In light of his passing, we look at the eclectic work of the man who loved camp, callousness, and everything in between.
filmmaker of the month
Matthew McConaughey wasted a performance in Gus Van Sant’s most disappointing film, a self-important look at white male redemption.
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.
Gus Van Sant’s 1991 queer classic is a mournful tone poem about lost youth, and the intersection between class and queerness.
Gus Van Sant’s queer Western was received with scorn by critics when it first came out, but its celebration of the abject deserves reconsideration.
Gus Van Sant and Buck Henry’s darkly funny satire about toxic self-obsession features a memorably villainous turn by Nicole Kidman.
Gus Van Sant’s second feature is a stylish but sensitive and non-judgmental look at drug addiction.
Gus Van Sant’s gritty, low-budget debut lays the groundwork for a successful career. And 35 years on, the subject matter seems eerily relevant.
For Pride Month, we highlight the work of America’s poet laureate for dirtbags, dreamers, and disaffected youth.
Marcus Nispel’s confused, uninspired revamp of the franchise stresses the importance of not touching Jason’s stash of sticky-icky.
Freddy vs. Jason is not a good movie – and that’s not just okay, it may well be transgressive.
New Line sends Jason to the final frontier, and sends all the thinly-drawn characters and low-budget kills of the franchise with him.
Jason Voorhees tears his way over to New Line Cinema, who promptly cranks out an entry that warps his mythos for the worse.
Paramount tried to jazz up the Friday the 13th franchise by plopping Jason in the City That Never Sleeps, but the results nearly killed the series.
Jason Voorhees came back with more teen drama and an even gorier look.
The Friday the 13th series chugs along with a straightforward but functional slasher with a hint of metahumor.
Jason (and the franchise) comes back from an ostensible conclusion to keep up the blood-splattering mayhem.
Frank Mancuso, Jr. and Paramount tried to give Jason Voorhees a killer sendoff, but the franchise didn’t stay dead.