DEVIL IN A BLUE DRESS (1995)
This week we're revisiting Carl Franklin's sorely under-appreciated neo-noir, which celebrates its 25th anniversary this month.
LOVECRAFT COUNTRY GETS LOST DOWN A GIANT PLOT HOLE IN "A HISTORY OF VIOLENCE"
With its weakest hour yet, Lovecraft Country turns in a story that is at turns dull, derivative, and disturbing (but not in a good way).
LOVECRAFT COUNTRY HITS ITS STRIDE, AND JURNEE SMOLLETT SHINES, IN "HOLY GHOST"
Jurnee Smollett gives a stunning performance in the strongest, most emotionally compelling episode of Lovecraft Country so far.
SPIRITED AWAY (2001)
This week we're getting Ghibli with it, as we sit down for The Unenthusiastic Critic's first viewing of Hayao Miyazaki's weird and wonderful animated classic.
WAITING FOR THE BARBARIANS (2020) LANGUISHES AT THE PERILOUS BORDER BETWEEN FILMS AND NOVELS
Great films are rarely made from great books, and Ciro Guerra's film of J.M. Coetzee's novel underlines the perils—and even the pointlessness—of many literary adaptations.
OTHER RECENT POSTS
FILM REVIEWS
A CURE FOR WELLNESS (2017)
Gore Verbinski's stylish horror film manages to entertain the eye and taunt the brain, but it never really engages the heart or soul.
February 18, 2017
FILM REVIEWS
I AM NOT YOUR NEGRO (2016)
James Baldwin's is the voice we need right now, and director Raoul Peck knows it, bringing a comparable clarity and poetry to one of the most powerful and provocative films of the year.
February 14, 2017
INDEPENDENT STUDY IN WORLD CINEMA
TRIUMPH OF THE WILL (1935)
In the latest installment of my Independent Study in World Cinema, I take an unfortunately timely look at how Leni Riefenstahl helped "make Germany great again" with her propagandist "documentary" about the Nazi party.
February 6, 2017
INDEPENDENT STUDY IN WORLD CINEMA
L'ATALANTE (1934)
Lyrical, sensual, and wise, Jean Vigo's L'Atalante is a film about the stink of love, the squalor of love, the anger and boredom and perverse complexity of love.
January 16, 2017
FILM REVIEWS
HIDDEN FIGURES (2016)
Theodore Melfi's Hidden Figures is not a groundbreaking film, but an old-fashioned, very entertaining film about some groundbreaking people.
January 8, 2017
BLOG
RESOLUTIONARY ROAD
Here at The Unaffiliated Critic, we appreciate the illusory, arbitrary promise of a fresh start as much as anyone. So here are my New Year's Resolutions for 2017.
January 6, 2017
TV LISTS AND ROUNDUPS
MY FAVORITE TV SHOWS OF 2016
There are many ways in which 2016 was a terrible, no-good, very bad year. But television provided a ridiculous embarrassment of riches.
December 30, 2016
GAME OF THRONES
GAME OF THRONES 6×10: "THE WINDS OF WINTER"
The sixth season finale of Game of Thrones finds women seizing control of the board. But who will these women need to become to hold onto power?
November 27, 2016
FIRST LOOK/LAST LOOK
LUKE CAGE, CRISIS IN SIX SCENES, AFTERMATH, VERSAILLES
Four shows enter. Three shows suck.
October 2, 2016
FIRST LOOK/LAST LOOK
THE GOOD PLACE, THIS IS US, SPEECHLESS, DESIGNATED SURVIVOR, PITCH, THE EXORCIST
The third week of the Fall 2016 premiere season brings a veritable cornucopia of new network shows—most of them far better than I expected.
September 25, 2016
FIRST LOOK/LAST LOOK
SON OF ZORN, AMERICAN HORROR STORY: ROANOKE, FLEABAG, HIGH MAINTENANCE
In this week's installment of "First Look/Last Look," it's a bit of a mixed bag.
September 18, 2016
FIRST LOOK/LAST LOOK
ATLANTA, QUEEN SUGAR, BETTER THINGS, ONE MISSISSIPPI
Every year in “First Look/Last Look,” I pan for TV gold in the fetid riverbed of the new fall season. This year, the first batch—surprisingly—is all gold.
September 18, 2016
GAME OF THRONES
GAME OF THRONES 6×09: "BATTLE OF THE BASTARDS"
"Battle of the Bastards" is a magnificent hour of television. But is it a great episode of Game of Thrones?
June 29, 2016
GAME OF THRONES
GAME OF THRONES 6×08: "NO ONE"
"No One" ever thinks they're the bad guy, but there comes a time when everyone has to ask themselves the question.
June 19, 2016
GAME OF THRONES
GAME OF THRONES 6×07: "THE BROKEN MAN"
This week, we see all the broken people trying to figure out what can be built from the shattered pieces of the past.
June 19, 2016
GAME OF THRONES
GAME OF THRONES 6×06: "BLOOD OF MY BLOOD"
An awkward and underwhelming episode focuses on the question of family loyalty.
May 30, 2016
GAME OF THRONES
GAME OF THRONES 6×05: "THE DOOR"
"Terrible things happen for a reason," we are told in "The Door." But is that really a comforting thought?
May 28, 2016
GAME OF THRONES
GAME OF THRONES 6×04: "BOOK OF THE STRANGER"
In "Book of the Stranger," the ladies of Game of Thrones are gettin' in formation—cause they slay.
May 19, 2016
GAME OF THRONES
GAME OF THRONES 6×03: "OATHBREAKER"
In "Oathbreaker," we are reminded that the game of thrones is largely a game of words. Control the stories, and you can control the world.
May 11, 2016
FILM REVIEWS
CAPTAIN AMERICA: CIVIL WAR (2016)
When it's not trying to be more, Civil War is a fantastic superhero movie.
May 7, 2016
GAME OF THRONES
GAME OF THRONES 6×02: "HOME"
In "Home," everyone grapples with how the mistakes of the past have led to the horrors of the present.
May 4, 2016
GAME OF THRONES
GAME OF THRONES 6×01: "THE RED WOMAN"
We sing of bodies eclectic on the sixth season premiere of Game of Thrones.
April 29, 2016
INDEPENDENT STUDY IN WORLD CINEMA
M (1931)
Fritz Lang teaches us all how to catch a killer, and teaches a generation of filmmakers how to use sound effectively.
April 1, 2016
BLOG
WOMEN WITH MOVIE CAMERAS
As I plan out my Independent Study in World Cinema, I could use some help in making sure I don't overlook great female directors.
March 22, 2016