Category Archives: Hot Takes

I went in expecting Gene Kelly, and I did not get Gene Kelly. My disappointment with La La Land stems from impossible expectations, fueled by not only its 14 Oscar nominations but also by the nonstop conversation framing it as … Continue reading →

Since its devastating Best Picture loss at the 2017 Oscars, having anything negative to say about La La Land is an opinion best kept quiet. Its fans love it passionately and emphasize its basis in nostalgia as a strong positive. … Continue reading →

Gore Verbinski’s 2013 film, The Lone Ranger may have flopped at the box office, but beneath its glossy Disney exterior lies a revisionist Western that critiques settler colonialism, corporate greed, and Hollywood’s history of flattening Indigenous characters. The film breaks … Continue reading →

I recently sat down to rewatch Chris Renaud’s 2012 animated adaptation of The Lorax. In the past 13 years I’ve seen the film more times than one might care to admit; something about the classic story paired with what I … Continue reading →

George Miller’s Mad Max: Fury Road (2015) isn’t just an action film—it’s a demolition derby for outdated masculinity, a furious deconstruction of the traditional action hero. While many celebrate it for its practical effects and relentless pace, there’s a deeper, … Continue reading →

Marriage Story (Noah Baumbach, 2019) follows the emotional and legal challenges of a divorce between Charlie, a successful New York theatre director, and Nicole, an actress seeking independence in Los Angeles. As they navigate divorce and a custody battle over … Continue reading →

Even before studying film, I had always been at least dimly aware of Pulp Fiction (Tarantino, 1994). It is a film embedded so deeply into our collective cultural consciousness that not encountering it in one way or another is essentially … Continue reading →

Through precise filmic techniques, Darren Aronofsky’s Requiem for a Dream tragically depicts the destructive nature of addiction, particularly for the character Marion Silver (Jennifer Connelly). When read against the grain, the film’s use of lighting, mise-en-scene, and camerawork highlight the … Continue reading →

Scooby-Doo satirizes post-9/11 fear tactics Each episode follows a formula: the Mystery Gang chases ghosts, goblins, and other demonic creatures, only to expose a disgruntled old man using fear for petty revenge. Without the meddling kids, his plan might have … Continue reading →

Of the many 2000s films to take a well-beloved franchise and imbue them with the flair and cultural values of the Y2K era, I believe that Scooby-Doo (Gosnell, 2002) is one of the best and most underappreciated by critics. The … Continue reading →