You ever drink a lot of wine and sit around sobbing at nineties classic rom-coms or yell at old black-and-whites when a Cary Grant type calls an Ingrid Bergman type a silly lady? …No? Just us? We pile onto our fading floral-print seventies couch—you know the one; your grandma has one just like it—watch movies, and write our thoughts. Sometimes they’re reviews or commentaries; sometimes they’re braided personal narratives. We’re watching everything from Get Out to 10 Things I Hate About You all the way back to A Philadelphia Story. What are you watching?
by Cooper Green
It felt like we had a map, a route we discussed over and over, a clear view of how to extricate ourselves. And yet, we somehow kept ending up at the same dead end, wrapped around each other and for those brief, sweet moments, so immeasurably happy.
Read Moreby Karen Greenbaum-Maya
Conventional sparks flying but nothing catches fire. Perfunctory, they slap the audience around.
Read Moreby Tanya Visceglia
For a conflict-averse society, Taiwan certainly loves to roll around in high drama, both in art and life. Even a restaurant meal with friends is ripe with dramatic potential. We fight for the privilege of treating our companions, during which the bill is yanked back and forth with cries of protest: “No, you paid last time.” “You can pay next time!” The winner of the bill-grab then races to the cash register, slapping money onto the counter. The winner of the bill-grab then races to the cash register, slapping money onto the counter… This is a friendly game everyone understands.
Read Moreby Callie S. Blackstone
Soderbergh’s film offers a view of the mental health industry that goes beyond utilizing a straight jacket to signify either how terrifying a horror villain is or how traumatized one of his victims might be. Soderbergh’s movie examines how the mental health industry — one that is meant to ensure people’s safety during times of crisis — is driven by a societal need to silence women’s trauma.
Read Moreby Tracy Werth
I am glad to have grown up in the ‘60s trusting in my teachers’ lies that the only reason we rehearsed hiding under our desks was simply the danger of flying glass from our classroom windows. I am appreciative that our training never had to be utilized during an actual nuclear war. The drills ended in the 1980s about the time my son was born. How distressing to know that those old preparations for an envisioned event have now been replaced with active shooter drills due to the very real school shootings in this country, so common now that most do not make it into the news.
Read Moreby Adam Gnuse
I’d like to think I take movies seriously. I’ve got a couple fine art degrees. I’ve taught some college classes on film and writing, and I can go on about narrative and the benefits and constraints of genre far longer than anyone would be interested. . . . Also, I’m a grown man. So, why am I, once again, getting emotional about Muppet Treasure Island?
Read Moreby Kathryn M. Barber
I can’t sleep anymore. Two months into the pandemic, I lost the ability to turn my mind off at night. I sit up awake in my living room, watching reruns of shows I’ve already seen a hundred times over, hoping the lack of suspense and drama will lull me to sleep. It doesn’t.
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