Paradox Newsletter
@paradoxnewsletter.com
Weekly newsletter by @miguelrivera.phd. Psychoanalytically informed cultural critique. Non-academic rigorous writing about niche subcultures.
I’m glad Kurosawa decided to announce his new film in honor of me finishing my article on Cure for a certain academic journal
KOKUROJO: Kiyoshi Kurosawa’s First Feudal-Era Feature Lands An Explosive Teaser
Coming in 2026 and based on Honobu Yonezawa's "The Samurai and the Prisoner"
Coming in 2026 and based on Honobu Yonezawa's "The Samurai and the Prisoner"
KOKUROJO: Kiyoshi Kurosawa’s First Feudal-Era Feature Lands An Explosive Teaser
Coming in 2026 and based on Honobu Yonezawa's "The Samurai and the Prisoner"
filmcombatsyndicate.com
January 22, 2026 at 10:16 PM
I’m glad Kurosawa decided to announce his new film in honor of me finishing my article on Cure for a certain academic journal
Took a last min trip to the megaplex to catch The Bone Temple. Wasn’t really prepared for how much it was a continuation of last year’s 28 Years. It’s better in some ways and worse in others but it’s hard to judge them separately — or at least judge The Bone Temple separately.
January 22, 2026 at 4:07 AM
Took a last min trip to the megaplex to catch The Bone Temple. Wasn’t really prepared for how much it was a continuation of last year’s 28 Years. It’s better in some ways and worse in others but it’s hard to judge them separately — or at least judge The Bone Temple separately.
At @somervilletheatre.bsky.social Movie Trivia last night, @brattletheatre.bsky.social provided what must be the single most valuable bonus question prize: a vintange Inland Empire promotional t-shirt. I've been on the t-shirt beat for a long time, so I have some photos from old online auctions.
January 21, 2026 at 8:29 PM
At @somervilletheatre.bsky.social Movie Trivia last night, @brattletheatre.bsky.social provided what must be the single most valuable bonus question prize: a vintange Inland Empire promotional t-shirt. I've been on the t-shirt beat for a long time, so I have some photos from old online auctions.
Reposted by Paradox Newsletter
Cathy Rosier, Alain Delon, François Périer, 'Le Samouraï’ (1967).
Here are 11 nightclubs where the shadowy figures of film noir are known to lurk. Click to read.
lalifeanddeath.blogspot.com/2026/01/live...
Here are 11 nightclubs where the shadowy figures of film noir are known to lurk. Click to read.
lalifeanddeath.blogspot.com/2026/01/live...
January 21, 2026 at 9:24 AM
Cathy Rosier, Alain Delon, François Périer, 'Le Samouraï’ (1967).
Here are 11 nightclubs where the shadowy figures of film noir are known to lurk. Click to read.
lalifeanddeath.blogspot.com/2026/01/live...
Here are 11 nightclubs where the shadowy figures of film noir are known to lurk. Click to read.
lalifeanddeath.blogspot.com/2026/01/live...
Newsletter is out this week. If you like No Other Choice or Marxism, this is for you. www.paradoxnewsletter.com/p/issue-415-...
Issue #415: No Other Choice is the Marxist Fable We've Been Waiting For
Everything you wanted to know about Marx but were too afraid to ask Park Chan-wook.
www.paradoxnewsletter.com
January 20, 2026 at 4:32 AM
Newsletter is out this week. If you like No Other Choice or Marxism, this is for you. www.paradoxnewsletter.com/p/issue-415-...
Reposted by Paradox Newsletter
Check out the FNF TV listings page to see all the noirs playing this month on TCM: bit.ly/4nFOw2D
January 11, 2026 at 2:18 AM
Check out the FNF TV listings page to see all the noirs playing this month on TCM: bit.ly/4nFOw2D
Reposted by Paradox Newsletter
Karen Morley, 'Scarface' (1932).
Face it, New Year’s Eve is amateurs night. Real partiers inhabit the finest, and not so fine, nightspots. Here are 11 joints where you can order some hootch, cut the rug and live large. Click to read.
lalifeanddeath.blogspot.com/2026/01/live...
Face it, New Year’s Eve is amateurs night. Real partiers inhabit the finest, and not so fine, nightspots. Here are 11 joints where you can order some hootch, cut the rug and live large. Click to read.
lalifeanddeath.blogspot.com/2026/01/live...
Live it up! 11 essential nightclubs of noir
If you want to welcome the new year in style, it would be a good idea to celebrate at these noir nightclubs — too bad none of them really exist.
lalifeanddeath.blogspot.com
January 7, 2026 at 10:34 PM
Karen Morley, 'Scarface' (1932).
Face it, New Year’s Eve is amateurs night. Real partiers inhabit the finest, and not so fine, nightspots. Here are 11 joints where you can order some hootch, cut the rug and live large. Click to read.
lalifeanddeath.blogspot.com/2026/01/live...
