An idiotic U.S. president launches a disastrous, poorly considered, escalating war in the Middle East that neocon sickos have been dreaming about since 1996’s Clean Break memo got Bibi Netanyahu all hot and bothered for Greater Israel. The United States’ hubris, short-sighted stupidity, and limitless taste for con artistry plunge the entire globe into economic … Continue reading
Author Archives: Emily Colucci
“Spectrum of Desire” at the Met Cloisters Is a Raunchy and Romantic Divine Revelation
Can receiving the stigmata be a sex act? It is surely intimate and sensual, not to mention penetrative. This is a question that I’ve been musing on ever since fixating on Giovanni di Paolo’s shimmering, submissive 15th-century panel painting, Saint Catherine of Siena Receiving the Stigmata, on view in the Met Cloister’s heroically horny and … Continue reading
“Melania” Is an Unintentionally Perfect Portrayal of the End of the American Empire
A black screen, a void, then the calming sounds of ocean waves. Keith Richards’s guitar punctures the roiling relaxation, as sea-green ocean waves brighten the screen. Merry Clayton woos over the opening riff of The Rolling Stones’ Vietnam-era anthem, “Gimme Shelter,” as a drone shot flits over a sandy beach and a pool deck with … Continue reading
I Love Everything Bad About Emerald Fennell’s “Wuthering Heights”
I love fan fiction. While I never wrote it as a confused teen (No, I’m not covering up a secret, long-dormant account on Fanfiction.net. I’ve never been good at fiction), I love it nonetheless. Fan fiction is an art form born out of obsession, raging hormones, and pent-up wayward desire projected through favorite fictional characters … Continue reading
Before Helping Jeffrey Epstein Get His First Big Gig, Donald Barr Wrote Sordid Pulp Fiction Novel, “Space Relations”
I’m obsessed with the Epstein files. Completely obsessed. Any time I get a spare moment, my fingers unconsciously wander over to my permanent Jmail tab to take another gander. Some days, I unblinkingly click through the police-produced Zillow tour of Epstein’s 71st Street townhouse, homing in on deranged bathroom décor, like the chummy caricature of … Continue reading
How Do You Write Arts Criticism Right Now Without Being an Asshole?
On January 24, distracted as usual by the unavoidable pull of the endless scroll, I took a quick breather from writing a review of A New Love in Tokyo, Banmei Takahashi’s delightful and depraved sex worker buddy romp. I opened X and watched Minneapolis ICU nurse Alex Pretti wrestled to the ground and shot numerous … Continue reading
4 Movies for Wackos that I’ve Loved Recently: A New Love in Tokyo, 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple, Deranged, and Room Temperature
Being buried under precarious, emergency-surgery-threatening heaps and heaps of snow, ice, and slush is the perfect opportunity for obsessive movie-watching. Not schlepping around to galleries, climbing over the road gritty, dog-and-human shit-covered ice mountains that collect at the edge of every sidewalk in New York, to gaze disappointingly at mostly bland art (Not to mention … Continue reading
A Place for Everything and Everything in Its Place: “The Testament of Ann Lee” Made Me Believe
The Testament of Ann Lee is the only movie I can recall watching in the theater recently without someone barking out a disruptive, ironic laugh. And before any anti-laughers scoff in humorless scorn at those who can’t understand cinema without the distancing mechanism of camp, that chuckler is usually me. Yet, the lack of chortling … Continue reading
From GloRilla to Throbbing Gristle, Xiu Xiu Worship Musical Role Models on “Xiu Mutha Fuckin’ Xiu: Vol. 1”
Lick on my clit! Make this pussy cream! Do this motherfucker how you do them Russian creams… These deliriously depraved opening lines, whispered close to my ear by Xiu Xiu’s Jamie Stewart over halfway through their new cover album, Xiu Mutha Fuckin’ Xiu: Vol. 1, released today by Polyvinyl Records, made me stop short mid-run. … Continue reading
Divas Down!: Christopher Gambino’s Mise-En-Crime-Scène “The Christmas Show” at Below Grand
I wish I hadn’t purposefully visited Christopher Gambino’s window installation, The Christmas Show at Below Grand. Not because I wish I could erase it from my mind, but I dream of stumbling upon this festive furniture crime scene by happenstance. A momentary look to my right while walking down Orchard Street. A glance at a … Continue reading