Emily St. James

The Baker and his wife hold hands onstage and sing in front of shadowy trees in Into the Woods.

pop culture weekend

My pop culture week, your pop culture weekend - July 28 edition

This week includes thoughts on Wayne's World, Into the Woods, A Fever in the Heartland, Barbie, and Oppenheimer.

Murph, leans against a pickup near her father, Coop, in Interstellar. They are by a cornfield.

Episodes 6.0

My pop culture week, your pop culture weekend - July 21 edition

Miles Morales and Gwen Stacy overlook the New York skyline. Upside down. Almost holding hands. Not quite.

Across the Spider-Verse

Across the Spider-verse is not half a movie. C'mon, now.

(Since I published my last newsletter, SAG-AFTRA joined the WGA in a strike against the AMPTP. SAG-AFTRA has asked its members to cease promotion of projects for AMPTP signatories. I'm not a SAG-AFTRA member, and journalism and criticism are not promotional. That said, I am also not strictly

open thread

What's your pop culture weekend? July 14 edition

The Guardians of the Galaxy -- Star Lord, Drax, Rocket, Gamora, Groot, Nebula, and Mantis -- stride toward camera.

trauma plot

The Trauma Plot and the Abuse Plot

More than a few reviews of director James Gunn's Guardians of the Galaxy, Vol. 3 damned it with faint praise along the lines of "This is as close as a director in the Marvel Cinematic Universe can get to making a personal statement." Usually, these reviews