You can tell a whole lot about a film’s impact by the GIFs that remain peppered throughout the Internet even years after its release. For Lee Daniels’s gloriously trashy The Paperboy, its afterlife is preserved in slow-as-molasses, steamy grabs of heartthrob Zac Efron’s Jack Jansen languishing in itty bitty, tighty whities, flexing his tautly muscled … Continue reading
How do we find reprieve within today’s predictable, cyclical nature of outrage, however warranted, and the battle of the wokest? The other day, I encountered a social justice warrior tweet that wondered in all seriousness, “You ever think about how if robots ever rise up the word ‘robot’ itself will be a slur”…and lost it. … Continue reading
When I was eight years old, I wanted to be Tonya Harding. Well, at least momentarily. Playing outside on a particularly frozen day in 1994, I pretended to be figure skaters with a friend. Did I want to be Nancy Kerrigan with her perfect brunette ponytail, Vera Wang-designed white costumes and sophisticated poise? Hell no. … Continue reading
Last week, Vanity Fair published “Andy Warhol and Edie Sedgwick: A Brief, White-Hot and Totally Doomed Romance,” a rambling yet nostalgic look into Andy and Edie’s short-lived mutual obsession. Comparing Andy and Edie to, at once, Marilyn Monroe and Romeo and Juliet, the article is a lot, but it also managed to rekindle my fascination … Continue reading
The most telling moment of the recently released Netflix documentary The Death And Life Of Marsha P. Johnson, directed by How To Survive A Plague’s David France, doesn’t actually feature Marsha P. Johnson herself. Midway through the documentary film, which focuses on the suspicious death of the activist, Stonewall veteran and “Rosa Parks of the … Continue reading
I don’t know about you, dearest Filthy Dreams readers, but all week I haven’t been able to do anything but daydream about tonight’s return of Twin Peaks. It’s as if I’ve been stuck in the Black Lodge for twenty five years and boy, it’s finally time to come out! When not watching American democracy crumble … Continue reading
“The irony for me was, like, I’m in a production to express yourself. I wasn’t being that at all with myself,” remarks Carlton Wilborn in the documentary film Strike A Pose. Directed by Ester Gould and Reijer Zwaan, Strike A Pose traces the experiences–both past and present–of the six (seven, if you include Gabriel Trupin … Continue reading
Christ has died! Christ has risen! Christ will…come again? Why hello there, dearest Filthy Dreams readers! Welcome! Would you like a glass of Sacramental wine? Hey! I know in church they only let you have a sip but Jesus wouldn’t want us to be cheap now would he? I know what you’re thinking, faithful Filthy … Continue reading
Park Chanwook’s latest masterpiece The Handmaiden is a wonderfully claustrophobic, seductive thriller set in 1930s Korea, without any white persons appearing to save the day or infiltrating the plot. The film has received resounding praise from critics and audiences alike, proving once and for all that despite having no literal projection of themselves within the storyline, white audiences can find an all-Asian movie both entertaining and valuable. The film’s lucrative success condemns any excuses for whitewashing in order to appeal to Western audiences, which was most recently used by Chinese director Zhang Yimou in his film The Great Wall. Continue reading
Ho Ho HO-eeello, dearest Filthy Dreams readers!! And a hap-hap-happy holidays to you! Come in and grab yourself a glass of nog. What’s that? You don’t like a drink that tastes like alcoholic pancake batter? Well, shoot it down anyway–Christmas isn’t about taste. Naturally–being Christmas, I thought I’d herald in the birth of Santa with … Continue reading