Features Gus Van Sant’s “Milk” has soured with time Gus Van Sant's squeaky clean biopic about the famed gay rights activist marks a myopic and pandering misstep in the director's filmography.
Reviews “I’ll Be Gone in the Dark” is a powerful ode to Michelle McNamara By: Beau North HBO's new true-crime docuseries illuminates not just the Golden State Killer, but the woman who dedicated her life to catching him.
Features The quiet realism of “Paranoid Park” showed Gus Van Sant at his indie best Both tactile and ethereal, Gus Van Sant's skateboarding drama saw him expand upon his neorealist work that spanned the 2000s.
Columns Criterion Corner: “Tokyo Olympiad” Blu-Ray Re-release Kon Ichikawa's seminal sports documentar about the 1964 Tokyo Olympics receives a pristine 4K restoration courtesy of The Criterion Collection.
Reviews “Yummy” is a gorefest without any real flavor By: Matt Cipolla Without its own texture or style, Lars Damoiseaux's Camp-adjacent feature debut exists in a vacuum divorced from its inspirations.
Reviews Jon Stewart’s “Irresistible” is toothless, out-of-touch political satire By: Andrea Thompson The former Daily Show host's sophomore film is a dated, centrist screed that fundamentally misunderstands our current political moment.
Features Terence Blanchard on scoring “Da 5 Bloods” Spike Lee's longtime collaborator talks about using new instruments in his latest score, honoring Black veterans, and representation in film composing.
Filmmaker of the Month “Good Will Hunting” was Gus Van Sant’s big swing for the normies Gus Van Sant's Oscar-winning character drama is a safe, middlebrow nuts-and-bolts picture as formative as it is uncreative for the filmmaker.
Reviews “Perry Mason” Recap: “Chapter One” is gorgeous but tries too hard By: Megan Sunday Matthew Rhys steps into the gumshoes of the famed private investigator for a shaky but sumptuous first episode.
Features From death to birth, “Last Days” showed Kurt Cobain fade from man to myth A look at death as the great equalizer, Gus Van Sant's Kurt Cobain-inspired drama looks at the decay from man to myth—but never legend.
Reviews “Bully. Coward. Victim. The Story of Roy Cohn” hides behind fake objectivity By: Jonah Koslofsky The second doc about the disgraced lawyer in months makes the cardinal sin of avoiding its own viewpoints.
“I have seen the light!”: some personal thoughts on “The Blues Brothers” The action-comedy-musical classic turns 40 this year, and remains both a staple of 80s nostalgia & a love letter to Chicago
“Can’t Stop the Music” was a case study in the wrong way to do camp Producer Allan Carr’s legendary disco disaster turns 40 this year, and fails to maintain even “so bad it’s good” status.
Interviews Josephine Decker on the dreamy subjectivity of “Shirley” The director of Shirley talks about Elisabeth Moss, structuring scenes, and taking creative license with a real-life figure.
Reviews “Sherman’s Showcase Spectacular” celebrates a belated Black History Month By: Tim Stevens IFC's irreverently absurd Soul Train pastiche returns for a one-off special as inventive as it is occasionally overlong.
Reviews With “Wasp Network,” Olivier Assayas loses his sting By: Michael Snydel Olivier Assayas' latest is a clunky thriller that resists cinematic convention to its detriment.
Reviews TV spinoff “Love, Victor” complicates its squeaky-clean queerness By: B.L. Panther Hulu's spinoff of Love, Simon has a shaky start, but ultimately offers value to queer youth searching for guidance.
Reviews “The Short History of the Long Road” is a quick journey worth taking By: Dorothy Green Ani Simon-Kennedy's sophomore feature is a quiet, evocative trip, even if it doesn't go as far as it could have.
Reviews “365 Days” is much more risible than risque By: Marshall Estes Barbara Białowąs & Tomasz Mandes' erotic drama has a truly gross premise and oodles of bad acting to leave you hot and bothered—or just bothered.
Reviews “Miss Juneteenth” is a charming ode to Black womanhood By: Oluwatayo Adewole Channing Godfrey Peoples makes her debut with an emotional, inspiring tale of the complicated roads Black women must walk in America.
Features “Elephant” forced us to see the normal inside the horrific Bringing the works of Tarr and Akerman to modern America, Gus Van Sant's drama about student life around a school shooting remains a vital work.