Film

"There is only one thing that can kill the Movies, and that is education." — Will Rogers

Can We Imagine Better Work? On Aviva Briefel and Jason Middleton’s “Labors of Fear”
Brandon R. Grafius reviews Aviva Briefel and Jason Middleton’s “Labors of Fear: The Modern Horror Film Goes to Work.”
Brandon R. GrafiusOct 25, 2023
Waiting for Barbie
Anne Anlin Cheng recalls her first, foreign Barbie experience.
Anne Anlin ChengOct 20, 2023
- Film
- Gender & Sexuality
Empress Elisabeth and the Archives of Anorexia
In a preview of the new LARB Quarterly, no. 39: “Air,” Meghan Racklin considers the life and imperfectly rendered image of Empress Elisabeth of Austria.
Meghan RacklinOct 20, 2023
Every Detective Film Is a Comedy: On “The Big Lebowski” at 25
Jason Namey takes another look at the Coen brothers’ “The Big Lebowski” for its 25th anniversary.
Jason NameyOct 19, 2023
- Film
- Noir
The Hollywood Strikes: How Storytelling Won the Day for Writers
Alessandro Camon discusses the role storytelling played in the success of the WGA/SAG-AFTRA strike in Hollywood.
Alessandro CamonOct 15, 2023
Primal Fears: Revisiting “Gone Baby Gone”
Amidst a new wave of conservative panic about child trafficking, Evan McGarvey revisits Ben Affleck’s “Gone Baby Gone.”
Evan McGarveyOct 13, 2023
- Film
For Promising Young Women: A Smidge of Midge
Eliana Rozinov examines the figure of Midge as a mythical phenomenon, a pregnant doll, and a variation of the “promising young woman” trope.
Eliana RozinovOct 12, 2023
Ask Not What Your Robot Can Do for You, but What You Can Do for Your Robot
Jerrine Tan visits a LOVOT robotics lab and is unexpectedly enchanted.
Jerrine TanOct 4, 2023
Work and the New Wave: On My Capricious Summer with Jiří Menzel
Emily Tamkin documents her Jiří Menzel binge and explains how and why his films hold up so well today.
Emily TamkinSep 28, 2023
- Film
- Gender & Sexuality
The Quarterback at Twilight: On Matthew Barney’s “Secondary”
Samuel Fury Childs Daly reviews artist Matthew Barney’s new film “Secondary.”
Samuel Fury Childs DalySep 27, 2023
An Excuse to Make Noise: On Todd Decker’s “Astaire by Numbers” and Matthew Frye Jacobson’s “Dancing Down the Barricades”
Brynn Shiovitz reviews two new books on screen dance, Todd Decker’s “Astaire by Numbers: Time & the Straight White Male Dancer” and Matthew Frye Jacobson’s “Dancing Down the Barricades: Sammy Davis Jr. and the Long Civil Rights Era.”
Brynn ShiovitzSep 22, 2023
- Film
- Gender & Sexuality
What Drove Popeye to the Picket Line: The Story of “Fleischer’s Animated News”
“Fleischer’s Animated News,” an animation industry comic from the 1930s, satirized working conditions similar to those motivating the Hollywood strikes today, as Paul Morton discusses.
Paul MortonSep 19, 2023
- Comics
- Film