My Favorite Oscar Micheaux Film

There are directors I write about because I admire their talent, and there are directors I write about because I want to examine their impact on film history.  In that second group, there are a lot of the early film pioneers that I've been trying to figure out how to best feature, and today I'm going to try and check a big one off the list.  

Oscar Micheaux is arguably the most important black filmmaker of the twentieth century, the first major African-American director with real artistic freedom.  He formed his own production company based in Nebraska in the silent era, and produced dozens of films with black casts, featuring the talents of many of black filmmakers behind the scenes.  Though Micheaux successfully transitioned from silent to sound films, it's his silents that have best stood the test of time.  Of the few surviving ones that are still in circulation today, I find "Body and Soul" the most watchable, a melodrama about a mother and daughter pair who are deceived by a phony reverend.  The reverend and his twin brother are both played by Paul Robeson in his first screen appearance.  

To modern eyes the story and performances are unremarkable at first glance, and the filmmaking falls short of the technical sophistication of Hollywood features.  However, if you're familiar with silent films, Micheaux's work is a stark departure from the kinds of features that were being made at the time about African-Americans.  They totally eschew the grotesque stereotyping of the black characters that was popular in the era, and the performances have a dignity and poignancy to them that white directors' attempts to portray African-Americans too often lacked.  Even Robeson's monstrous convict in disguise evokes sympathy as well as scorn when he meets his tragic downfall.  One of Micheaux's major goals in creating these films was to help uplift black audiences, as well as entertain them.  He used plenty of the tropes common in Hollywood films at the time - biracial coded characters were always having miraculous last-minute revelations about their parentage - but to his own ends.  He was also determined to show black life as it really was, reflecting his own experiences.        

Many of Micheaux's plots center around the plight of unfortunate women in some fashion, who fall victim to a terrible crime or injustice, or occasionally choose the wrong path in life and have to face the consequences.  "Body and Soul" stands out for centering the mother and daughter relationship, with the ignorant but loving mother, played by Mercedes Gilbert, unwittingly orchestrating her own unhappiness by pushing her daughter to marry the false reverend instead of the man she truly loves.  Neither woman is idealized, which grounds them wonderfully.  The daughter, played by Micheaux's sister-in-law Julia Theresa Russell, is mousy and awkward.  Her mother is rough and overbearing -  at one point the daughter timidly chides her for using a racial slur.  All the performances in the film are very exaggerated and theatrical, which was typical of silent films, but they also feel unusually modern.  These women wouldn't be too out of place in a Tyler Perry movie made today.  

Because of the unflattering portrayal of religious elements and instances of violence and vice, "Body and Soul" encountered some controversy from both black and white audiences.  The original version of the film, now lost, was nearly twice as long as the surviving edited version.  Many of Micheaux's films were similarly challenged, as he often explored themes of crime, corruption, and racial unrest.  In his quest to show that African-Americans could be better, he also showed the darker sides of their lives.  And he was never one to shy away from confronting social injustices as he saw them.  Micheaux's best known film is an earlier silent picture, "Within Our Gates," which has often been characterized as the anti- "The Birth of a Nation" for portraying KKK members as destructive villains.

I prefer "Body and Soul," however, which is smaller scale, more focused, more intimate, and gives the three leads the space to create more emotionally complex characters.  Micheaux was obliged to give their story an unreasonable happy ending, but manages to depict a few moments of heartbreak and humanity that are right up there with the cinema greats.  

What I've Seen - Oscar Micheaux

Within Our Gates (1920)

The Symbol of the Unconquered (1920)

Body and Soul (1925)

The Exile (1931)

Ten Minutes to Live (1932)

The Girl from Chicago (1932)

Murder in Harlem (1935)

Underworld (1937)

God's Step Children (1938)

Swing! (1938)

Lying Lips (1939)

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My Top Ten Episodes of 2004-2005

Below, find my top ten episodes for the 2004-2005 television season below, in no particular order.  A few spoilers lie ahead, including for the third season of "The Wire" and the first season of "Lost."  

Veronica Mars, "Pilot" - This has long been one of my go-to examples of a perfect TV pilot.  Here's our heroine.  Here's what ruined her life, and here are the three mysteries we'll be investigating this season.  It's amazing how much information Rob Thomas was able to fit into just forty minutes.  And kudos to Kristen Bell for immediately nailing the tone, the attitude, and the wonderful wry verve of her character and her universe.    

Battlestar Galactica, "33" - I think that this episode has been a little overhyped.  The premise is fantastic, the suspense is unrelenting, and I love it when the characters are in crisis mode like this.  However, a lot of the early effectiveness of "Battlestar" is a matter of keeping the momentum going from the miniseries.  Still, the fate of the Olympic Carrier is harrowing to watch unfold, and definitely set expectations for "Battlestar" going forward.

Doctor Who, "The End of the World" - While we're on the topic of revivals, the return of "Doctor Who" didn't really sink in for me until the second episode, where we learn more about this alien time-traveller and what he's capable of.  The creators pulled out all the stops to make this one feel big and epic and really weird, and it works.  However, the best thing onscreen is Christopher Eccleston, who is secretly still probably my favorite Doctor.  

Arrested Development, "Motherboy XXX" - The obscure references!  The product placement!  The running jokes!  The legal disclaimers! The Michael and Buster team up!  And Carl Weathers and Amy Poehler return!  Every single performer is firing on all cylinders, and the writers no longer have any interest in bringing newcomers up to speed.  At this point you have embraced the madness of the Bluth family or you're very confused.

