fists”Alex Karsavin and Alex Bliziotis explore the political themes and stakes of Kira Kovalenko’s new film, “Unclenching the Fists.”...ALEX KARSAVIN, ALEX BLIZIOTISFILM
Parade of Lonely Faces: On Buster Keaton and Greta GarboEmina Melonic reviews two recent biographies about notoriously private stars who started in silent cinema: Buster Keaton and Greta Garbo....EMINA MELONICFILM
“Great Freedom” and the Paradox of Desire and RepressionNolan Kelly reviews “Great Freedom” as the most recent installment of films about queer desire and the carceral state....NOLAN KELLYFILM
Lost Men, Found Women: Revisiting the New HollywoodNancy West engages in a feminist “anti-retrospective” of the cinema of 1972....NANCY M. WESTFILM
The Haynes CodeJean-Thomas Tremblay reviews a recent anthology about Todd Haynes as feminist-queer filmmaker....JEAN-THOMAS TREMBLAYFILM
How to Love: Matthew Strohl and Rax King on Bad MoviesNicholas Whittaker compares two recuperative, complementary accounts of loving bad objects....NICHOLAS WHITTAKERFILM
Buster Keaton: A Timeless ComedianTwo new biographies of “Old Stone Face” and his remarkable cinematic career....CHRIS YOGERSTFILM
“C’mon C’mon” and the Empathetic Films of Mike MillsMeghan Gilligan reflects on how the empathetic characters of Mike Mills’s films, striving to connect, have helped her to communicate with those closest to her....MEGHAN GILLIGANFILM
Cinema, Theater, and the Art of Perpetual Transformation in Joel Coen’s “The Tragedy of Macbeth”Julia Sirmons considers the long-running relationship — at times rivalry — between theater and cinema through the lens of Joel Coen’s “The Tragedy of Macbeth.”...JULIA SIRMONSFILM
A Circle of Love: Remembering Abbey Lincoln in “Nothing But a Man” (1964)Matthew Eng recalls Abbey Lincoln’s intertwining legacies as singer, actress, and Black radical....MATTHEW ENGFILM
“The Way You Felt When You Were 20”: Talking Rat Pack with Karina LongworthMatt Hanson interviews podcaster Karina Longworth on her latest season of “You Must Remember This.”...MATT HANSONFILM
The Elements of Style: Diana Without DianaOn the heels of Kristen Stewart's Oscar nomination for Spencer, Soraya Roberts dives into the trouble of styling Princess Diana ...SORAYA ROBERTSTELEVISIONFILM
Villeneuve’s “Dune”: Blending Spectacle and Cultural ErasureTelling the story of “Dune” requires more than just a desert setting and the occasional Islamic reference....JUSTICE HAGANFILM
Wes Anderson’s “The French Dispatch” and the Legacy of Afro-AsiaMieko Anders uncovers traces of Afro-Asian collaboration in Wes Anderson’s “The French Dispatch.”...MIEKO ANDERSFILM
On “Wanda” as Carrier-Bag Feminist FilmAdèle Cassigneul compares two recent monographs on the landmark feminist film “Wanda” (1970)....ADÈLE CASSIGNEULFILM
My Lonely and Beautiful Country: On Nuri Bilge CeylanKaya Genç analyzes the body of work of Turkey’s foremost contemporary filmmaker, Nuri Bilge Ceylan, through the lens of a recent academic monograph....KAYA GENÇFILM
Is This Desire?: On Jane Campion’s Anguished New Epic, “The Power of the Dog”Ryan Coleman considers the anguished, queer theology behind Jane Campion’s “The Power of the Dog.”...RYAN COLEMANFILM
“Assa”: The Film that Brought Down the Soviet UnionSam Kahn looks back at “Assa,” the 1987 cult film that put Soviet rock on the map. Its director, Sergei Solovyov, died on December 13, 2021....SAM KAHNAROUND THE WORLDFILM
The Art and Science of Movies: The Academy Museum of Motion PicturesThe new Academy Museum of Motion Pictures is not a reliquary but a marquee....KEVIN MCMAHONFILM
Free Association: Fireflies Press and Contemporary Film CriticismHolly Willis examines Fireflies Press’s journal and monograph series as artifacts of contemporary cinephilia....HOLLY WILLISFILM
“A Hymn From the Mouth of Reality”: Obscenity, Psychosis, SweetbackMatthew Tchepikova-Treon situates “Sweet Sweetback’s Baadasssss Song” in its cultural zeitgeist....MATTHEW TCHEPIKOVA-TREONFILM
Trespassing Borders: On Hamaguchi Ryūsuke’s “Drive My Car”Eugene Kwon examines how Hamaguchi Ryusuke thematizes traitorous adaptation in “Drive My Car,” a film reimagining of the short story by Murakami Haruki....EUGENE KWONFILM