Christian Craig

God bless John Carpenter

The Phoenician Scheme — Wes Anderson [Review] | In Review Online A new film review of The Phoenician Scheme, directed by Wes Anderson & released by Focus Features, for film review site In Review Online.

Dark Wes is good Wes

inreviewonline.com/2025/05/30/t...

Sorry, Baby — Eva Victor | In Review Online Eva Victor wants you to know that the cat is okay. “I feel like we should have put out a PSA!” they tell me at a recent festival screening. Victor, the Sorry, Baby — Eva Victor

I wrote about Eva Victor’s (great!) SORRY, BABY for in review:

inreviewonline.com/2025/05/19/s...

Eric Larue — Michael Shannon [Review] | In Review Online A new film review of Eric Larue, directed by Michael Shannon & released by Magnolia Pictures, for film review site In Review Online.

Eric LaRue is sweaty, but I think there's something noble about taking a swing at something so unwieldy. I wrote about it for In Review:

inreviewonline.com/2025/04/25/e...

I'm about halfway through a read of Bleeding Edge and my biggest takeaway so far is that it's a tragedy Pynchon never wrote a video game

Mad Bills to Pay — Joel Alfonso Vargas [ND/NF '25 Review] | In Review Online A new film review of Mad Bills to Pay, directed by Joel Alfonso Vargas, for film review site In Review Online.

I was blown away by MAD BILLS TO PAY! There's something about the current wave of low-budge filmmaking that recalls New Hollywood, and I think Vargas could be this iteration's Cassavetes. My review for In Review:

inreviewonline.com/2025/04/12/m...

Very stoked and honored to be among CFCA’s writers to watch this year!

Secret Mall Apartment — Jeremy Workman [Review] | In Review Online A new film review of Secret Mall Apartment, directed by Jeremy Workman, for film review site In Review Online.

Secret Mall Apartment is compelling, but it traces the limits of its subject (and its own ambitions) in moves that often feel like accidents. I wrote about it for In Review.

inreviewonline.com/2025/03/21/s...

Call for Pitches: Exercises in Thunder Road CALL FOR PITCHES BROAD SOUND SPOTLIGHTS: Exercises in Thunder Road In 1947, Raymond Queneau published the book Exercises in Style. In this remarkable work (available in full here), Queneau told the ...

There’s still a month left to submit ideas for our special edition celebrating the 50th anniversary of Bruce Springsteen’s Thunder Road!

docs.google.com/document/d/1...

The Actor — Duke Johnson [Review] | In Review Online A new film review of The Actor, directed by Duke Johnson & released by NEON, for film review site In Review Online.

THE ACTOR has been flying under the radar, but I thought it was profoundly affecting—you can feel Kaufman in the fabric of the work, but this is Duke Johnson's own thing. I wrote about it for In Review Online.

inreviewonline.com/2025/03/14/t...

A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood (2019): People Like Me In A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood, Mr. Rogers enacts the opening costume-change ritual. There’s something mythic about the transformation, something primal.

New today on the site:

@ethanwarren.bsky.social on Marielle Heller’s A BEAUTIFUL DAY IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD

This essay was a joy to write, even if it meant watching Disaster Movie

Post by Yuval Abraham, announcing what has been done to Hamdan Ballal.

NO OTHER LAND directors.

One of the co-directors of NO OTHER LAND, Hamdan Ballal was beaten by Israeli settlers and seized by Israeli soldiers from the ambulance Ballal called, per co-director Yuval Abraham. No one knows where Ballal is. (Ballal is second from right in the below photo.)

The Failing Class (Christian Craig) In the year 2000, a male gynecologist at the end of his rope is sucked into the sky by a tornado; he lands across the border, in Mexico, in the home of a woman giving birth and in need of an OBGYN.…

"Entertainment lets us down all the time, but it’s rare to consume something rank enough to break out the soapbox. CinemaScore is there when that need arises." - @christch.bsky.social

broadsoundmag.com/2024/07/31/t...

YouTube video by Vinegar Syndrome Virtuosity (1995) [Vinegar Syndrome Ultra 4K UHD & Blu-ray Promo Trailer]

There’s a trailer embedded in this article for @vinsyn.bsky.social ‘s 4k restoration, which I can’t recommend enough

www.youtube.com/watch?v=45ri...

Virtuosity's Fashion of a Failed Future 'Virtuosity' may be uneven, but its style is decidedly assured; it quietly endures by the strength of the clothes on its back.

Wrote about VIRTUOSITY and Francine Jamison-Tanchuck’s fantastic costuming for @bwdr.bsky.social

Big thanks to Frank Falisi and @eccantwell.bsky.social for their edits and to @studioralston.bsky.social for the incredible artwork!

www.brightwalldarkroom.com/2025/03/10/s...

Virtuosity's Fashion of a Failed Future 'Virtuosity' may be uneven, but its style is decidedly assured; it quietly endures by the strength of the clothes on its back.

New today on the site!

Our brand new issue ("Fashion") kicks off with @christch.bsky.social on VIRTUOSITY

(art by @studioralston.bsky.social)

The poster for Darren Aronofsky's mother!

Tyrese Haliburton in his Indiana Pacers jersey

A screenshot from Twilight

The cover of The Catcher in the Rye

There have been essays on...
The F cinemascore (by @christch.bsky.social)
The Indiana Pacers (by @danklain.bsky.social)
Twilight and nostalgia rewatches (by @tashajagger.bsky.social)
And a defense of teaching The Catcher in the Rye (by @roninonempty.bsky.social)

On the Absurdity of David Lynch Like the absurdists, David Lynch brings us to the void to remind us it’s there—and to invite us to laugh into it.

"Like the absurdists, David Lynch brings us to the void to remind us it’s there—and to invite us to laugh into it."

- @ethanwarren.bsky.social

Artwork for DAVID LYNCH: A COMPLETE RETROSPECTIVE at the Music Box

Rest In Peace, David Lynch🌹

Haven’t stopped thinking about Red Rooms since watching it a few days ago. Also loved @judysquirrels.bsky.social‘s essay for the blu-ray—speaks so precisely to how the lead’s poker-face draws you in like a whirlpool.

“A person can only watch pain for so long before the pain looks back at them.”

Blood Jump #27: Best of the Rest Covering some good stuff from 2024 we haven't yet featured.

Wrote about some good stuff from this year! (No Kr*sinski). Miranda July, Kim Gordon, Radu Jude, etc etc

bloodjump.substack.com/p/blood-jump...

(Horror of) Dracula was my first Hammer movie. A bit subdued, but compelling enough to keep me digging. Feels like a clear entry point for horny Drac, complements to the chef (Christopher Lee)

Tod Browning is a real master of gothic poetry, and it’s amazing how he’s able to weave a genuine creepiness around and through Bela Lugosi’s schlock in his take on Dracula.

I have about 70 pages left in Stoker’s novel. Shocked at what a page-turner it’s been, much pulpier and more approachable than I’d expected. Van Helsing earns a spot in the Dudes Rock Mt. Rushmore.

Kicked things off with Murnau’s Nosferatu at music box theater with a live score from Jozef Van Wissem. Beautiful for so many reasons, chief among them being that this remains a living document that continues to evolve over 100 years in.

Third-quarter report: This was a great idea. I’m extremely draculapilled. Love the guy, great hang all things considered.