Kyle Stevens
@cinementalist.bsky.social
Another film queer. Professor. Book on Mike Nichols. Ed. of The Oxford Handbook of Film Theory. Tons of essays. Boston.
Pinned
Kyle Stevens
@cinementalist.bsky.social
· May 12
Sneering at, or with, “The White Lotus” | Los Angeles Review of Books
Kyle Stevens examines the farce at the heart of the third season of HBO’s “The White Lotus.”
lareviewofbooks.org
I wrote about The White Lotus! I start with Parker Posey’s sneer and end up talking about why we need more farces. (Hint: Class anger.) lareviewofbooks.org/article/snee...
Reposted by Kyle Stevens
ICE is now responsible for 66% of the homicides in Minneapolis this year.
January 24, 2026 at 4:51 PM
ICE is now responsible for 66% of the homicides in Minneapolis this year.
This shit really gets my goat. I haven't seen the film, but I'm sick of gay directors' films being called "excessively decorous," or some such euphemistic suggestion they should stay in the worlds of interior decorating and flower shops. It has plagued directors from Almodovar to Tom Ford.
“It is a notorious tendency of the scholarly folk tradition to place combustible content in neat boxes and much the same happens to the emotional content of this sensitive but excessively decorous film”
Jonathan Romney reviews. www.bfi.org.uk/sight-and-so...
Jonathan Romney reviews. www.bfi.org.uk/sight-and-so...
The History of Sound review: muted desires
Paul Mescal and Josh O’Connor’s tale of gay love and folk music set in early 20th-century America is handsomely made but lacks emotional intensity.
www.bfi.org.uk
January 23, 2026 at 3:33 PM
This shit really gets my goat. I haven't seen the film, but I'm sick of gay directors' films being called "excessively decorous," or some such euphemistic suggestion they should stay in the worlds of interior decorating and flower shops. It has plagued directors from Almodovar to Tom Ford.
Watching the excellent cozy period murder mystery Bookish on PBS, and aside from many charms it has given me the phrase “I’m in a state of advanced refreshment” as a euphemism for drunk. 🙏
January 23, 2026 at 12:45 AM
Watching the excellent cozy period murder mystery Bookish on PBS, and aside from many charms it has given me the phrase “I’m in a state of advanced refreshment” as a euphemism for drunk. 🙏
I think Jesse Plemons might be so good that people forget he’s acting his ass off.
January 22, 2026 at 5:40 PM
I think Jesse Plemons might be so good that people forget he’s acting his ass off.
While we’re mulling over the Oscar nominations (which is usually about what we would’ve done), I’ll say that my own supporting actress category would’ve included Celia Weston for A Little Prayer.
January 22, 2026 at 5:16 PM
While we’re mulling over the Oscar nominations (which is usually about what we would’ve done), I’ll say that my own supporting actress category would’ve included Celia Weston for A Little Prayer.
Reposted by Kyle Stevens
The most dangerous place in the world is between a straight liberal and an opportunity to call someone a faggot
Newsom shows off knee pads for CEOs 'selling out' to the Trump administration
Newsom shows off knee pads for CEOs 'selling out' to the Trump administration
The Governor of California showed off knee pads that he suggested were for leaders "selling out" to the Trump administration, during an interview at Davos.
cnb.cx
January 22, 2026 at 3:21 PM
The most dangerous place in the world is between a straight liberal and an opportunity to call someone a faggot
Partner surprised me with a visit to a used/antique cookbook shop today. I usually hate surprises but not this one!! Amazing.
January 19, 2026 at 7:46 PM
Partner surprised me with a visit to a used/antique cookbook shop today. I usually hate surprises but not this one!! Amazing.
Reposted by Kyle Stevens
Fuck it, Norway should hold a festival where they celebrate every living American who won the peace prize. Have Barack narrate the filmed version.
January 19, 2026 at 4:37 PM
Fuck it, Norway should hold a festival where they celebrate every living American who won the peace prize. Have Barack narrate the filmed version.
