Film/TV

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Page 30
Such nice young men.

John Ridley's 'American Crime,' season two

Too many shades of gray

The second season of American Crime raises intelligent questions: Can a teenager struggling with his sexual orientation and rough sex fantasies actually be raped, and is there any hope of establishing that legally? Or is Taylor an odd variation of the Victorian heroine who dreams of being ravished, but then decides that wasn’t such a good idea after the fact?
Rick Soisson

Rick Soisson

Articles 3 minute read
The media is complicit in Steven Avery’s ordeal. (© 2016 Netflix)

'Making a Murderer' on Netflix

When innocence isn't presumed

Making a Murderer is the compelling story of how our criminal justice system is broken; it describes a societal murder in which police, prosecutors, the media, and the public conspire to find “undesirables” guilty.
Armen Pandola

Armen Pandola

Articles 4 minute read
Happy VA Day: Celebrating with the Obergruppenführer.

'The Man in the High Castle' on Amazon

Baseball, apple pie, and swastikas

The Man in the High Castle is a revered masterpiece of the alternative history genre. Philip K. Dick’s original novel is mindbending; the Amazon series is considerably more grounded and dynamic than the novel, but no less compelling.
Mark Wolverton

Mark Wolverton

Articles 6 minute read
Competent but underwhelming: Sarah Hay. (Photo by Patrick Harbron - © 2015 Starz Entertainment, LLC)

'Flesh and Bone' on Starz

‘Black Swan’ Redux

Set in the cloistered world of professional ballet, Starz’s Flesh and Bone follows the journey of emotionally damaged dancer Claire Robbins. The series attempts to push the envelope with tabloid-worthy plot points but can’t transcend its balletic clichés and stale choreography to forge something original.
Erin Bomboy

Erin Bomboy

Articles 5 minute read
A shockingly unconventional use of animation. (both photos © 2015 Paramount Pictures)

Charlie Kaufman's 'Anomalisa'

Missed connections

Though weighted with its fair share of flaws and failures, Anomalisa is a formally audacious and emotionally affecting film, and a worthy counterpart to Kaufman’s other cinematic work.

Peter Myers

Articles 4 minute read
The female gaze: Vikander and Redmayne. (Photo © 2015 - Focus Features)

Gender presentation in 'The Danish Girl'

A different way of looking at gender

By rearranging The Danish Girl's narrative into conventional “woman stands by her man [sic]” tropes, the filmmakers can do something far more radical: proclaim the power of the female gaze.
Judy Weightman

Judy Weightman

Articles 5 minute read
The hairdo, the lipstick, the gloves: Cate Blanchett in “Carol." (© 2015 – StudioCanal)

Todd Haynes's 'Carol'

Loved Carol, not Carol

Cate Blanchett fans will enjoy this vehicle, but Carol's engine misfires too often. Cate’s glowing character may be a lonely store clerk’s fantasy, but how might she have been treated in real life?

Michael Woods

Articles 4 minute read
McAdams, Keaton, Ruffalo: Triumphant moment, or a last gasp? (Photo: Open Road Films)

Tom McCarthy’s ‘Spotlight’ (second review)

Journalism’s rise and fall

Journalism was once a refuge for adventurers and drunks. Today, at its best, it’s become a moral role model even for the Vatican, as Spotlight compellingly demonstrates. But this is no time for self-congratulation.
Dan Rottenberg

Dan Rottenberg

Articles 8 minute read
A West Coast hero: Bryan Cranston in “Trumbo.”

'Bridge of Spies' and 'Trumbo'

Revisiting the Red Scare

Steven Spielberg’s Bridge of Spies and Jay Roach’s Trumbo are reminders, instructive and nostalgic, that what scares us now happened before, and we survived.
Victor L. Schermer

Victor L. Schermer

Articles 5 minute read
A less cuddly House: Clive Owen in "The Knick"

A look back at 2015's best television

Looking at my list of my 2015 favorites, I still see shows featuring tortured men on the moral razor’s edge, torn between the two sides of their nature — but the cracks are beginning to show.

Paula Berman

Articles 6 minute read