Arnold Schwarzenegger is such a staple of our culture today that it’s hard to remember a time when his place in it was anything but assured. But if it was ever in doubt, the 1982 film Conan the Barbarian cemented…
20 Years of ‘The Fifth Element’
They don’t make ’em like that anymore. By that I mean The Fifth Element, which came out twenty years ago today. We got a seemingly ordinary cab driver, Korben Dallas (Bruce Willis), whose past has given him the skills that…
Harlots 1×6 Review
A story about prostitutes has many traps to avoid. But the Hulu series Harlots does it in a way that defies all expectations. This is not a story that portrays them as angelic victims, who sing of past hopes as…
The Handmaid’s Tale 1×4 Review: Nolite Te Bastardes Carborundorum
When Offred finds the Latin phrase “nolite te bastardes carborundorum” carved into the floor of the room where she’s essentially being held prisoner for the sin of not being pregnant, it becomes a tenous thread to sanity, even as she…
The Avengers: 5 Year Anniversary
Has it only been five years since The Avengers blew us away and ushered in a brave (and in some cases not so brave) new world of superhero movies? It certainly was not a spontaneous event, even in terms of…
The Handmaid’s Tale Review: 1×1-1×3
One of the signs from the Women’s March that most sticks in my mind was “I can’t believe I’m still protesting this shit.” It seemed to be a common refrain among the older women. Watching The Handmaid’s Tale, I can…
Once Upon a Time 6×15 Review: A Wondrous Place
A good character is a terrible thing to waste. Once Upon a Time could’ve had a lot going for it by letting Aladdin and Jasmine shine in the episode A Wondrous Place. Deniz Akdeniz and Karen David are intensely likable,…