Reposted by Kyle Stevens
So to keep people in the loop, one of the biggest school districts in the state is closed Tuesday and Wednesday because they need to give teachers time to build hybrid options for families worried about their children getting kidnapped on the way to school by lawless masked armed federal goons.
January 18, 2026 at 7:38 PM
So to keep people in the loop, one of the biggest school districts in the state is closed Tuesday and Wednesday because they need to give teachers time to build hybrid options for families worried about their children getting kidnapped on the way to school by lawless masked armed federal goons.
Reposted by Kyle Stevens
Oh, it's Cary Grant's birthday? Let me once again beat the drum for Holiday, one of the five movies that raised me—but don't let that stop you! It's a delightful, human portrait of youthful middle class anxieties about facing a life of labor ahead.
January 18, 2026 at 2:09 PM
Oh, it's Cary Grant's birthday? Let me once again beat the drum for Holiday, one of the five movies that raised me—but don't let that stop you! It's a delightful, human portrait of youthful middle class anxieties about facing a life of labor ahead.
There it is.
Slop doc flop rots at box.
January 18, 2026 at 3:35 PM
There it is.
Brett Ratner directed the Melania slop doc flop!?
AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA
AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA
January 18, 2026 at 3:15 PM
Brett Ratner directed the Melania slop doc flop!?
AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA
AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA
Oh, it's Cary Grant's birthday? Let me once again beat the drum for Holiday, one of the five movies that raised me—but don't let that stop you! It's a delightful, human portrait of youthful middle class anxieties about facing a life of labor ahead.
January 18, 2026 at 2:09 PM
Oh, it's Cary Grant's birthday? Let me once again beat the drum for Holiday, one of the five movies that raised me—but don't let that stop you! It's a delightful, human portrait of youthful middle class anxieties about facing a life of labor ahead.
To the one who came up with color-coding subtitles on programs: a MacArthur; 9 Guggenheims; a Nobel; and a nice dinner out.
January 15, 2026 at 10:21 PM
To the one who came up with color-coding subtitles on programs: a MacArthur; 9 Guggenheims; a Nobel; and a nice dinner out.
Reposted by Kyle Stevens
"Even as King George has innocent civilians murdered on the streets of Boston, we will hold our focus on affordability because that's what our consultants find with focus groups and A/B testing on online surveys"
Schumer as a major American metro is being brutally occupied by Trump goons: "The affordability crisis will be our focus throughout 2026 because that's what the American people are demanding"
January 15, 2026 at 5:52 PM
"Even as King George has innocent civilians murdered on the streets of Boston, we will hold our focus on affordability because that's what our consultants find with focus groups and A/B testing on online surveys"
Peter Hujar's Day: Masterpiece of a meditation on the mediations of memory. The trials of writing history, of writing queer history, of writing personal history--with all the questions of fictionality and narcissism flowing through.
January 13, 2026 at 2:07 PM
Peter Hujar's Day: Masterpiece of a meditation on the mediations of memory. The trials of writing history, of writing queer history, of writing personal history--with all the questions of fictionality and narcissism flowing through.
Inspired by @annakornbluh.bsky.social’s yummy dinners, here’s a random series of some of my my favorite things I made in 2025. (I cook every day I can! Insta saw them first.)
January 11, 2026 at 3:09 PM
Inspired by @annakornbluh.bsky.social’s yummy dinners, here’s a random series of some of my my favorite things I made in 2025. (I cook every day I can! Insta saw them first.)
Reposted by Kyle Stevens
The evidence is also clear that “elite” universities do not offer objectively better education. There is no Secret Extra Learning obtained there. Just a route into other kinds of elite that is closed, by definition, to everyone else.
"The evidence is clear: when talented students who have faced greater barriers gain access to elite universities, they flourish precisely because opportunity, not ability, was the binding constraint."
Prof Lee Elliot Major, University of Exeter
#highered #edchat
www.theguardian.com/education/20...
Prof Lee Elliot Major, University of Exeter
#highered #edchat
www.theguardian.com/education/20...
