Film
-
Horror for the Holidays (May’s Monthly Horror Recs)
Welcome to the fifth edition of May’s Monthly Horror Recs, where it’s always the time of year for scary movies! Continue reading
-
Lessons from the Wasteland: Early Animation
Welcome to class! Each film on this curated watchlist will highlight either a filmmaker, sub-genre, filmmaking technique, or significant topic in order to broaden your cinematic horizons. Continue reading
-
November Blues (May’s Monthly Horror Recs)
Welcome to the fourth edition of May’s Monthly Horror Recs, where it’s always the time of year for scary movies! Continue reading
-
“Wake Up Dead Man” Keeps the Knives Sharp (Review)
I would be perfectly excited if Rian Johnson made a new “Knives Out” movie every few years for as long as he wants to. Continue reading
-
Welcome to the Apocryphal Tale of “The Carpenter’s Son” (Review)
I’m a simple man. I enjoy the art of cinema. I hear “Nicolas Cage in a faith-based horror movie,” and I’m intrigued. Continue reading
-
In “Eternity,” Love Never Dies…It Just Gets Complicated (Review)
Pitting Larry and Luke against each other with their lived experiences is the kind of romantic rivalry you just can’t see anywhere else. Continue reading
-
“Frankenstein” is the Fiery Culmination of Guillermo del Toro’s Career (Review)
If there’s anyone who can frame a tale about the true nature of monsters and the utter agony of being alive, it’s him. Continue reading
-
Lessons from the Wasteland: Close-Ups
Welcome to class! Each film on this curated watchlist will highlight either a filmmaker, sub-genre, filmmaking technique, or significant topic in order to broaden your cinematic horizons. Continue reading
-
“Rental Family” Finds the Truth in Human Relationships (Review)
There are things with which we all need help, or moments where we just need somebody to be there. Continue reading
-
A Double Feature for Spooky Season (May’s Monthly Horror Recs)
Welcome to the third edition of May’s Monthly Horror Recs, where it’s always the time of year for scary movies! Continue reading
-
“Is This Thing On?” is Bradley Cooper’s Midlife Mic Check (Review)
“Is This Thing On?” lies somewhere on the spectrum between Judd Apatow and Noah Baumbach as Cooper toes the line between quirky familial drama and genuine laughs. Continue reading
-
“Black Phone 2” Rings Twice as Loud (Review)
“Black Phone 2” swaps out dank basement grime for a snow-laden landscape, providing an all-too-clean canvas that begs to be decorated with stark red blood. Continue reading
-
Luca Guadagnino’s “After the Hunt” Flips the Script (Review)
He’s a filmmaker of many flavors, who obsesses over a number of central concepts in nearly every one of his works – chiefly, desire and passion, including their effects and consequences. “After the Hunt” is no different. Continue reading
-
Chris Stuckmann’s “Shelby Oaks” is a Warm, Haunting Hug (Review)
There’s no bigger success story than Chris Stuckmann, who began reviewing movies on YouTube in 2009. Now, he has successfully led the biggest horror movie crowd-funding endeavor in history. The difference 15 years can make! Continue reading
-
Paul Thomas Anderson’s Latest is One Banger After Another (Review)
It’s rare to sit down for a movie and realize in real time that you’re watching a masterpiece. You can see the future, and that what you’re witnessing is going to be cherished and discussed for many decades to come.… Continue reading
-
Lessons from the Wasteland: Akira Kurosawa
Welcome to class! Each film on this curated watchlist will highlight either a filmmaker, sub-genre, filmmaking technique, or significant topic in order to broaden your cinematic horizons. Continue reading
-
“The Smashing Machine” Crashes Its Way to Mediocrity (Review)
“The Smashing Machine” feels like just the first half of a larger piece of art — and it’s a pretty disappointing first half at that. Continue reading
-
“Primate” Goes Apeshit in True Slasher Fashion
With a shocking amount of gore and violence, you can tell just how happy this movie is to exist. Continue reading
-
“The Long Walk” Confronts the Unvarnished Truth of Life and Death (Review)
We come to understand that, by premise alone, death for all but one of these boys is inevitable. The question becomes…how will we get there? Continue reading
-
Lessons from the Wasteland: Live Action Fantasy
Welcome to class! Each film on this curated watchlist will highlight either a filmmaker, sub-genre, filmmaking technique, or significant topic in order to broaden your cinematic horizons. Continue reading
-
Lessons from the Wasteland: Non-Linear Storytelling
Welcome to class! Each film on this curated watchlist will highlight either a filmmaker, sub-genre, filmmaking technique, or significant topic in order to broaden your cinematic horizons. Continue reading
-
Five Underseen Horror Films to Watch This July (May’s Monthly Recs)
Welcome to the second edition of May’s Monthly Horror Recs, where it’s always the time of year for scary movies! Continue reading
-
“Eddington” is Something Different for Ari Aster (Review)
Alienation is inevitable in the works of Mr. Aster, whose polarizing subjects are, this time, holding an uncomfortable mirror up to an audience that is undoubtedly unsure of what to expect from his latest venture. Continue reading
-
“Superman” is Ambitious, but Delightfully Authentic (Review)
There was only one place to start for a brand-new DC universe, and it was their most powerful and inspiring hero. Continue reading
-
The 10 Best Films of 2025, So Far: A Midyear Report
Today marks the midway point of both an unusually painful year and the most tumultuous decade in recent memory. Today, we will be examining ten films released this year that our contributors connected with, and have so far taken their… Continue reading
