PETERSON REVIEWS
space
-
The Chaotic Charms of ‘One Battle After Another’ and ‘The Balconettes’
For South Sound: New movies from Paul Thomas Anderson and Noémie Merlant, reviewed.
-
‘Death on the Nile’ is a Cozy Stew of a Murder Mystery
The cinematic sequel to 1974’s ‘Murder on the Orient Express’ is especially propelled by the infectious fun its star-studded cast seems to be having.
-
‘Police Story,’ a High-Water Mark for Action Filmmaking, is Spoiled By Poor Taste
When not boasting some of film history’s most athletic action set pieces, the 1985 comedy thriller often cloddishly attempts slapstick humor.
-
‘Dead Men Don’t Wear Plaid’ is Like Catnip for Classic Hollywood Devotees
This 1982 parody film might be a little less entertaining for non-adherents, though.
-
Seattle Couldn’t Quit Haim
For 425: The eminently lovable sister act stopped by Seattle’s WAMU Theater as part of its I Quit tour.
-
‘House of Bamboo’’s Style Can Only Take It So Far
Samuel Fuller’s Tokyo-set noir is a visual treat, but it’s thwarted by a thoroughly unengaging lead performance.
-
‘It’s Really Important to Us to Bring That Female Perspective’: Inside Emergence Films’ Mission to Support Women Filmmakers
For 425: Launched in 2016, and with a new philanthropic initiative announced this year, the Sienna Beckman- and Rachel Noll James-founded film company looks to give creative opportunities to women in a male-dominated field.
-
Get Shorty
It doesn’t matter that Howard Hawks’ 1946 adaptation of ‘The Big Sleep’ doesn’t make any sense.
-
Sleuthing is a Nightmare in ‘Angel Heart’
The creepy aesthetic of Alan Parker’s horror-inflected detective movie from 1987 is the strongest thing about it.
-
Richard Roundtree is Electric in ‘Shaft’
Gordon Parks’ 1971 thriller, and Roundtree’s terrific work in it, paved the way for a new generation of Black action heroes.
-
Mirror Images
‘Twinless’ and ‘The Conjuring: Last Rites,’ reviewed.
-
‘Joint Security Area’ Emotionally Complicates the Whodunit
Park Chan-wook’s Korean Demilitarized Zone-set mystery is less interested in investigative twistiness than the surprisingly touching, then tragic, backstory behind its plot-driving murders.
SEPTEMBER 2026
The Theme is ‘Based on an Article’
ASDFJHGSD
In ‘Menus-Plaisirs – Les Troisgros,’ It’s All in the Process
Revisiting Frederick Wiseman’s 44th documentary, which trains its gaze on the Troisgros family and its various culinary pursuits.
August 19, 2026
May 25, 2026
May 13. 2026
Strong, Stoic Types
Director-star Paul Newman’s 1971 treatment of Ken Kesey’s ‘Sometimes a Great Notion’ perceptively observes the corrosiveness of toxic masculinity.
August 7, 2026
Working Girls
‘Broken Mirrors,’ Marleen Gorris’ 1984 follow-up to her still-transcendent feminist drama ‘A Question of Silence,’ expands on its predecessor’s themes while dramatically improving on its writer-director’s aesthetic command.
July 9, 2026
Found Connections
Donna Deitch’s ‘Desert Hearts’ was a breakthrough for lesbian representation in cinema. It also achieves another rarified thing: Characters who feel like they exist outside a screenplay’s bounds.
June 30, 2026
Peterson Reviews 