The Magic Lantern

Female Trouble (Waters, 1974) is probably not for everyone, but I wish it was. The world would be a lot more fun if everyone could embrace their inner Divine. This towering achievement of trash cinema is my favorite of all of John Waters’ work. I think it’s the smartest, definitely…

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Desk Set (Lang, 1957) arrived on the cusp of the information age, when the American office was poised to be transformed by room-sized machines. In this “situation comedy” is the corporation run by the women answering the phones or by the men flying off to meetings? This question of agency…

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In Cold Blood (Brooks, 1967) is one of the most aptly titled works in either cinema or literature. I think of the Clutter family basement in November at 2 a.m. and it chills me to my very marrow. It was a galvanizing experience the first time I saw it as…

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One Man Force (Trevillion, 1989) takes all the rogue cop movie tropes we have ever seen, turns them up to 11, blows out their back windows, shoots them in the face, ties a rope to them, throws them off a cliff, jumps off the cliff after them, douses them in…

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It’s that time again! In this episode, The Magic Jack O’Lantern 2018, we once again bring you our list of viewing tricks and treats to celebrate the season. We watched one Halloween inspired title every day in October and now pass the list and our impressions on to you in…

The post Episode 089 – The Magic Jack O’Lantern 2018 appeared first on The Magic Lantern.

The Wicker Man (1973) is an undisputed classic of folk horror, though some of its principals would dispute that. Director Robin Hardy thought he was making a musical as much as anything else and star Christopher Lee has emphatically said he does not consider it a horror film. Well, gentlemen,…

The post Episode 088 – The Wicker Man appeared first on The Magic Lantern.

In the groundbreaking Get Out (2017), director and writer Jordan Peele wove together terror, horror, dark satire, and laugh out loud comedy to create something much larger than the sum of its very interesting parts. He has alternatively called the film a social thriller and a documentary. To understand that…

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35 Shots of Rum (Denis, 2008) is a bit of a departure, both for Claire Denis and for me. It is still as incisive and poetic as her other work, but she has replaced the usual turbulent heart of her cinema with a tranquil one. Being a loving homage to…

The post Episode 086 – 35 Shots of Rum appeared first on The Magic Lantern.

When they were first tasked with making a documentary about the Bouvier family and their reminiscences of East Hampton, Albert and David Maysles soon realized that they were dealing with some “staunch” characters in Big Edie and Little Edie Bouvier Beale, and that these women would make much more interesting…

The post Episode 085 – Grey Gardens appeared first on The Magic Lantern.

I only saw Toshio Matsumoto’s Funeral Parade of Roses (1969) for the first time a few years ago and immediately wondered where this movie had been all my life. I always love it when I discover something like this that blows my expectations into tiny pieces. This pioneering LGBTQ film…

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