Sydney Grullon-Matos
February 6, 2023
3:30 pm
Jester's Privilege
Blame It On The Alcohol: How Many Shots Before I’d Fuck This Fictional Character
Welcome one and all to Blame It On The Alcohol, a new Screen Speck feature where we list fictional characters and explain the number of shots we’d need to fuck them. It’s where cinema and science combine!
Sydney Grullon-Matos
February 6, 2023
3:30 pm
Reviews
‘You People’: A Joyless Occasion (REVIEW)
You People is ultimately another flawed installment from Barris, but at this point, not much more is to be expected from him.
Simone Ritchie
February 6, 2023
3:00 pm
Reviews
Exhalation: “Under The Banner of Heaven” Episodes 6 and 7 (REVIEW)
Under the Banner of Heaven is one of the more respectful and nuanced true crime adaptations in recent years, and Episodes 6 and 7 are the limited series at its best.
Farah Sadek
February 6, 2023
11:30 am
Festivals
“The Accidental Getaway Driver”: Finding Connection in a Hopeless Place (REVIEW)
I am very, very happy to report that I was right: “The Accidental Getaway Driver” is that bitch.
Aiko Hilkinger
February 6, 2023
10:30 am
Festivals
“Shortcomings”: Flawed Protagonists Have Rights Too (REVIEW)
While it’s still not the easiest to get an AAPI film green lit, we are slowly but surely getting there, and Shortcomings is a phenomenal step forward
Aiko Hilkinger
February 3, 2023
2:00 pm
RELATED
Reviews
‘Conversations With Friends’, Lovers, and the In-between (Review)
Hulu’s adaptation of ‘Conversation with Friends’ falls short in translating the fascinating allure of Sally Rooney’s novel.
Miriam Handel
May 11, 2022
Festivals
“Bones and All” is a Voracious Delight (REVIEW)
“These violent delights have violent ends / And in their triumph die, like fire and powder / Which, as they kiss, consume.” It’s been a
Josie Meléndez
October 4, 2022
Reviews
Doug and Tina Forever? ‘Minx’ (Recap)
Can’t say I expected Joyce and Doug’s partnership to flame out so quickly – in the meantime, bring on Doug and Tina on Minx.
Kara Powell
April 11, 2022
Reviews
‘Interview with the Vampire’ Season 1 Episode 3: Rigged to Burn (RECAP)
Episode 3 offers AMC’s Interview with the Vampire adaptation’s most interesting deviation from the novel yet – and has the best zingers.
Leah Carlson-Downie
October 31, 2022
Film
Decay; Memory; Remembrance; Forgetting: Thamrongrattanarit’s “36”
Nawapol Thamrongrattanarit’s “36” is a study of how and why we make memories: why cherish an experience in its moment if digitization gives it immediate immortality?
Lee Jae Min
January 30, 2023
Film
Screen Speck’s Top Films of 2022
This particular year is filled with refreshing and bold new films from newcomer filmmakers like Aftersun’s Charlotte Wells to veterans Todd Field and Park Chan-wook.
Screen Speck Staff
January 6, 2023
Film
Lonely Girls: How Being Unseen Creates Horror
Through characters like these three, horror shows how it uses loneliness to warp the world around us and turn it monstrous.
Sharena Sigmon
November 1, 2022
Film
This Spooky Season, A Primer for Short Horror Films
Through body horror, we confront our physical trappings and limitations. Through psychological horror, we confront that which we simply cannot control.
Samantha Moya
October 25, 2022
Film
Five Years Later, The Sublime Desperation of ‘First Reformed’
A half-decade after its release, Paul Schrader’s “First Reformed” is more timely than ever – in both its despair and its glimmer of hope.
Sam Florsheim
September 16, 2022
Film
‘Showgirls,’ Camp, and the Making of a Queer Cult Classic
Why has Paul Verhoeven and Joe Eszterhas’ 1995 cult classic “Showgirls” endured as a queer cult classic? Not because it’s because the film is secretly a high art masterpiece (it isn’t), but because it embraces camp with both arms and then kisses it on every cheek.
Joshua Goodstein
July 19, 2022
Film
The Top 10 Most Memorable Depictions of Depression in Film
The more we dodge the subject, the more alienating it feels when we do feel depressed, because we start to feel like no one else feels this way – so we seek out representation in art.
Audrey Callerstrom
June 17, 2022
Film
Yes, I’m a Wanda Apologist – And She Deserves One (Feature)
Marvel villainizing Wanda’s desperate desire to be a mother says more about the studio’s trivialization of motherhood than anything to do with Wanda’s character.
