Step documentary review: dance into the future
Covers ground — the lives of black teen girls — that mostly goes unexamined onscreen. It couldn’t be fresher or more important. It’s also wildly entertaining.
Overdrive movie review: dumb and dubious
More plot holes than plot, this overly convoluted, deeply stupid Fast and Furious wannabe is crammed with clichés and memorable only when it’s laughable.
curated: 25,000 78rpm records now online for your listening pleasure
Available at The Internet Archive.
Atomic Blonde movie review: bland ambition
The living, breathing, bleeding life of the breathtaking fight scenes cannot overcome confusingly twisty spy intrigue and multiple male gazes on the story.
Shin Godzilla (aka Godzilla Resurgence) movie review: big in Japan
Toho’s reboot of its most famous kaiju is, amidst intense monster action, a bitter satire on bureaucracy and a cautionary tale about humanity’s collective folly.
Annabelle: Creation movie review: common domestic demon doll
All familiar funhouse spooks telegraphed a mile out, with no spiritual or psychological weight, but with some very young girls terrorized for your entertainment.
curated: Star Trek Continues E09: “What Ships Are For”
I love this series!
Fun Mom Dinner movie review: stay at home, moms
Stereotypes and contrived shenanigans don’t seem to actually offer much catharsis for harried moms seeking escape. And the dads inevitably butt into their me-time.
Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets movie review: story of a thousand clichés
There is barely an original thought in this wackadoodle sci-fi panto, just a lot of tiresome passé attitudes skidding among bug-eyed-monster set dressing.
I’m on BBC World Service’s “The Arts Hour” on Sunday July 30th
We’ll be talking about Dunkirk, The Beguiled, The Big Sick, and lots of other artsy stuff.
