The Trap of the Cinematic Side Quest
The new John Wick spin-off shows that expanding a franchise is harder than it may seem.
Film
Fast Times and Mean Girls
What the great teen movies tell us about American adolescence
Wes Anderson Lets the Real World Filter In
The Phoenician Scheme is the director’s latest film to let modern life seep into his high-concept worlds.
When Mission: Impossible Had No Mission
The series first made a name for itself by eschewing the blockbuster-franchise formula.
The Muddled Message of Bring Her Back
The new horror movie is best when it’s not trying to say something.
A Film That Captures a ‘Friend Breakup’
In the movie Friendship, one man will stop at nothing to get his bro back.
The Unbearable Weight of Mission: Impossible
What started as the adventures of a brilliant spy morphed into the mythology of an exemplary human being.
Time for Scary Movies to Make Us Laugh Again
Final Destination has nailed down a formula that other horror films should learn from.
No One Knows How to ‘Save’ Hollywood
Trump’s plan to impose tariffs on movies seized upon the American film industry’s existential panic.
The Catharsis in Re-Creating One of the Worst Days of Your Life
Making the film Warfare was an exercise in exposure therapy for the veterans whose memories it reconstructs.