Foolproof and incapable of error. A masterpiece.

But a few words about the 2018 50th anniversary theatrical re-release:

If the goal of Christopher Nolan's "unrestored" 70mm version is to recreate the authentic analog celluloid experience, warts and all, then I suppose it would have to be judged a success. The particular print I saw (at New York City's Village East Cinema) was rife with dust and scratches throughout, with a distracting jitter during most of the Dawn of Man sequence,…

Marty is a basically decent man, trapped in a kind of stasis by social forces only more amplified today: misogyny, distrust of the educated, racism, and classism. Even the changing economic landscape looms, as corporate consolidation threatens his dream to own a small business.

One more generation, and it’s easy to imagine Marty’s family chanting “lock her up” at a MAGA rally, and his friends as incels trolling women on the internet.

His family exemplifies a moment of social transformation…

Andrea Niccol's Anon is a rather quaint throwback to the techno-paranoia cyberpunk genre, once common in the late nineties -- remember Virtuosity, Johnny Mnemonic, and Paycheck? The ultimate modern incarnation of is of course the BBC series Black Mirror, which out-Philip-K.-Dicked Philip K. Dick., and set a newly high bar for cynical, pessimistic takes on the future. But reality has outpaced all these cautionary tales, as we've come to understand that of course governments surveil our movements and communications, while…

Room 237 is not about The Shining. It is about those lost in its labyrinth.

For better or for worse, Stanley Kubrick is one of the most potent gateway drugs for young cinephiles, and for many the early obsession proves lifelong. The addictive nature of his films is partly due to their own air of grandeur and carefully-crafted perfection, but the the popular perception of Kubrick as a total mastermind sweating every single detail of his films is belied by…