Maggie Mallison
May 25, 2022
Film
No Mother Is an Island: Dismantling Myths of Self-Sufficient Motherhood in ‘About a Boy’
Although it came out twenty years ago this month, ‘About a Boy’ remains one of the best and most sensitive mainstream depictions of a reimagined system of care in support of mothers.
Leah Carlson-Downie
May 18, 2022
Film
Motherhood in Cinema: The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly
Arguably, the melodrama is where we have found better, more multidimensional portrayals of motherhood.
rebeccamccafferty12
May 16, 2022
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Reviews
The “Dead to Me” Final Season is DOA (REVIEW)
Dead to Me’s final season is a cruel disservice to the show’s legacy and does Linda Cardellini’s Judy about as dirty as she could be
Sydney Grullon-Matos
December 12, 2022
TV
Con Man: Jimmy McGill and Better Call Saul’s American Dream
The man we know as Saul Goodman is a symptom of the American fallacy that if you hustle hard enough – if you pretend convincingly
Mariana Delgado
July 12, 2022
Reviews
Zemeckis’ Live-Action “Pinocchio” Fails to Lose Its Strings (REVIEW)
The 2022 Pinocchio remake from director Robert Zemeckis doesn’t respect its medium or the needs of its story enough to truly come to life.
Bishop V. Navarro
October 4, 2022
TV
10 TV Characters I Would Bite
You need to know that I’m not just an avid fan of puppetry – I’m also a biter. For October, here are 10 characters too
Vynique Moon
October 31, 2022
Reviews
‘You People’: A Joyless Occasion (REVIEW)
You People is ultimately another flawed installment from Barris, but at this point, not much more is to be expected from him.
Simone Ritchie
February 6, 2023
3:00 pm
Reviews
Exhalation: “Under The Banner of Heaven” Episodes 6 and 7 (REVIEW)
Under the Banner of Heaven is one of the more respectful and nuanced true crime adaptations in recent years, and Episodes 6 and 7 are the limited series at its best.
Farah Sadek
February 6, 2023
11:30 am
Festivals
“The Accidental Getaway Driver”: Finding Connection in a Hopeless Place (REVIEW)
I am very, very happy to report that I was right: “The Accidental Getaway Driver” is that bitch.
Aiko Hilkinger
February 6, 2023
10:30 am
Festivals
“Shortcomings”: Flawed Protagonists Have Rights Too (REVIEW)
While it’s still not the easiest to get an AAPI film green lit, we are slowly but surely getting there, and Shortcomings is a phenomenal step forward
Aiko Hilkinger
February 3, 2023
2:00 pm
Reviews
“Gossip Girl” Season 2 Episode 6: The Bitch is Back (RECAP)
Georgina Sparks, everyone’s favorite chaos agent, is back – and Gossip Girl Season 2 Episode 6 certainly does not lack for drama or mess.
Kara Powell
February 3, 2023
12:00 pm
Festivals
“Fancy Dance”: An Intimate Portrait of the Struggles of Native Women (REVIEW)
Headlined by a pair of amazing performances, Fancy Dance highlights the uneven field on which Native women have to play every day – even when they go missing.
Aiko Hilkinger
February 1, 2023
12:31 pm
Festivals
“Radical”: Another Eugenio Derbez Film to Make You Cry Your Eyes Out (REVIEW)
Radical is yet another Eugenio Derbez film to make you cry your eyes out of your head. But Derbez’s finest performance is also a beautiful reminder of the power even small opportunities can have on the lives of children.
Aiko Hilkinger
February 1, 2023
9:41 am
Reviews
“Triangle of Sadness”: An Empty Display of Commentary With No Bite (REVIEW)
Triangle of Sadness is a frustratingly muddled attempt at social commentary – it’s too weak to truly mock the ultra-rich it parades on screen, let alone bring down the structures that keep them in power.
Mariana Delgado
February 1, 2023
5:00 am
Festivals
“birth/rebirth”: A Frankensteinesque Retelling of Gory Dreams (REVIEW)
‘birth/rebirth’ focuses on how we handle grief and how it warps our perception of right/wrong, with motherhood being a driving factor.
Aiko Hilkinger
January 25, 2023
3:30 pm
Festivals
“Past Lives” is a Heartbreakingly Romantic Triumph (REVIEW)
Past Lives pulses with longing as it explores the concept of “In Yun,” a Korean belief that fate stems from two people’s connection in a previous life.
Josie Meléndez
January 25, 2023
12:00 pm
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Reviews
‘Candy’ Episode 4: Fried Spaghetti and Scrambled Eggs (Review)
Candy episode 4, “Cover Girl,” starts to broaden the series’ narrative perspective a little too late – but does put all the pieces in place
John Brown Spiers
May 20, 2022
Film
The Case For A Queer Zombie Movie
Zombie movies share a lot in common with disaster movies, another genre that tries to mirror the reality we live in as closely as possible.