Face it, New Year’s Eve is amateurs night. Real partiers inhabit the finest, and not so fine, nightspots. Here are 11 joints where you can order some hootch, cut the rug and live large. Click to read.
lalifeanddeath.blogspot.com/2026/01/live...
As usual around this time of year, I wrote about
@gamesdonequick.com for the first newsletter of the year. Bringing some Lacanian analysis to @dylcat.bsky.social's JSR run (which was amazing) and thinking about design and design for speedrunning. www.paradoxnewsletter.com/p/issue-413-...
@gamesdonequick.com for the first newsletter of the year. Bringing some Lacanian analysis to @dylcat.bsky.social's JSR run (which was amazing) and thinking about design and design for speedrunning. www.paradoxnewsletter.com/p/issue-413-...
Issue #413: Stranger Things and Speedrunning
Reporting in from my seat in front of my TV watching AGDQ. Plus, a few words on Stranger Things.
www.paradoxnewsletter.com
January 6, 2026 at 6:35 PM
As usual around this time of year, I wrote about
@gamesdonequick.com for the first newsletter of the year. Bringing some Lacanian analysis to @dylcat.bsky.social's JSR run (which was amazing) and thinking about design and design for speedrunning. www.paradoxnewsletter.com/p/issue-413-...
@gamesdonequick.com for the first newsletter of the year. Bringing some Lacanian analysis to @dylcat.bsky.social's JSR run (which was amazing) and thinking about design and design for speedrunning. www.paradoxnewsletter.com/p/issue-413-...
Got something for everyone in this week’s letter. Wrote about Tatsuya Nakadai, the economics of written “bait,” and Everybody House Game’s Q-Up.
www.paradoxnewsletter.com/p/issue-406-...
www.paradoxnewsletter.com/p/issue-406-...
Issue #406: One Bait After Another
This week, a review of Q-Up (2025), a quick note on Odds Against Tomorrow (1959), and a tribute to Tatsuya Nakadai.
www.paradoxnewsletter.com
November 19, 2025 at 8:09 PM
Got something for everyone in this week’s letter. Wrote about Tatsuya Nakadai, the economics of written “bait,” and Everybody House Game’s Q-Up.
www.paradoxnewsletter.com/p/issue-406-...
www.paradoxnewsletter.com/p/issue-406-...
Gutted to learn of Tatsuya Nakadai’s passing. There will never be another like him. I wrote about his career and Sword of Doom (1966) earlier this year and the amazing Kagemusha (1980) back in 2023.
www.paradoxnewsletter.com/p/issue-386-...
www.paradoxnewsletter.com/p/issue-283-...
www.paradoxnewsletter.com/p/issue-386-...
www.paradoxnewsletter.com/p/issue-283-...
Issue #386: The Case for Tatsuya Nakadai as the GOAT
The ultimate samurai actor with unrivaled range had one thematic focus: bushido.
www.paradoxnewsletter.com
November 11, 2025 at 7:26 PM
Gutted to learn of Tatsuya Nakadai’s passing. There will never be another like him. I wrote about his career and Sword of Doom (1966) earlier this year and the amazing Kagemusha (1980) back in 2023.
www.paradoxnewsletter.com/p/issue-386-...
www.paradoxnewsletter.com/p/issue-283-...
www.paradoxnewsletter.com/p/issue-386-...
www.paradoxnewsletter.com/p/issue-283-...
The @brattletheatre.bsky.social in Cambridge’s Noirvember programming will be getting a lot of coverage in Paradox. Just look at this lineup!
October 23, 2025 at 1:27 AM
The @brattletheatre.bsky.social in Cambridge’s Noirvember programming will be getting a lot of coverage in Paradox. Just look at this lineup!
www.paradoxnewsletter.com/p/issue-401-... this week I wrote about HBO’s The Chair Company and @arrowvideo.bsky.social’s streaming service
Issue #401: Anxiety's Object is Tim Robinson's The Chair Company
Lacanian anxiety in Tim Robinson's The Chair Company and a brief review of GKids' new anime film, 100 Meters.
www.paradoxnewsletter.com
October 14, 2025 at 3:57 PM
www.paradoxnewsletter.com/p/issue-401-... this week I wrote about HBO’s The Chair Company and @arrowvideo.bsky.social’s streaming service
This week, I tackled Highest 2 Lowest. Honestly more to say about this great, great film and what it reflects about Lee's filmography. But I tried to get into it on the occasion of its VOD release. www.paradoxnewsletter.com/p/issue-396-...
Issue #396: Can We Get Much Higher? Spike Lee and Denzel Washington Say "Yes"
Highest 2 Lowest is certain to be one of my favorite movies this year.
www.paradoxnewsletter.com
September 9, 2025 at 4:52 PM
This week, I tackled Highest 2 Lowest. Honestly more to say about this great, great film and what it reflects about Lee's filmography. But I tried to get into it on the occasion of its VOD release. www.paradoxnewsletter.com/p/issue-396-...
