Movie talk

Welcome to 4:3 & Forgotten — a weekly column in which Kieran Fisher and I get to look back at TV terrors that scared adults (and the kids they let watch) across the limited airwaves of the ’70s. When people think killer ant movies from 1977 — and yes, some people do think about such things — the odds…

Welcome to Saturday Morning Cartoons, our new weekly column where we continue the animated boob tube ritual of yesteryear. Our lives may no longer be scheduled around small screen programming, but that doesn’t mean we should forget the necessary sanctuary of Saturday ‘toons. There is no better parade of maniacs than Looney Tunes. The desperate…

Inspirational Black stories in the American cinematic tradition succeed financially and critically on a narrow bandwidth. Not because the range of Black experiences matches the slim stories deemed worthy to tell, but due to the voices and standards of inspiration often defined by audiences and creators. Most uplifting Black films are weighted by either gratuitous…

We see the best and worst of ourselves in our partners – our potential in their beauty, our love in their love, our deceit in their insecurity, our fears in their fears, our movement in theirs. We are far from mirror images of our partners, but our identities reflect one another for better or worse….

Streaming might be the future, but physical media is still the present. It’s also awesome, depending on the title, the label, and the release, so each week we take a look at the new Blu-rays and DVDs making their way into the world. Welcome to this week in home video! Pick of the Week Young…

Welcome to The Prime Sublime, a weekly column dedicated to the underseen and underloved films buried beneath page after page of far more popular fare on Amazon’s Prime Video collection. We’re not just cherry-picking obscure titles, though, as these are movies that we find beautiful in their own, often unique ways. You might even say we…

Welcome back to Pitch Meeting, a monthly column in which we suggest an IP ripe for adaptation, then assign the cast and crew of our dreams. Comic books are weird. Or they can be. Or they should be. Find the right creator, crack his head on the page, and see what spills out. You’re gonna…

Welcome to World Builders, our new ongoing series of conversations with the most productive and thoughtful behind-the-scenes craftspeople in the industry. Before Jaws, and even after Jaws, the idea of a giant killer shark movie belonged to the territory of disposable trash cinema. The concept was fit for oglers seeking cheap thrills strapped within teeny…

Welcome to Filmographies, a biweekly column for completists. Every edition brings a working actor’s resumé into focus as we learn about what makes them so compelling. This entry spotlights the career of John David Washington. John David Washington has landed in Hollywood on his own terms. Well, “returned” could be a fitting word to describe his…

Streaming might be the future, but physical media is still the present. It’s also awesome, depending on the title, the label, and the release, so each week we take a look at the new Blu-rays and DVDs making their way into the world. Welcome to this week in home video! Pick of the Week The…

Welcome to Horrorscope, a monthly column keeping horror nerds and initiates up to date on all the genre content coming to and leaving from your favorite streaming services.

 This column has addressed film-burnout in the past in the context of COVID-19. And as we enter Pride Month (keeping in mind the first Pride was a riot),…

Welcome to Shot by Shot, our ongoing series of breakdowns. We’re constantly scouring movie trailers for perfect shots. In this column, we share our favorites and discuss them. The sequel we thought we’d never see is finally here. After securing their future by going into the past for Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure and battling…

At first glance, you might think it’s a pumpkin or a sweet potato pie. Yet bean pies, a unique specialty in some Black American Muslim communities, are made with creamy navy beans, spices, and a whole-wheat crust. Read moreA Guide to The Perfect Bong Joon-ho MarathonThe sweet pies, sold for fundraising and at bakeries across…

During Peru’s near-300-year-period under Spanish rule, Spaniards introduced deep-fried dough balls called buñuelos to the region. As they colonized the nation, Spaniards also brought the African slave trade. It was enslaved African cooks who refitted the original buñuelos recipe to make use of Peruvian sweet potato and squash. They kneaded flour and salt with mashed…

Hulu has been stuck in the third-place position when it comes to movie streaming behind Netflix and Amazon Prime because most people still see them strictly as a home for next-day television. They have movies too, though, and more than a few of them are gems that make Hulu a destination beyond last night’s TV…

Welcome to 4:3 & Forgotten — a weekly column in which Kieran Fisher and I get to look back at TV terrors that scared adults (and the kids they let watch) across the limited airwaves of the ’70s. Horror movies set in extreme winter locales — Antarctica, Alaska, the Arctic, mountain peaks — are few and far between…

Welcome to The Prime Sublime, a weekly column dedicated to the underseen and underloved films buried beneath page after page of far more popular fare on Amazon’s Prime Video collection. We’re not just cherry-picking obscure titles, though, as these are movies that we find beautiful in their own, often unique ways. You might even say we…

Streaming might be the future, but physical media is still the present. It’s also awesome, depending on the title, the label, and the release, so each week we take a look at the new Blu-rays and DVDs making their way into the world. Welcome to this week in home video! Pick of the Week One…