Don’t let “Late Fame” fool you
Beneath its still waters, this character-study about art and identity runs deep
Necessary Fictions
Notes on the movies and shows that won't leave me alone — and everything I keep discovering in them.
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Christopher Nolan is not okay
With "The Odyssey," Nolan has made his third film in a row about the end of the world and intergenerational guilt
The real monster in “Widow's Bay” is guilt
The Apple TV series buries its island in sea hags and satanic rites, but every curse is really an alibi — for the unforgivable thing someone did and would rather call fate.
What stuck: "A History of Violence"
Rewatch notes that didn't make Tuesday's essay — the two break-ins, the performance, and the door Edie won't open.
The question “A History of Violence” refuses to answer
Can we stomach peace and comfort once we know their true cost?
The despair of “First Reformed”
Paul Schrader on "sickness unto death"
Why Sam Altman reminds me of Anton Chigurh
To understand what the people building AI are really saying, it helps to spend some time with a man who kills people with a cattle gun.
Will we fail the test?
The uncomfortable and enduring question that “V for Vendetta” asks about freedom
“Margin Call” in the age of “Epic Fury”
What separates the bankers of 2008 from the people running the Iran War? The difference between cynicism and cruelty.
“Unforgiven” is about an incompetent
“Worse than a crime — a mistake.”
“Network” is a prayer, not a prophecy
Inside one of cinema’s bleakest masterpieces, there is something hidden that feels like hope.