Reposted by Paradox Newsletter
The #NoirCityChicago merch table is open for business! See @maggiemac75.bsky.social & me for all your noir needs! It’s all happening at the @musicboxtheatre.bsky.social. @noirfoundation.bsky.social
September 5, 2025 at 10:32 PM
The #NoirCityChicago merch table is open for business! See @maggiemac75.bsky.social & me for all your noir needs! It’s all happening at the @musicboxtheatre.bsky.social. @noirfoundation.bsky.social
Graham Greene's loss is huge. He had an incredible career, but my favorite role of his is Clearcut (1991). I said as much when I wrote about it back in 2021: www.paradoxnewsletter.com/p/issue-196-...
Issue #196: Conscience vs. Unconscious in Clearcut (1991)
I never thought I would watch a movie in a theater with the pulse-pounding sounds of a night club below my feet.
www.paradoxnewsletter.com
September 3, 2025 at 6:20 PM
Graham Greene's loss is huge. He had an incredible career, but my favorite role of his is Clearcut (1991). I said as much when I wrote about it back in 2021: www.paradoxnewsletter.com/p/issue-196-...
I wrote about Weapons (2025) this week and I don’t feel like I’ve even scratched the surface of this film www.paradoxnewsletter.com/p/issue-392-...
Issue #392: Zach Cregger, Brilliance in Our Time
Advanced Lacanian theory on serial killers who don't kill.
www.paradoxnewsletter.com
August 16, 2025 at 11:46 AM
I wrote about Weapons (2025) this week and I don’t feel like I’ve even scratched the surface of this film www.paradoxnewsletter.com/p/issue-392-...
Kinji Fukasaku title cards
July 9, 2025 at 12:52 AM
Kinji Fukasaku title cards
www.paradoxnewsletter.com/p/issue-387-... I may be the first person on the internet to write about the tracksuits in Graveyard of Honor (2002)
Issue #387: Breaking News on Graveyard of Honor 2002's Wardrobe
The first, best, and most in-depth coverage of tracksuits in yakuza movies.
www.paradoxnewsletter.com
July 8, 2025 at 2:34 PM
www.paradoxnewsletter.com/p/issue-387-... I may be the first person on the internet to write about the tracksuits in Graveyard of Honor (2002)
Kiyoshi Kurosawa on cinematic violence and Kinji Fukasaku
July 7, 2025 at 10:29 PM
Kiyoshi Kurosawa on cinematic violence and Kinji Fukasaku
NYE 24-25 I did a movie marathon for the newsletter. Now we’re at it again through the newsletter discord, watching Yakuza Graveyard (1976), Graveyard of Honor (1975), and Graveyard of Honor (2002).
July 5, 2025 at 4:53 PM
NYE 24-25 I did a movie marathon for the newsletter. Now we’re at it again through the newsletter discord, watching Yakuza Graveyard (1976), Graveyard of Honor (1975), and Graveyard of Honor (2002).
Do you like Takashi Miike? How about Kinji Fukasaku? We are streaming movies Saturday. www.paradoxnewsletter.com
July 3, 2025 at 4:51 AM
Do you like Takashi Miike? How about Kinji Fukasaku? We are streaming movies Saturday. www.paradoxnewsletter.com
Watch yakuza movies on July 5th. Yakuza Graveyard and Graveyard of Honor, Kinji Fukasaku and Takashi Miike.
June 30, 2025 at 8:56 PM
Watch yakuza movies on July 5th. Yakuza Graveyard and Graveyard of Honor, Kinji Fukasaku and Takashi Miike.
Was thrilled to be able to see Caged two weekends ago with an introduction by Foster Hirsch from @noirfoundation.bsky.social
Also wrote an overview of their programming for Noir City Boston last week: www.paradoxnewsletter.com/p/issue-384-...
Also wrote an overview of their programming for Noir City Boston last week: www.paradoxnewsletter.com/p/issue-384-...
June 25, 2025 at 8:34 PM
Was thrilled to be able to see Caged two weekends ago with an introduction by Foster Hirsch from @noirfoundation.bsky.social
Also wrote an overview of their programming for Noir City Boston last week: www.paradoxnewsletter.com/p/issue-384-...
Also wrote an overview of their programming for Noir City Boston last week: www.paradoxnewsletter.com/p/issue-384-...
Caged (1950) and George Jackson are a productive combination: www.paradoxnewsletter.com/p/issue-385-...
Issue #385: Orthodox Mysteries, Unorthodox Subjects
George Jackson meets film noir; Japanese 'orthodox' mystery novels use unconventional form to create texts for both solving and interpreting.
www.paradoxnewsletter.com
June 24, 2025 at 9:39 PM
Caged (1950) and George Jackson are a productive combination: www.paradoxnewsletter.com/p/issue-385-...
Lot of hits today at Noir City Boston. The Sleeping City was a revelation. Mary Ryan, Detective, for its breeziness, has some recesses to explore like its turkey macguffin.
June 14, 2025 at 7:40 PM
Lot of hits today at Noir City Boston. The Sleeping City was a revelation. Mary Ryan, Detective, for its breeziness, has some recesses to explore like its turkey macguffin.