Bright Wall/Dark Room

Towards the Afropastoral: What Nope Says About the Black Western Jordan Peele's 'Nope' refashions the Western as a genre that tells a story of American erasure by its survivors.

Towards the Afropastoral: What NOPE Says About the Black Western

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hey if you're up late we've got a treat for you: we just released a brand new pod celebrating/unpacking the 30th anniversary of SEVEN, with the always wonderful Adam Nayman open.spotify.com/episode/2Oir...

sunday is also a good day for Seven pods

i believe there are about a hundred and fifty million people like me who would pay $17 to watch benicio del toro as sergio st. carlos plan and execute a tight sunday costco run before he has to man the barbecue after his niece's afternoon soccer game (run time: 2 hours 20 minutes)

a close up of a man 's face with a bandage on his face . ALT: a close up of a man 's face with a bandage on his face .

hey if you're up late we've got a treat for you: we just released a brand new pod celebrating/unpacking the 30th anniversary of SEVEN, with the always wonderful Adam Nayman open.spotify.com/episode/2Oir...

I took probably too many words here to grapple with Paul Newman’s supposedly favorite role, Reggie Dunlop; what it means to be a good teacher; what it means to try to succeed in America; and how to subvert the systems that want to keep us down. Give it a read?

An Unfortunate Misunderstanding - Big Fan (2009) | BW/DR Twelve years on, Big Fan now plays like a prophetic warning, anticipating a number of the more ruinous social pathologies that plague this country, from the incoherent angst of working-class white men...

Now streaming on @watchshouttv.bsky.social: "Big Fan"

Wrote for @bwdr.bsky.social about its seemingly prophetic insights into toxic fandom, the male loneliness epidemic, and the modern conception of political identity as one more form of team loyalty:

www.brightwalldarkroom.com/2021/04/14/b...

See also:

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“Every film is political. Most political of all are those that pretend not to
be: entertainment movies. They are the most political films because they dismiss the possibility of change. In every frame they tell you everything's fine… a continual advertisement for things as they are.”

- Wim Wenders

What’d you think??

The Heart-Keeper | The Passion of Anna (1969) - Bright Wall/Dark Room With 'The Passion of Anna,' Bergman and cinematographer Sven Nykvist sought to make a black-and-white film in color—the resulting images are startling and unlike anything else Bergman ever made.

"Conversation between women is powerful—it can poison, it can cure, it can transmogrify."

- @wolfandfox.bsky.social on Bergman's THE PASSION OF ANNA

The Fury of Time in 'Christine' (1983) In John Carpenter’s 1983 adaptation of Stephen King’s haunted-car novel 'Christine,' the road to hell is paved not with good intentions, but with time.

Now streaming on the @criterionchannl.bsky.social: CHRISTINE.

I wrote for @bwdr.bsky.social about CHRISTINE as John Carpenter's unfairly neglected masterpiece, "a painful meditation on lost youth, cruising deep into the heartaching horror of aging, change, and time’s unstoppable drive forward."

Who Am I This Time? (1982): What We Did For Love Between the four lines that form a televisual frame, Jonathan Demme’s Who Am I This Time? is among the most romantic gestures ever set to film.

“There are other, grander filmic imaginings of what theater means to the people who make it, but no film better celebrates community theater’s peculiarly turbulent power as an organizing force than WHO AM I THIS TIME?, a PBS adaptation of a Kurt Vonnegut short story, directed by Jonathan Demme.”

There is no better movie you can watch right now than A Hidden Life to steel your moral code, to draw red line your soul will not cross.

Godzilla and the Peculiar Beauties of Destruction No matter how many times he is taken down by rival monsters, oxygen destroyers, or box office bombs, Godzilla always returns, animated not only by the eternal specter of nuclear armageddon but by whic...

“No matter how many times he is taken down by rival monsters, oxygen destroyers, or box office bombs, Godzilla always returns, animated not only by the eternal specter of nuclear armageddon but by whichever new anxiety is clawing its way into the world’s psyche.”

RIP Jane Goodall 💔

A while back I wrote this piece for @bwdr.bsky.social on Brett Morgen’s documentary, Jane, composed of gorgeous 16mm footage shot by Hugo Van Lawick.

It’s a beautiful tribute to her and her work, and a dream to watch.

Jane and the Magic of Being There - Bright Wall/Dark Room Through a stirring bit of cinematic alchemy, director Brett Morgen reconstructs Jane Goodall’s journey through Gombe, while also giving us a glimpse into her thoughts, aspirations, and memories.

“JANE doesn’t attempt to explain her research or findings, rather it paints a portrait of Gombe through Goodall’s eyes. In interviews, Goodall reflected that it was the first film that truly evoked the feeling of being there.”

R.I.P. Jane Goodall 😢

This is a wonderful read - not just for fans of this iconic film, but as a primer for those who haven't, but absolutely should, seek it out and experience it.

cc: @reggiedunlop.bsky.social

This is a great essay, especially if, like me, you’ve seen Slap Shot several too-many times.

If you've got some time today, treat yourself to this remarkable essay about...teaching, and a sports movie, a hockey sports movie. It's fantastic.

Slap Shot (1977): The Courage To Teach One could criticize Reggie Dunlop (Newman), “player-coach” of the Charlestown Chiefs in George Roy Hill's chaotically raunchy Slap Shot, for a wide variety of character flaws & professional failings—b...

New today on the site!

"The Courage to Teach" - @eccantwell.bsky.social on George Roy Hill's SLAP SHOT

(🎨 by @garymillsfineart.bsky.social)

In the Mood for Clues | Bright Wall/Dark Room I’m drawn to Clue and In the Mood for Love, two movies that probably couldn’t be more different, because in both, characters use storytelling to investigate their cratered lives.

"I find myself drawn to CLUE and IN THE MOOD FOR LOVE—two movies that probably couldn’t be more different—because in both, the characters use storytelling to investigate their cratered lives."

Does It Ever End? | Inherent Vice (2014) - Bright Wall/Dark Room Inherent Vice tricks us into settling in for a noir about a man solving a mystery, and instead presents us with a man confronting a melancholy truth: everything—lives, eras, and loves—comes to an end.

"Paul Thomas Anderson’s INHERENT VICE is a film that tricks us into settling in for a noir about a man solving a mystery, and instead presents us with a man confronting a melancholy truth: everything—lives, eras, and loves—comes to an end."

- @aheartofgould.bsky.social

Sisyphus and Baseball: Eephus and Everybody Wants Some!! Both Eephus and Everybody Wants Some!! explore groups of men who are devoted to their sport, but have yet to figure out the rest of their own lives.

Unbelievably great essay on @bwdr.bsky.social by Sarah Welch-Larson on Everyone Wants Some and Eephus (my favorite movie of the year)

www.brightwalldarkroom.com/2025/07/08/s...

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“Every film is political. Most political of all are those that pretend not to
be: entertainment movies. They are the most political films because they dismiss the possibility of change. In every frame they tell you everything's fine… a continual advertisement for things as they are.”

- Wim Wenders

this one's gonna be a good one, folks.

OPEN CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS:

For our next issue (Nov/Dec), the theme will be: What Is to Be Done?

www.brightwalldarkroom.com/submissions

Deadline: 10/19/25

Details: