The Slumber Party Massacre (Amy Holden Jones, 1982). Released in the heady days after John Carpenter’s Halloween made studios decide that the surest bet for quick cash was conveyor-belting out films featuring weapon-wielding maniac picking off teens one by one, … Continue reading Then Playing — The Slumber Party Massacre; The Fog; Barbarian
Friday Foster (Arthur Marks, 1975). Based on a comic strip written by Jim Lawrence and drawn by Jorge Longarón that ran in the first half of the nineteen-seventies, Friday Foster features Pam Grier in the title role, a photojournalist who … Continue reading Then Playing — Friday Foster; Tokyo Joe; The Return of Doctor X
Cronos (Guillermo del Toro, 1993). If Guillermo del Toro isn’t exactly a fully formed filmmaker with his feature debut, Cronos, it’s still remarkable how much of his careerlong creative voice is present from the very beginning. Most distinctly, he brings … Continue reading Then Playing — Cronos; Duel at Diablo; Time Without Pity
Hacked to Bits by Jaya Saxena Writer for Eater, Jaya Saxena explores the culture of creative tinkerers who use the online menus of chains restaurants and coffee shops to concoct wild variants of the businesses’ standard fare. Because they post … Continue reading Outside Reading — Off the Menu edition
The Supreme Court Is Blowing Up Law School, Too by Mark Joseph Stern My master’s degree program included a class in constitutional law. It didn’t really make sense that it did, but I greatly enjoyed the class. In his lectures, … Continue reading Outside Reading — Unsettled Law edition
Guess Who’s Coming to Mordor by James Poniewozik When considering the flood of sewage deliberately pumped into the public discourse by right-wing cads, it’s practically impossible to determine which infraction against basic decency is most egregious. That, too, is part … Continue reading Outside Reading — Fellowship edition
Girlfriends (Claudia Weill, 1978). This agreeably scrappy independent feature is an ancestor of Nicole Holofcener’s Walking and Talking and Noah Baumbach’s Frances Ha in its wry astuteness as it considers the complications of holding on to female friendship as romantic … Continue reading Then Playing — Girlfriends; Johnny Eager; Chain Lightning
Director Ti West’s new film, Pearl, is a prequel, but that hardly matters. Yes, it is narratively connected to X, the springtime release, written and directed by West, that paid tribute to most sordid cinema of the nineteen-seventies with its … Continue reading Now Playing — Pearl
I am neither oblivious nor immune to the pleasure to be had in watching Viola Davis absolutely kick ass on screen. Usually that description is more metaphorical, referring to her ability to take charge of a dramatic scene and command … Continue reading Now Playing — The Woman King
How Karina Longworth Brought Sex and Sleaze Back to Hollywood History by Alex Morris Given my specific cultural interests, it’s ridiculous that it took me as long as it did to listen to You Must Remember This, the Hollywood-focused podcast … Continue reading Outside Reading — Join Us, Won’t You? edition
Coffee for Two 