Twister (1996)Director: Jan de BontScreenwriters: Michael Crichton, Anne-Marie MartinStarring: Helen Hunt, Bill Paxton, Jami Gertz, Cary Elwes, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Lois Smith, Alan Ruck Released in 1996, Twister remains one of the defining mainstream disaster films of the 1990s. Produced under Amblin Entertainment, the picture benefits from a polished Hollywood sheen and a clear sense … Read more

Heathers (1988) She keeps a diary and a gun. She’s beauty and composure, and she isn’t afraid to get a little blood on her Chanel lace. She’s a killer, a closeted lesbian, her high school’s very own Hester Prynne. She’s a newly recognized female film archetype: the Sour Sweetheart. When thinking about female character tropes … Read more

The Devil’s Bath (2024)Directors: Severin Fiala, Veronika FranzScreenwriters: Severin Fiala, Veronika FranzStarring: Anja Plaschg, Maria Hofstätter, David Scheid Can overwhelming grief push someone to commit violence? The Devil’s Bath, a folk-horror film from Austrian directors Veronika Franz and Severin Fiala, examines how society has historically misunderstood and mistreated women’s mental health. Franz and Fiala have … Read more

Longlegs (2024)Director: Osgood PerkinsScreenwriter: Osgood PerkinsStarring: Maika Monroe, Nicolas Cage, Blair Underwood, Alicia Witt, Michelle Choi-Lee, Dakota Daulby Evil is an inescapable subject in both contemporary life and the stories we tell about ourselves. The digital era constantly exposes us to news and social media images of cruelty and violence, while many people also face … Read more

Harry Dean Stanton was the ultimate character actor. Across a career that spanned more than six decades, his sharp eyes, weathered face and laconic delivery made him impossible to ignore, even when he was sharing the frame with major stars and visionary directors. In Sophie Huber’s lyrical late-career documentary Harry Dean Stanton: Partly Fiction, Stanton … Read more

Have you ever wondered why Eyes Wide Shut, a film that premiered in mid-July, is set during Christmas? Twenty-five years on, that question — like many that surround Stanley Kubrick’s final film — still invites debate. Kubrick died shortly after approving the final cut, and he kept tight control over the film’s publicity, instructing that … Read more

With his deep, commanding voice, piercing gaze, and trademark shaved head, Yul Brynner’s screen image remains one of Old Hollywood’s most recognizable. He became synonymous with the role of King Mongkut in Rodgers and Hammerstein’s musical The King and I, both on stage and in the 1956 film adaptation. A Russian-American actor who rose to … Read more

To a Land Unknown (2024)Director: Mahdi FleifelScreenwriter: Fyzal Boulifa, Mahdi Fleifel, Jason McColganStarring: Angeliki Papoulia, Mahmood Bakri, Mohammad Ghassan At the world premiere of To a Land Unknown at the Cannes Film Festival in 2024, director Mahdi Fleifel expressed disbelief that the film had reached such a prestigious stage so quickly. Shot in Greece and … Read more

Anora (2024)Director: Sean BakerScreenwriter: Sean BakerStarring: Mikey Madison, Mark Eydelshteyn, Yuriy Borisov, Karren Kragulian, Vache Tovmaysan When Sean Baker’s Anora unexpectedly won the Palme d’Or at the 2024 Cannes Film Festival, the announcement sparked widespread applause. The film’s victory surprised many festivalgoers who had expected other contenders to prevail, but Anora had already captured attention … Read more

The Imaginary (2023)Director: Yoshiyuki MomoseScreenwriter: Yoshiaki NishimuraStarring: Kokoro Terada, Rio Suzuki, Sakura Ando, Riisa Naka, Takayuki Yamada, Atsuko Takahata, Issei Ogata The Imaginary tells the poignant story of Rudger, an imaginary friend voiced by Kokoro Terada, who faces erasure when his real-life companion, Amanda (Rio Suzuki), falls into a coma after a tragic accident. Separated … Read more