MOST RECENT ARTICLES BY:

Angelica Jade Bastién

  1. movie review
    Ready or Not Is a Brutal Evisceration of Marriage and the RichFor all the blood and mayhem, it is Samara Weaving’s guttural scream that forces us to bear witness to the horrors of institutions.
  2. tv review
    Why Women Kill’s Consideration of Women’s Anger Is Fun, But HollowThe new multi-timeline series from Marc Cherry (Desperate Housewives) has a great Ginnifer Goodwin performance, but not a strong point of view.
  3. close reads
    Lucy Liu’s Joan Watson Was Elementary’s Humanistic HeartThrough her performance in the CBS procedural, Liu crafted a layered study in empathy that suggests second acts are possible in life.
  4. q&a
    Jason Blum Still Wants to Release The HuntThe Blumhouse Productions founder talks color-blind casting, Hollywood’s future, and why he’d make The Hunt again.
  5. finales
    Let’s Talk About the Elementary Series FinaleThe CBS procedural went out pulling at viewers’ heartstrings with a surprising but manipulative twist.
  6. movie review
    The Kitchen Is an Empty Paean to Girl PowerThe late-‘70s crime flick doesn’t live up to the promise of its premise — or its cast.
  7. spoilers
    Let’s Talk About Legion’s Strangely Moving Series FinaleNoah Hawley’s feast of the senses didn’t always work, but it ends on a note of beautiful melancholy.
  8. chat room
    Niecy Nash on the Claws Finale and Why Desna Is a ‘Strip-Mall Superhero’“How long can you run around in skintight jumpsuits, you know?”
  9. best of 2019
    The Best Movies of 2019 (So Far)Including Ari Aster’s Hereditary follow-up, the return of Nikolaj Coster-Waldau to the big screen, and an ode to San Francisco.
  10. close reads
    What Does It Mean for a Rape Scene to Be ‘Done Well’?After watching the brutal sexual violence in The Nightingale, I started to think about what we can learn from classic Hollywood depictions of rape.
  13. movie review
    What Are We to Make of Skin, Another Redemption Tale About Neo-Nazis?Jamie Bell’s performance is downright volcanic in this imperfect story of learned hatred.
  14. movie review
    The Summer’s Best Thriller Is a Movie About Home-Invading AlligatorsA film about murderous, hurricane-rattled reptiles grants us one of the season’s most memorable horror heroines.
  15. tv review
    Claws Is Perfect Summer TVThe candy-colored noir is also a great venue for Niecy Nash’s indelible performance.
  16. acting
    Why We Can’t Stop Watching Keanu Reeves, 30 Years OnHis longevity and recent resurgence all come down to his particular blend of vulnerability and mystery.
  17. movie review
    Child’s Play Has Lost Its Impish Spark and Gained Artificial IntelligenceThe new slasher reboot of the Chucky franchise, directed by Lars Klevberg, only half works.
  18. network tv
    How The Good Fight Trimmed Down Its Sex Scenes and Explicit Cursing for CBSThe best show you’re not watching is coming to network TV, in a (slightly) more sanitized form.
  19. emmy insider
    How Patty Jenkins Brought I Am the Night’s Stunning Noir to LifeAnd why Chris Pine is so great at playing losers.
  20. movies
    Late Night Isn’t the Sharp Workplace Comedy We Hoped ForMindy Kaling’s first starring role in film only half works.
  21. movie review
    Ma Is Too Muddled a Slasher Flick to WorkThe Octavia Spencer–led slasher flick places the mammy archetype in a horror context, to mixed results.
  22. close reads
    The Decadent, Visceral Pleasures of Killing EveThe second season culminates in a boldly queer retelling of the Bluebeard myth.
  25. close reads
    In Praise of Christine Baranski’s Performance on The Good FightAs her character tries to manage her anger this season, her body language changes from her signature self-assured grace to a sharply pointed threat.
  26. documentaries
    A New Doc Boldly Argues for Deep Space Nine’s Place in the Black TV CanonThe revolutionary series deserves to be considered as one of the great cultural artifacts of the 1990s.
  27. chat room
    The Good Fight’s Audra McDonald on Singing Prince Songs With Christine Baranski“She’s a singer and I’m a singer. Sometimes, she’ll start singing a song and a moment later I’m singing along with her.”