Cambridge college to target elite private schools for student recruitment
Exclusive: Trinity Hall’s new policy described as a ‘slap in the face’ for state-educated students
www.theguardian.com
January 8, 2026 at 8:43 AM
The evidence is also clear that “elite” universities do not offer objectively better education. There is no Secret Extra Learning obtained there. Just a route into other kinds of elite that is closed, by definition, to everyone else.
Did I realize going in that Wong Kar Wai’s Shanghai Blossoms would be 30 episodes long (at around 45-50 minutes per)? No. And would that commitment have scared me? Yes. But I’m on episode 6 and never want it to end!
December 31, 2025 at 3:40 PM
Did I realize going in that Wong Kar Wai’s Shanghai Blossoms would be 30 episodes long (at around 45-50 minutes per)? No. And would that commitment have scared me? Yes. But I’m on episode 6 and never want it to end!
Uh, Roofman is great?? Good score, Dunst *always* kills it, and Tatum delivers some serious acting! It’s the dramedy we need!
December 30, 2025 at 10:52 PM
Uh, Roofman is great?? Good score, Dunst *always* kills it, and Tatum delivers some serious acting! It’s the dramedy we need!
Reposted by Kyle Stevens
Jet-lagged from holiday travel and didn't mind throwing 3½ hours away, so we caught Avatar: Fire and Ash yesterday. Scenes with dim "lighting" were beautiful. That's the only nice thing I can say. Its attitudes towards sex, gender, warfare, ecology, etc. are a MESS.
December 30, 2025 at 1:37 PM
Jet-lagged from holiday travel and didn't mind throwing 3½ hours away, so we caught Avatar: Fire and Ash yesterday. Scenes with dim "lighting" were beautiful. That's the only nice thing I can say. Its attitudes towards sex, gender, warfare, ecology, etc. are a MESS.
I was wearing my “Written and Directed by Elaine May” shirt on in NYC and Paul Rudd pointed at me on the street and said “nice shirt.”
Right folks. Feeling rather down at the moment so bringing back an oldie
Please Quote this with your most minor celebrity interaction
Please Quote this with your most minor celebrity interaction
December 30, 2025 at 6:59 PM
I was wearing my “Written and Directed by Elaine May” shirt on in NYC and Paul Rudd pointed at me on the street and said “nice shirt.”
Reposted by Kyle Stevens
The episode in which Gumby introduces the gang to the irrefutable logic of "I have two hands, therefore I need two treats."
December 20, 2025 at 9:27 PM
The episode in which Gumby introduces the gang to the irrefutable logic of "I have two hands, therefore I need two treats."
Jet-lagged from holiday travel and didn't mind throwing 3½ hours away, so we caught Avatar: Fire and Ash yesterday. Scenes with dim "lighting" were beautiful. That's the only nice thing I can say. Its attitudes towards sex, gender, warfare, ecology, etc. are a MESS.
December 30, 2025 at 1:37 PM
Jet-lagged from holiday travel and didn't mind throwing 3½ hours away, so we caught Avatar: Fire and Ash yesterday. Scenes with dim "lighting" were beautiful. That's the only nice thing I can say. Its attitudes towards sex, gender, warfare, ecology, etc. are a MESS.
Reposted by Kyle Stevens
Periodizing the historical heyday of the heist film at the turn of the twenty-first century and marking its supplanting by the grifter docudrama series in the 2020s
dukeupress.wordpress.com/2025/12/29/2...
dukeupress.wordpress.com/2025/12/29/2...
2025 Articles You May Have Missed
As 2025 comes to a close, we’re reflecting on the incredible scholarship published in our journals over the past year. To celebrate, we’ve curated a selection of thirteen diverse articles you might…
dukeupress.wordpress.com
December 30, 2025 at 11:23 AM
Periodizing the historical heyday of the heist film at the turn of the twenty-first century and marking its supplanting by the grifter docudrama series in the 2020s
dukeupress.wordpress.com/2025/12/29/2...
dukeupress.wordpress.com/2025/12/29/2...