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Cinema Purgatorio
Cultural criticsm and reviews. Enduring the torments of the IP era in hope of deliverance.

Latest

Oct
30
Gone Girl at 10: Fifteen Minutes of Shame

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
8 min read
Oct
12
Jimmy Carter: Rock and Roll President: He's History's Greatest Rock Star

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.
5 min read
Sep
07
Alien: Romulus: The Cinemorph

Alien: Romulus: The Cinemorph

The first Disney-produced Alien film cares more about referencing the original movies than it does actual originality.
12 min read
Aug
24
Alien³: Scar Beast

Alien³: Scar Beast

The maligned threequel comes together often enough, and in such striking ways, that even its failures inspire fascination.
11 min read
Jul
22
Forrest Gump at 30: Defund, Forrest, Defund

Forrest Gump at 30: Defund, Forrest, Defund

Forrest Gump and the Neoliberal Imaginary in 1990s Welfare Reform. In this essay I will...
9 min read
Jul
04
Summer Solstice Screentime

Summer Solstice Screentime

I saw I Saw the TV Glow, finally, among other films in late June.
8 min read
Jun
29
Elden Ring's Dancing Lion: The Beast of Both Worlds

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.
5 min read
Jun
13
The Straight Story: Zen and the Art of Mower (Riding) Maintenance

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.
5 min read
May
27
Old Movies on Getting Older

Old Movies on Getting Older

Tokyo Story and Dazed and Confused are two classics that speak in very different ways about aging.
8 min read
May
20
Hundreds of Beavers: Dam Good

Hundreds of Beavers: Dam Good

A movie that commits to and succeeds at being a live-action cartoon, and one of the funniest live-action comedies in ages.
4 min read