PETERSON REVIEWS
I’m on Spring Break. Posts will resume on April 20.
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‘Secretary’ is a Transgressive, Darkly Funny Romantic Comedy
Maggie Gyllenhaal is terrific in her breakthrough role.
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Hedy Lamarr is Wickedly Good in ‘The Strange Woman’
In the vein of the previous year’s ‘Leave Her to Heaven,’ the fun of ‘The Strange Woman’ is primarily found in our desire to see its villainess get away with her crimes.
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Family Feasts
On ‘Saltburn’ and ‘Thanksgiving.’
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The Stylish Sensuality of ‘Story of O’
Just Jaeckin’s follow-up to the infamous ‘Emmanuelle’ is even better than the movie he’s most associated with.
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‘Samson and Delilah’ is a Silly, Pretty-to-Look-At Epic
It’s impossible to take Cecil B. DeMille’s biblical epic seriously outside its aesthetic pleasures.
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Celebrating 30 Years of ‘Guyville’ with Liz Phair
The singer-songwriter played an anniversary show commemorating her debut album, ‘Exile in Guyville,’ at the Moore Theatre last night.
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‘The Killer’: A Cutthroat, Cool-to-the-Touch Thriller from David Fincher
Plus: ‘All of Us Strangers’ is a rare misfire from Andrew Haigh.
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‘Shortbus’ is a Bruising Sex Comedy
John Cameron’s Mitchell’s 2006 dramedy famously pushes the envelope, but it’s not shocking for the sake of being shocking.
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Skating Polly’s ‘Ugly Pop’ Returns
The Tacoma band brings its five-year hiatus to an end with a great new double album.
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‘Ecstasy’ is More Than Its Reputation
The 1933 Czech film was, and continues to be, best known for its nudity and sexual frankness. But that’s only part of what makes it feel ahead of its time.
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The Hard Truths of ‘Anatomy of a Fall’ and ‘The Holdovers’
New movies from Justine Triet and Alexander Payne, reviewed.
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‘Jamón, Jamón’ and ‘Belle Epoque,’ Reviewed
Two early Penélope Cruz movies.
APRIL 2026
The Theme is ‘High Anxiety’
ASDFJHGSD
The Unrelenting Grimness of ‘Frozen River’
Misty Upham and especially Melissa Leo are excellent in this frostbitten drama.
March 27, 2026
February 4, 2026
November 6, 2025
Superheroines
On Julia Loktev’s towering, terrifying ‘My Undesirable Friends: Part I — Last Air in Moscow.’
March 30, 2026
Everything Everywhere
William Greaves’ ‘Symbiopsychotaxiplasm: Take One’ is almost 60 years old and still feels ahead of the curve.
March 11, 2026
Next Big Things
Gregory La Cava’s ‘Stage Door’ is often at once hysterically funny and brutally pragmatic about the personal toll a career in entertainment can take.
March 4, 2026
Peterson Reviews 