Essays on TV and film — exploring stories, characters, and the choices behind them.
“I’m watching Jason Statham’s new movie Mutiny, streaming on Amazon for free right now. This has to be a huge mistake, right? My theater has showtimes starting this week!” It was a mistake. On August 19, two days before Mutiny opened in American theaters, Amazon posted the entire ninety five minute film to the … Read more
Since 2023, no movie has been streamed in American homes more than the animated Moana. Nielsen clocked it above eleven billion minutes that year, then watched the number climb even higher in 2024, nearly a decade after the film left theaters. Those are the households Disney invited back this month, asking them to pay … Read more
Bear gets exactly what he wishes for. The tragedy is that it works. He asks a cheap occult trinket to make the girl he loves want him more than anyone in the world, and it obeys him to the letter, which turns out to be a kind of murder. If you are here because … Read more