“Don’t be afraid, I’m part of the family”: In defense of “Alien 3”

David Fincher’s first feature may have angered people at the time, but it continues to prove equally daring as a sequel and a debut.

“Scent of a Woman” proves a putrid example of early ’90s Oscar bait

1991’s Scent of a Woman remains one of the most baffling recipients of Oscar gold, a prep-school drama lifted only by an early Philip Seymour Hoffman turn.

The True Villain of “Candyman” Isn’t the Urban Legend Himself—It’s Helen

After 28 years, two sequels, and now with a reboot coming this June, Bernard Rose’s look at racial and economic disparity lingers the most in how it skewers the myth of the white savior.

With “Batman Returns”, Tim Burton Unleashed A Dark Superhero Circus

Tim Burton’s superhero sequel saw the endlessly strange auteur run away with big studio money to make the most relentlessly weird comic book film ever.

Of Two Minds: Dissociating Ourselves from “Raising Cain”

With Glass coming out, we plumb through our collective psyches to discuss Brian De Palma’s split-personality thriller Raising Cain.

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The Spool

1992

“Don’t be afraid, I’m part of the family”: In defense of “Alien 3”

“Scent of a Woman” proves a putrid example of early ’90s Oscar bait

The True Villain of “Candyman” Isn’t the Urban Legend Himself—It’s Helen

With “Batman Returns”, Tim Burton Unleashed A Dark Superhero Circus

Of Two Minds: Dissociating Ourselves from “Raising Cain”