  28. politics
    The Good Fight’s Melania Trump Episode Is Its Boldest Riff on Reality“The One With the Celebrity Divorce” is an uproarious hour that blends Hitchcockian suspense, legal thrills, and satire.
  29. chat room
    How a Riverdale Audition Led Chance Perdomo to Chilling Adventures of Sabrina“He remembered me from that audition, but I didn’t know that he’d written this character for me.”
  30. tv review
    Chilling Adventures of Sabrina Loses Some of Its MagicSabrina is still enthralling, but something’s amiss in the arch, decadently conceived world of Greendale.
  31. tv review
    The Case Against Adnan Syed Is an Empathetic ReckoningIn this HBO docuseries, Hae Min Lee rightfully becomes the center of a murder case that’s captivated millions.
  32. legacies
    Luke Perry Made It Cool to Be KindHe set the template for the tenderhearted bad boy that pop culture still mimics today.
  33. tv review
    Doom Patrol Breathes New Life Into Superhero TVThe DC Universe show subverts comic-book expectations in ways both uproarious and heart-wrenching.
  34. guides
    33 Essential Neo-Noirs, From Jackie Brown to Gone GirlA guide to the most political and stylish genre of film and TV.
  37. movies
    The Beatific Imperfection of Keanu Reeves in The MatrixHe invented a new kind of action star.
  38. tv review
    Surviving R. Kelly Is a Necessary Awakening, But It Asks the Wrong QuestionsThe docuseries walks the line between honoring these survivors’ memories and exploiting them.
  39. 100 scares
    Horror Is Not Defined by What Scares YouAs the genre has grown in scope, the mainstream conversation around it has narrowed.
  40. 100 scares
    15 Essential Horror Films Starring People of ColorCandyman, Night of the Living Dead, and more.
  41. 100 scares
    The 100 Scares That Shaped HorrorFrom Frankenstein to Freddy to the “sunken place,” the terrifying moments that formed the genre (and our nightmares).
  42. vulture recommends
    10 Female-Led Noirs to Watch If You Loved WidowsHappy Noirvember!
  43. chat room
    Marianne Jean-Baptiste on Bringing Heart to Homecoming’s Cerebral Head TripThe Oscar-nominated actress talks about why playing Walter’s fiercely protective mother was so much more than mastering an accent.
  44. vulture lists
    Homecoming: Every Major Pop-Culture Reference and InfluenceAmazon’s Homecoming is proudly in conversation with Hitchcock, De Palma, and ‘70s conspiracy thrillers.
  45. close reads
    In Defense of Prudence Night on Chilling Adventures of SabrinaFrom the beginning, Prudence is more than a mere mean girl.
  46. fashion du jour
    The 10 Best Outfits in Chilling Adventures of Sabrina, RankedFrom Miss Wardwell’s fabulous green robe to Sabrina’s Dark Baptism dress.
  49. chat room
    Chilling Adventures of Sabrina’s Tati Gabrielle Modeled Prudence on Eartha Kitt“The way that Eartha Kitt carried herself was very elegant, but so powerful. She was like a conjure woman.”
  50. tv review
    Chilling Adventures of Sabrina Is a Decadently Malevolent Halloween TreatThe witchy teen drama offers chills, delights, and an intriguing spin on a young woman’s quest for freedom.
  51. tv review
    Charmed Is a Hollow Celebration of Sisterhood and Female PowerI wanted to like the CW’s reboot of Charmed. But it’s the wrong show coming at the right moment.
  52. roundtables
    How Do We Talk About Race and Pop Culture Without Going Insane?A panel of critics discuss Wesley Morris’s New York Times essay and some of the biggest anxieties plaguing criticism today.
  53. close reads
    The Hollow Joys of Insecure Season ThreeMuch like Issa herself, Insecure needs to decide what it wants to be.
  54. movie review
    Nappily Ever After Is a Well-Intentioned MisfireSanaa Lathan can’t save this mess.
  55. close reads
    Maya Rudolph Is a Revelation on ForeverI hate to break out this hoary cliché, but it fits.
  56. close reads
    Insecure Shouldn’t Bring Back LawrenceThe surprise return of Issa’s ex feels both unearned and deflated.
  57. appreciations
    Why Burt Reynolds Was Such a Compelling Sex SymbolNo film better synthesizes his appeal than Boogie Nights.
  58. overnights
    Sharp Objects Finale Recap: Don’t Tell Mama“Milk” is equal parts jarring and beguiling.
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