‘Ants!’ Create a Panic at Lakewood Manor

‘Ants!’ Create a Panic at Lakewood Manor

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…

The Wretched Pleasures and Psychotic Education of ‘Looney Tunes’

The Wretched Pleasures and Psychotic Education of ‘Looney Tunes’

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…

12 Films With Inspirational Black Stories

12 Films With Inspirational Black Stories

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…

The Kids Are Not All Right in Our Pick of the Week

The Kids Are Not All Right in Our Pick of the Week

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…

‘The Final Comedown’ Offers Wisdom, Bloodshed, and Angry Catharsis

‘The Final Comedown’ Offers Wisdom, Bloodshed, and Angry Catharsis

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…

Join The John David Washington Appreciation Society

Join The John David Washington Appreciation Society

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…

Everyone’s a Target in Our Pick of the Week

Everyone’s a Target in Our Pick of the Week

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…

All the Horror New to Streaming in June 2020, and What’s Leaving

All the Horror New to Streaming in June 2020, and What’s Leaving

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),…

Shot by Shot with the ‘Bill & Ted Face The Music’ Trailer

Shot by Shot with the ‘Bill & Ted Face The Music’ Trailer

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…

Bean Pie

Bean Pie

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…

Picarones

Picarones

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…

What’s New to Stream on Hulu for June 2020, and What’s Leaving

What’s New to Stream on Hulu for June 2020, and What’s Leaving

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…

Nature Tires of Humanity’s Bullshit in ‘A Cold Night’s Death’

Nature Tires of Humanity’s Bullshit in ‘A Cold Night’s Death’

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…

‘Manborg’ Shows You Don’t Need Money to Make a Masterpiece

‘Manborg’ Shows You Don’t Need Money to Make a Masterpiece

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…

Our Pick of the Week Breathes New Life Into the Undead

Our Pick of the Week Breathes New Life Into the Undead

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…

We Just Really Love This Episode of ‘Community’

We Just Really Love This Episode of ‘Community’

This essay is part of our series Episodes, a bi-weekly column in which senior contributor Valerie Ettenhofer digs into the singular chapters of television that make the medium great. Some TV shows have just one or two standout episodes. Community has dozens. The whip-smart meta-sitcom about a group of community college students started off normal enough, but early…