PETERSON REVIEWS
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The Idea of You
Notes on ‘Letter from an Unknown,’ Max Ophüls’ masterpiece of unrequited love.
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Women on the Verge
‘The Room Next Door,’ ‘The Girl with the Needle,’ and ‘Nightbitch,’ reviewed.
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‘Now and Then’ is an Underrated Coming-of-Age Movie
Lesli Linka Glatter’s feature-length debut is the rare coming-of-age film to foreground the mundane moments of female friendship.
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‘Oh, Canada’ and ‘Nickel Boys’ Look Back on Painful Pasts
For South Sound: New movies from Paul Schrader and RaMell Ross, reviewed.
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‘The Fall’ is More Than Just a Feast for the Eyes
In addition to being a visual treat, Tarsem Singh’s criminally underseen fantasy film is also pretty moving.
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‘Mother’ Never Lets You Guess Its Next Move
You can never be too certain where Bong Joon-ho’s 2009 drama is going to go next.
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John Carswell’s American Graffiti
For 425: Catching up with a Snohomish County man who’s amassed the world’s largest collection of graffiti and urban art on canvas.
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Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande Are Magnificent in ‘Wicked’
Plus: Ridley Scott revisits the ‘Gladiator’ universe nearly 25 years later.
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‘The Grifters’ is Elevated by Its Female Leads
This 1990 adaptation of the 1963 Jim Thompson novel wouldn’t make as much of an impression without Anjelica Huston and Annette Bening.
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Life Changes
‘Emilia Pérez,’ ‘Juror #2,’ and ‘Christmas Eve in Miller’s Point,’ reviewed.
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‘Strange Fascination’: An Auspicious Beginning to a Compelling Partnership
This noir-adjacent melodrama from 1952 marked the start of a six-film-long collaboration between director Hugo Haas and actress Cleo Moore.
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Shadows and Light
Joseph H. Lewis’ lean and mean ‘The Big Combo’ is a low-key triumph of the film noir form.
MARCH 2026
The Theme is ‘Acting’
ASDFJHGSD
‘Hollywood Shuffle’ Cuts Deep
The movie established director-actor-co-writer Robert Townsend not only as an astute critic but a limber comedy performer in the improv tradition.
February 4, 2025
November 6, 2025
October 27, 2025
Disobedience
John Sayles’ groundbreaking ‘Lianna’ was a landmark — albeit a criminally underseen one — for lesbian representation in cinema.
February 25, 2026
Trouble in Paradise
On the screwball-comedy perfection of 1937’s ‘The Awful Truth.’
February 23, 2026
The Heart of the Matter
Asghar Farhadi’s ‘A Separation’ more than sidesteps divorce-movie expectations.
February 16, 2026
Peterson Reviews 