PETERSON REVIEWS
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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.
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Mikey Madison is Wonderful in ‘Anora’
Plus: Steve McQueen returns with a new period piece.
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How Big Picture Made It to 25
For 425: Spouses and co-founders Mark and Katie Stern discuss the business’s evolution, favorite memories, their pioneering business model, and more.
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‘Waist Deep’ is Shallow Fun
This Tyrese Gibson- and Meagan Good-fronted noir benefits from being not much more than solidly made and entertaining.
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‘Love at Large’ is a Seductive, Off-Kilter Noir
Alan Rudolph’s stylish neo-noir has one foot in the past and the other in the present.
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Jean Gillie is the Reason to See ‘Decoy’
Jack Bernhard’s 1946 noir never completely grabs you, but Gillie’s impressively vicious performance almost makes up for it.
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‘Visible Secret’ is a Low-Key, Surprisingly Spooky Romantic Comedy
Ann Hui’s 2001 movie posits what a rom-com might look like with a ‘Sixth Sense’-esque underlay.
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World-Class Sinners
‘Conclave’ and ‘The Shadow Strays,’ reviewed.
SEPTEMBER 2026
The Theme is ‘Based on an Article’
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The Harrowing, Empathetic ‘Streetwise’
Martin Bell’s landmark movie about teenage runaways and outcasts getting by in downtown Seattle is a haunting group portrait.
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
