Alci Rengifo
‘The Nest’ Elegantly Finds the Madness in Living Beyond Your Means
Features • Published on September 2020
Has capitalism produced a more tragic figure than the dreamer living beyond their means? “The Nest” is an elegantly tragic portrait of delusion caused…
‘PEN15’ Season 2 Understands the Angst of First Kisses and Tragic Putdowns
Features • Published on September 2020
Even more than season one, this second serving of Hulu’s “PEN15” comprehends the very angst of pondering those little life developments, that in adolescence…
‘Antebellum’ Poses a Provocative Premise About Slavery for a Quick Thriller
Features • Published on September 2020
“Antebellum” wants to be a quick entertainment and a work of zeitgeist pop art at the same time. It poses an intriguing debate for…
‘The Devil All the Time’ Spans a Family Tree of Haunted Generations and Intense Vendettas
Features • Published on September 2020
“The Devil All the Time” is one of those enveloping sagas that spans generations. You almost have to draw out a family tree to…
Ryan Murphy’s ‘Ratched’ Gets Deranged in Lush Technicolor Style
Features • Published on September 2020
When Netflix granted maverick producer Ryan Murphy carte blanche to make original content, they essentially unleashed his obsession with aesthetic. When approaching his latest Netflix…
Luca Guadagnino Contemplates the Yearnings of Youth in HBO’s Ethereal ‘We Are Who We Are’
Features • Published on September 2020
Something about sunshine and beaches always makes them the ideal setting for stories that meditate on the very feeling of youth. The sea, the awakening of hormonal boldness, the yearning for…
Jude Law Enters a World of Desperate Hearts and Cultish Devotion in HBO’s ‘The Third Day’
Features • Published on September 2020
HBO’s “The Third Day” is a thriller more than apt for our times. It is surreal, bending perceptions of reality at its will, and…
Jack Dylan Grazer and Jordan Kristine Seamón on the Making of HBO’s Ode to Youth ‘We Are Who We Are’
Features • Published on September 2020
Rarely has contemporary youth been captured with the kind of ethereal, enveloping ambiance of HBO’s eight-part series “We Are Who We Are.” Adding to…
Chloë Sevigny on Defying Stereotypes in Luca Guadagnino’s ‘We Are Who We Are’ and Her New Role as a Parent
Features • Published on September 2020
Chloë Sevigny is an artist who follows her instincts. Defying any pressures to take on roles because of fads or franchises, what matters to her is…
Wil Wheaton and Brian Landis Folkins Discuss the Nostalgia and Horror of ‘Rent-A-Pal’
Features • Published on September 2020
There will be few characters as tragic and lonely in the movies this year as David. “Rent-A-Pal” imagines him so vividly and tragically as…
Hulu’s ‘Woke’ Is Subdued Comedy With a Relevant Theme About Willful Ignorance
Features • Published on September 2020
It is almost a natural law that art, in any form, is influenced by the times. If you want to get a good sense of the ‘60s just put on any…
‘The Social Dilemma’ Chillingly Outlines the Dangers of Our Cyber Reality
Features • Published on September 2020
There is a good chance you are reading this review on the screen of a smartphone, or if you happen to be using a computer your Facebook profile is open, just…
Amazon’s ‘The Boys’ Spills Even More Blood and Social Satire in Season 2
Features • Published on September 2020
Like it or not, these are very political times. Protests, the elections, governmental authority or lack thereof, these have been topics hovering over everyone’s head even more in this uncertain year.
Disney Updates ‘Mulan’ Into a Visually Grand Saga of War and Identity
Features • Published on September 2020
Disney tries something altogether different and entertainingly refreshing with their new take on “Mulan.” For the last few years the pop culture behemoth has…
‘A.P. Bio’ Moves To Peacock for a Hilariously Dysfunctional Third Season
Features • Published on September 2020
In the age of streaming we can be thankful it’s easier for some shows to get second chances. “A.P. Bio” premiered on NBC two…
HBO Max’s ‘Raised by Wolves’ Imagines a Visually Haunting Future of Clashing Beliefs
Features • Published on September 2020
With science fiction it’s always about the ideas. Good sci-fi stimulates the mind and the senses. HBO Max’s “Raised by Wolves” is more about…
Charlie Kaufman’s ‘I’m Thinking of Ending Things’ Drips With the Existential Dread of Life
Features • Published on September 2020
The cinema has never produced a self-medicating psychoanalyst like Charlie Kaufman. Depending on where you are in life, his films can feel like you’re…
Hell Hath No Fury Like the Hunt for a Scumbag in Showtime’s Riveting ‘Love Fraud’
Features • Published on August 2020
There was no other way to tell the story of Showtime’s “Love Fraud” than as a docuseries. Stories of jilted lovers or husbands who…
Teenage Dreams Are Nearly Shattered by Homelessness in Netflix’s ‘All Together Now’
Features • Published on August 2020
In Netflix’s “All Together Now,” the main character deals with realities and dilemmas quite different from many YA movies. Amber (…
‘Get Duked!’ Hilariously Pits Modern Wayward Youths Against Bloodthirsty Aristocrats
Features • Published on August 2020
“Get Duked!” cheerfully turns class warfare into a literal showdown in the Scottish Highlands. Movies about buddies stuck in the wilderness, facing off with…