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Reposted by Robert Stinner

Citizen Screen @citizenscreen.bsky.social · Sep 9

Cleopatra lights Marc Antony's cigarette. (Claudette Colbert and Henry Wilcoxon on set of DeMille’s CLEOPATRA in ‘34)

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maya cade @mayascade.bsky.social · Sep 8

a really wonderfully considered piece from @nymag.com.

cultural criticism is the heartbeat of american cultural production and its history. the form gives tangibility to how we remember and how critique brings us to a place of societal betterment…. there is no life worth living without it.

Do Media Organizations Even Want Cultural Criticism?

The grim calculations involved in publishing traditional written reviews.

nymag.com

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Farran Smith Nehme @selfstyledsiren.bsky.social · Aug 31

Wow, this is a fabulous poster for a wonderful film that conceives of Death as a handsome young man—Fredric March. A swift, elegant pre-Code (it came in just a few months before the Hays hammer fell) that clocks in at just 79 minutes.

Ghoul-jin Rondo @gaijinrando.bsky.social · Aug 31

Swedish poster for DEATH TAKES A HOLIDAY (1934), directed by Mitchell Leisen and starring Fredric March - BOTD in 1897

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Robert Stinner @rwstinner.bsky.social · Aug 29

"It isn’t so much that movies are being made by algorithm as that, by continually surfacing the mass-market or safe choice, the algorithm itself has a flattening, coarsening effect on our overall tastes."

Bland, easy to follow, for fans of everything: what has the Netflix algorithm done to our films?

When the streaming giant began making films guided by data that aimed to please a vast audience, the results were often generic, forgettable, artless affairs. But is there a happy ending?

www.theguardian.com

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Robert Stinner @rwstinner.bsky.social · Aug 25

Happy to see essays back at @animusmagazine.bsky.social, which always features thoughtful and engaging work. Loved reading this piece on how Hollywood films portray, distort, and avoid climate change

Animus Magazine @animusmagazine.bsky.social · Aug 16

After a long hiatus… Animus long-form essays are back!

John Kidwell writes about cinema’s response to the unfolding climate crisis over the last 30 years: animus-magazine.ghost.io/be-scientifi...

Be Scientific, Douchebag
On the last 30 years of climate change cinema
by John Kidwell
still: Mark Whalberg looking bewildered by a green plant in M. Night Shyamalan's THE HAPPENING (2008)

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Jason Bailey @jasondashbailey.com · Aug 13

The only remotely wise thing I can say is to directly support outlets that are still writing thoughtful, eloquent criticism. Shell out a few $ for a subscription to those who offer it, hit the free sites with your traffic, share good pieces here and elsewhere. It's a tiny thing, but it's something.

Stephanie Zacharek @szacharek.bsky.social · Aug 13

shrinking. There are enough reasons to be discouraged about the world these days, and Vanity Fair (and WaPo, and the NYT) just keep giving us more. I apologize if you've read this whole thread hoping I have something wise to say, because I don't. I just need to pour my despair somewhere—but also...

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Hannah Strong @hannahstrong.co.uk · Aug 13

Whenever another shitty media thing happens I always see people say 'support Teen Vogue!' and it's true that Teen Vogue are doing amazing work contrary to all their sister publications but they are still a Conde brand. You could also champion supporting indie media!

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Sam Adams @samadams.bsky.social · Aug 13

so, in the course of a month, the New York Times reassigned four veteran critics, the Washington Post’s film critic took a buyout, Vanity Fair decided it doesn’t need a film critic at all, and the Associated Press got rid of book criticism altogether?

Cool.

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Robert Stinner @rwstinner.bsky.social · Aug 17

There's no other publication like BW/DR for longform essays on film that aren't tied to a news cycle or a release calendar (plus their team is full of great people). Give them your support!

Bright Wall/Dark Room @bwdr.bsky.social · Aug 17

Real talk (reel talk?):

BWDR recently lost a partnership that covered nearly half our operating budget, so things are suddenly very tough. If what we do has ever meant something to you, or you’ve ever thought about subscribing, now’s the time—it *truly* makes a difference.

Subscribe - Bright Wall/Dark Room

Subscribe for $29 a year Subscribe now to receive immediate access to each new essay we publish, plus our entire 135+ issue archive. Bright Wall/Dark Room is 100% independent, runs no ads, and strongl...

brightwalldarkroom.com

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Lincoln Michel @thelincoln.bsky.social · Jul 22

Increasingly convinced the main damage cell phones have done to creativity isn't decreased attention spans or what not but the elimination of productive boredom. Inspiration comes from the mind filling the void inside. Hard to make art when you're constantly silencing the silence with "content."