-
Lessons from the Wasteland: Christopher Nolan
Welcome to class! Each film on this curated watchlist will highlight either a filmmaker, sub-genre, filmmaking technique, or significant topic in order to broaden your cinematic horizons. Continue reading
-
Danny Boyle Viciously Reinvigorates Franchise Filmmaking with “28 Years Later” (Review)
“28 Years Later” makes a compelling argument for Boyle to be considered one of the most innovative and influential filmmakers of the 21st century. Continue reading
-
Five Underseen Horror Films to Watch This June (May’s Monthly Recs)
Welcome to the first-ever edition of May’s Monthly Horror Recs, where it’s always the time of year for scary movies. Continue reading
-
Every Mike Flanagan Film Ranked (including “The Life of Chuck”)
Flanagan doesn’t rely on jump scares, but he utilizes them well, and has been able to craft a perfectly eerie and unsettling atmosphere in his seven horror features, as well as a captivating, inspirational ambience in his latest release. Continue reading
-
“The Life of Chuck” is an Inspiration for All Time (Review)
Like most of Flanagan’s work, it’s highly evocative, but this time of memory rather than fright. Continue reading
-
Lessons from the Wasteland: Weird Westerns
Welcome to class! Each film on this curated watchlist will highlight either a filmmaker, sub-genre, filmmaking technique, or significant topic in order to broaden your cinematic horizons. Continue reading
-
“Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning” is the Sum of Our Choices (Review)
“Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning” is both an exercise in patience and an extraordinarily cathartic release. Continue reading
-
“Fear Street: Prom Queen” Revives Shadyside For Another Nostalgic Spree (Review)
Come to “Prom Queen” for a much-needed return to Fear Street, stay for the gory delights of the modern horror genre – reverent, but assertive, forging its own path while generously indebted to its predecessors. Continue reading
-
“Final Destination Bloodlines” is the Perfect Shot in the Arm
The biggest strength of this brutal return to form is a gleeful willingness to explore new avenues of the central premise, and to deliberately subvert expectations based on the franchise’s established rules. Continue reading
-
Lessons from the Wasteland: Flashbacks
Welcome to class! Each film on this curated watchlist will highlight either a filmmaker, sub-genre, filmmaking technique, or significant topic in order to broaden your cinematic horizons. Continue reading
-
Every Best Picture Winner Ranked (Part One)
The Academy Award for Best Picture has been awarded for almost a century to the film deemed to represent not necessarily the most popular, but the most culturally relevant in that year’s cinematic lineup. Continue reading
-
Lessons from the Wasteland: John Carpenter
Welcome to class! Each film on this curated watchlist will highlight either a filmmaker, sub-genre, filmmaking technique, or significant topic in order to broaden your cinematic horizons. Continue reading
-
Lessons from the Wasteland: Neo-Westerns
Welcome to class! Each film on this curated watchlist will highlight either a filmmaker, sub-genre, filmmaking technique, or significant topic in order to broaden your cinematic horizons. Continue reading
-
“The Monkey” is a Terrifically Fatalistic Ode to Death Everlasting (Review)
Perkins’ wry personality shines through in this delightfully demented ode to the inescapable fate awaiting us all…after all, as long as we know it’s coming, there’s more than enough time to laugh about it. Continue reading
-
Captain America (and the United States) Enters a “Brave New World” (Review)
“Brave New World” is the 35th film in the MCU, a milestone that explains a lot about its own reception. Continue reading
-
“Heart Eyes” Has a Lot to Love (Review)
It doesn’t reinvent the wheel of either genre, but the novel approach to their combination gives a fan of both something new to see. Continue reading
-
“The Gorge” is an Affectionate Genre Machine (Review)
“The Gorge” isn’t just a romance; it’s also a high-concept sci-fi action movie, with some horror (director Scott Derrickson’s specialty) thrown in there for good measure. Continue reading
-
“Love Hurts,” But It Doesn’t Sting (Review)
“Love Hurts” has a unique earnestness to it, and a confidence that can be off-putting to those not expecting an unapologetically silly movie. Continue reading
-
Remembering David Lynch
David Lynch, one of the most iconic and stylistically recognizable filmmakers of all time, passed away recently at the age of 78. Continue reading
-
Our Most Anticipated Movies of 2025
There are plenty of films, whether they be original, adaptations, or sequels, that we’re looking forward to this year. Continue reading
-
“Companion” is a Darkly Thrilling Genre-Bender (Review)
“Companion” is at its most entertaining when you surrender yourself to the wonderful chaos. Continue reading
-
The 10 Best Films of 2024
Though it may not have reached the heights of years previous, 2024 has proven to be a fascinating year for cinema. Continue reading
-
“Wolf Man” Gets Hairy, But Stays Harmless (Review)
If you’re looking for a decent horror flick from one of our more interesting genre filmmakers, you can do far worse than spend an evening in an abandoned farmhouse with the “Wolf Man.” Continue reading
-
The Underseen Gems of 2024
Knock on Wood presents: our favorite under-appreciated masterpieces from 2024. Continue reading
-
Lessons from the Wasteland: Montage
Welcome to class! Each film on this curated watchlist will highlight either a filmmaker, sub-genre, filmmaking technique, or significant topic in order to broaden your cinematic horizons. Continue reading
Knock on Wood 