In 1988 Tom Holland released Child’s Play, a simple story about a killer doll which spawned a franchise that hasn’t slowed down yet. When MGM announced plans for a remake last year the question was, “Why?” Yes, this is a common refrain regarding all remakes, but in a […]
Late Night opens with praise lavished on Katherine Newbury (Emma Thompson) as a pioneering late-night talk show host who has transformed the television landscape. Within the first fifteen minutes of the film, however, Katherine is facing cancellation, as her ratings drop and she clashes with her latest boss, […]
Premature is a slice-of-life film about one summer in the life of Ayanna (Zora Howard), a Harlem teenager getting ready go to college the following year. She spends her time hanging out with her friends, fighting with her mother, and writing poetry she allows no one else to […]
Dorothy Arzner was one of the most prolific female filmmakers of the Golden Age of Hollywood—and the only female feature director employed by the studios—yet somehow her influence has been reduced to a footnote, usually to Dance, Girl, Dance. Many of Arzner’s films are unavailable or available only […]
The need for diversity in filmmaking has (slowly) begun to be reflected in wider releases, as studios and producers come to understand that maybe there’s more to this world than a bunch of upper-middle-class white people. But indie film has always seen a greater scope of cinematic storytelling […]
This past week included the celebration of Dracula Day, a day dedicated to the King of Vampires and his many permutations. But we often forget about the other vampires, the vampires that were on the scene before old Drac arrived to twirl his mustache, seduce young ladies, and […]
I’m a sucker for a movie that appreciates the fine art of the department store. Throughout the 1950s, when consumerism and suburbia went hand-in-hand, a trip to the local Macys or Penneys was a luxury. Models wearing the latest fashions were able to walk around, showing off the […]