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Jason Koebler @jasonkoebler.bsky.social · Jul 17

The gleeful doxing of someone cheating in public is bad even if they are a CEO and even if they are a Coldplay fan. It's bad because this kind of thing is happening to random people on TikTok for such crimes as "sitting silently on a plane" or "being attractive"

www.404media.co/the-astronom...

The Astronomer CEO's Coldplay Concert Fiasco Is Emblematic of Our Social Media Surveillance Dystopia

Facial recognition and crowdsourced social media investigations are constantly being used not just on cringe CEOs, but on random people who are simply existing in public.

www.404media.co

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Courtney Howard @lulamaybelle.bsky.social · Jul 2

Julianne Moore giving you this important reminder to buy enough hot dogs for your 4th of July festivities.

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Robert Stinner @rwstinner.bsky.social · Jun 19

My review of NATCHEZ, Tribeca’s documentary competition winner this year, which is a truly impressive film that I hope will get to be widely seen very soon. Scalpel-sharp editing, deep historical and anthropological detail, and a group of captivating—sometimes disturbing—subjects

Natchez — Suzannah Herbert [Tribeca '25 Review] | In Review Online

A new film review of Natchez, directed by Suzannah Herbert, for film review site In Review Online.

inreviewonline.com

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Robert Stinner @rwstinner.bsky.social · Jun 19

It’s true, there’s every incentive to inflate what AI can actually do. Hao’s book is great, I had to laugh at the audacity of Altman claiming they’re already blowing past AGI and moving toward “superintelligence”

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Robert Stinner @rwstinner.bsky.social · Jun 19

Karen Hao's reporting convinced me of this, though I also get the impression that a lot of people working in AI have convinced themselves that AGI is always *just about* to arrive

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Shannon Sanders @shanders.bsky.social · Mar 14

Can I just put in a plug for book events at local bookstores? Please go to them if ever you can! They’re (usually) free to attend (though of course you can choose to buy the book) and the happiness it brings authors for you to be there is like 10x the effort of getting there!!

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Michael Schulman @michaelschulman.bsky.social · Mar 7

Tune out this story at your peril. www.usermag.co/p/right-wing...

Right wing creators are dominating Lively-Baldoni coverage

Conservative commentators are leveraging the case to dismantle support for #MeToo and amass unprecedented audience growth.

www.usermag.co

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Robert Stinner @rwstinner.bsky.social · Mar 6

I have a new story in @riverstyxmag.bsky.social called “Death and the Bachelor,” and it’s for all the Old Hollywood obsessives, queer cinephiles, romantics and existentialists out there. 🤍✨

Death and the Bachelor — River Styx Magazine

“His kiss was mist off a waterfall.”

www.riverstyx.org

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Robert Stinner @rwstinner.bsky.social · Mar 6

Thank you so much, Shannon!! Really appreciate your support and guidance through this whole process

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Robert Stinner @rwstinner.bsky.social · Mar 6

I have a new story in @riverstyxmag.bsky.social called “Death and the Bachelor,” and it’s for all the Old Hollywood obsessives, queer cinephiles, romantics and existentialists out there. 🤍✨

Death and the Bachelor — River Styx Magazine

“His kiss was mist off a waterfall.”

www.riverstyx.org

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Robert Stinner @rwstinner.bsky.social · Feb 21

Thank you so much! Yes, his sense of set decoration was really unparalleled

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Robert Stinner @rwstinner.bsky.social · Feb 21

Watched this the other day and liked it, but I also thought there were some pretty glaring character problems that stopped me from loving it

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Robert Stinner @rwstinner.bsky.social · Feb 21

One of my favorite essays I've written, on two basically perfect films from a distinctive director who's never gotten his due. MIDNIGHT is streaming on the Criterion Channel now, it's mostly unavailable otherwise so take the time to watch it!

Bright Wall/Dark Room @bwdr.bsky.social · Feb 21

“If Mitchell Leisen’s collaborative working methods and aesthetically oriented, implicitly queer style have marginalized his body of work, then there is value in reclaiming the best of them as important, unique films in cinematic history.”

Eat it With a Spoon: On Mitchell Leisen's 'Easy Living' & 'Midnight'

Despite traces of his legacy in notable contemporary filmmakers, Mitchell Leisen’s legacy is still small in comparison to his ability.

buff.ly

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Robert Stinner @rwstinner.bsky.social · Feb 4

Reviewed I'M STILL HERE for In Review Online. Solid, timely political thriller, and Fernanda Torres' gives a really exceptional performance

I'm Still Here — Walter Salles | In Review Online

A new film review of I'm Still Here, directed by Walter Salles & released by Sony Pictures Classics, for film review site In Review Online.

inreviewonline.com

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P.M.Bryant @pmbryant.com · Jan 25

Director Mitchell Leisen lines up a shot of Claudette Colbert in the classic comedy “Midnight” (1939)

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