Murphy
March 15, 2022
Film
Female Sensuality and Sensual Cinema in Ruba Nadda’s ‘Cairo Time’
Ruba Nadda’s ‘Cairo Time’ projects female desire in ways that redefine sensual cinema’s own perceptions on femininity and sex.
Mariana Delgado
March 11, 2022
TV
Love Triangles Ranked By How Much I Wanted to Throw Something at the Screen
The best metric for ranking love triangles is how badly they make you want to hurl heavy objects at your TV screen.
Kara Powell
November 4, 2022
TV
“Shrinking” Season 1: An Intimate Look at the Intricacies of Grief (REVIEW)
Shrinking is a beautiful and hilarious reminder that we’re all grieving *something* – and that it takes a goddamn village to get through it.
Sydney Grullon-Matos
January 31, 2023
11:07 am
Culture
Screen Speck’s Top TV Episodes of 2022
2022 was an exceptionally good year for exceptionally good TV – which made selecting these 15 episodes exceptionally difficult.
Screen Speck Staff
January 6, 2023
11:48 am
TV
“Resident Alien,” Representation, and Redefining a Genre
Harry’s discovery of the human world enables Resident Alien to offer us a more complete, accurate, and thorough representation of Native people – as well as a future where television has room for depictions of long-misrepresented cultures in every genre.
Cassie Mattheis
December 19, 2022
1:34 pm
TV
‘Ted Lasso’ is a Rom-Com that Reimagines Love
There’s such witchcraft in their relationship that, although their romantic future is still an open question, Ted and Rebecca already seem to have everything they need to love one another.
Mariana Delgado
November 30, 2022
10:00 am
TV
Love Triangles Ranked By How Much I Wanted to Throw Something at the Screen
The best metric for ranking love triangles is how badly they make you want to hurl heavy objects at your TV screen.
Kara Powell
November 4, 2022
11:30 am
TV
Five Things We Want To See In “The Sandman” Season 2
Netflix may or may not give us The Sandman Season 2, but that’s not stopping us from dreaming about what we want to see in a second season.
Murphy
October 31, 2022
3:00 pm
TV
10 TV Characters I Would Bite
You need to know that I’m not just an avid fan of puppetry – I’m also a biter. For October, here are 10 characters too girlboss supreme slay for me to resist, dentally speaking.
Vynique Moon
October 31, 2022
2:30 pm
TV
The Lives and Deaths Of Polly Gray in “Peaky Blinders”
Helen McCrory’s Polly Gray – AKA Elizabeth Gray or Aunt Polly – was the beating heart of Peaky Blinders the show as well as the gang.
Murphy
October 3, 2022
1:00 pm
Home
Kamala Takes a Step Back in Ms Marvel Episode 5 (REVIEW)
A dizzyingly dense and beautiful episode, Ms Marvel Episode 5 might have the strongest emotional impact of the season so far.
Farah Sadek
September 29, 2022
12:30 pm
TV
Screen Snubbed: The Worst of the 2022 Emmy Snubs
Here at Screen Speck, we salute the most egregiously non-nominated of all the many 2022 Emmy snubs – the cast & crew whose non-recognition simply boggles the mind.
Screen Speck Staff
September 12, 2022
12:44 pm
RELATED
TV
‘Starstruck’ Proves There’s Life After Heartbreak
‘Starstruck,’ the BBC-HBO comedy from Rose Matafeo, is a beautiful & refreshing acknowledgement that growing pains don’t stop – even in intimate relationships.
Kara Powell
July 14, 2022
Reviews
‘The Umbrella Academy,’ Season 3: Another End of the World as We Know It? (REVIEW)
Although season 3 doesn’t soar above the excellent first season, it certainly outmatches the rather weak sequel.
Bishop V. Navarro
October 26, 2022
Jester's Privilege
The Explainers Explaining the ‘Better Call Saul’ “Nippy” Ending, Explained
There are plenty of articles explaining the Better Call Saul ‘Nippy’ ending. There’s only one explining the explanations of the Better Call Saul ‘Nippy’ ending.
John Brown Spiers
July 30, 2022
Reviews
‘Men’: An Allegorical, Abject Echo of Malignant Memory (Review)
Surreal and visceral, Alex Garland’s folk-horror film ‘Men’ delivers a harrowing depiction of memory as shape-shifting and somatic – along with one of the most
Ashley Steinbach
May 24, 2022
