Cinema Purgatorio

Nov

20

Intercepted: Speak, Know Evil

A documentary of Russian soldiers' candid phone calls, premiering at a crucial turning point, prompts the question: when does news become history?

Nov 20, 2024

7 min read

Nov

12

Virginia Film Festival, Part 1: Day of Future Past

My first of two days at the Virginia Film Festival, on the eve of the 2024 election, was full of movies grappling with historical trauma.

Nov 12, 2024

8 min read

Oct

30

Gone Girl at 10: Fifteen Minutes of Shame

A decade since its release, the date movie from hell is a post-breakup classic and a prophetic preview of the always-online life yet to come

Oct 30, 2024

8 min read

Oct

12

Jimmy Carter: Rock and Roll President: He's History's Greatest Rock Star

The story of Jimmy Carter's friendships with musical royalty illuminates, even as it hints at the limits of his approach.

Oct 12, 2024

5 min read

Sep

07

Alien: Romulus: The Cinemorph

The first Disney-produced Alien film cares more about referencing the original movies than it does actual originality.

Sep 7, 2024

12 min read

Aug

24

Alien³: Scar Beast

The maligned threequel comes together often enough, and in such striking ways, that even its failures inspire fascination.

Aug 24, 2024

11 min read

Jul

22

Forrest Gump at 30: Defund, Forrest, Defund

Forrest Gump and the Neoliberal Imaginary in 1990s Welfare Reform. In this essay I will...

Jul 22, 2024

9 min read

Jul

04

Summer Solstice Screentime

I saw I Saw the TV Glow, finally, among other films in late June.

Jul 4, 2024

8 min read

Jun

29

Elden Ring's Dancing Lion: The Beast of Both Worlds

If Elden Ring is going to take over my life again, I may as well write about it.

Jun 29, 2024

5 min read

Jun

13

The Straight Story: Zen and the Art of Mower (Riding) Maintenance

The most obscure David Lynch film is also his most accessible, and one of his most profound.

Jun 13, 2024

5 min read