The Office, "Diversity Day" - The first season of "The Office" had some growing pains, but the writing was pretty sturdy right from the start.  Michael doing something insensitive prompts Dunder Mifflin to hold a diversity training seminar.  And Michael retaliates with his own diversity training seminar, complete with a video presentation and everyone being forced to wear index cards on their foreheads.  I'm not big on cringe humor, but who could resist? 

Samurai Champloo, "Baseball Blues" - The show's episodes are so different in tone and temperament that it's difficult to pick an exemplar.  I initially considered much more dramatic alternatives before arriving at the funniest, silliest episode of "Samurai Champloo," where the fate of Japan will be decided with a baseball game.  It definitely fulfills the show's promise of mixing cultural influences, but this one also enjoys some good old culture clash.

Carnivale, "New Canaan CA" - I've heard grumbles that the show ended too early, but I thought that it found a good stopping point, letting the carnies and Brother Justin have their big showdown in the finale.  And what a showdown.  I love that all the secrets are out at last and everyone is working together to defeat the forces of evil.  There are consequences of course, which leaves the fates of several of our major characters forever a mystery. 

The Wire, "Middle Ground" - There are many episodes I could have picked for the third season of "The Wire," but the big, climactic Stringer Bell showdown stood out for me.  The shock of what happens is so great, because it's absolutely been telegraphed far in advance, but comes at a point where so much feels unfinished.  I can't say enough about the performances here - Not just Idris Elba, but Michael Potts and Michael Kenneth and too many more to list.  

Lost, "Exodus" - The big action finale of the first season of "Lost" is impressive for its scope, its ambition, and for paying off so many different storylines that had been accumulated over the course of the first season.  And the first season of "Lost" was always the best one.  The finale being pulled off with such aplomb was the cherry on the cake.  It's no wonder that this one lingered in the pop culture consciousness for such a long time.

The Venture Bros., "Are You There God? It's Me Dean" - The Monarch finally captures the Ventures on his birthday, but there's a twist, literally.  Dean has a case of testicular torsion, requiring some awkward medical intervention from Billy Quizboy and Pete White.  As everyone's plans go further and further awry, the situation just keeps getting funnier.  And like all responsible cartoons, it ends with a public service announcement.

Honorable Mention

House, "Three Stories" - I was determined to get this series on one of these lists, because it was such a big part of its era.  I think there were better episodes in some of the later seasons, but this one undeniably helped set the bar.

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"Prison Break," Year One

"Prison Break" is a FOX drama that ran for five seasons.  I watched the first one, and will not be watching any of the others.  It's not a bad show, but I'm definitely not the right audience for this one.  After many years of enjoying prestige crime dramas with much higher budgets and more resources, a pulpy, melodramatic prime time network show from 2005 simply doesn't work for me the way I want it to.

There's plenty to like about "Prison Break," and the first season lives up to its reputation as a thrill ride.  Each of the 22 episodes follows Michael Scofield (Wentworth Miller) in the fictional Fox River State Penitentiary, as he works to bust his wrongly convicted brother Lincoln Burrows (Dominic Purcell) out of the joint before he's executed.  The cast is a bonanza of character actors, including Peter Stormare, Stacy Keach, and a young Frank Grillo.  Other standouts include Amaury Nolasco, Robert Knepper, Muse Watson, and Silas Weir Mitchell as inmates, and Wade Williams as the primary correctional officer villain.  Famously, the show was largely shot on location in the former Joliet Prison and nearby Chicago, and it looks fabulous.  

On the other hand, "Prison Break" is a soap opera.  There are over-the-top dramatic twists left and right, and the scripts are written so that your average twelve year-old can follow along without difficulty.  There are subplots devoted to Michael's lawyer Veronica (Robin Tunney) unraveling the conspiracy behind Lincoln being framed, and Lincoln's teenage son L.J. (Marshall Allman) being driven to a life of crime by the baddies trying to ensure his father is executed.  There's nothing wrong with any of this, except the execution is so lacking.  There are multiple instances of bad ethnic stereotypes and poorly used prison vernacular, and way too many cases where prison officials are willing to bend protocol so that Michael or Lincoln can get away with something just in the nick of time.  The show is also shot and edited in the most overbearing, obnoxious way possible, with the Ramin Djawadi score blasting over every cut to commercial, like reality programming.    

The characters are extremely shallow.  Michael's a brilliant, insightful mastermind who has obsessively planned the escape, and yet keeps taking stupid risks and tends to choose the most elaborate and circuitous ways of doing things.  He also falls in love with attractive prison doctor Tancredi (Sarah Wayne Callies), who conveniently also happens to be the governor's daughter.  I feel for Dominic Purcell, because Lincoln is written as an absolute lunkhead, who shouts his feelings in any dramatic situation, and Purcell has little opportunity to inject any subtlety or complexity into his performance the way some of the other actors were able to. There's a scene where Lincoln literally berates the warden to let him go look for his missing son, despite being days away from his execution.  The rest of the ensemble can be more fun, especially the actors who get to be more theatrically villainous, like Knepper and Williams. 

Part of my disappointment with the show is that "Prison Break" has a great premise, and many of the people involved are very talented.  However, the end result is so compromised and diluted by the demands of television at the time, and I found it pretty disposable.  Even the parts that were good, dumb fun kept being undercut by elements that I found so contrived, it completely broke my suspension of disbelief.  A big part of the problem is that I know enough about how the justice system actually works that the more idealized characters who do the right thing often struck me as far too naive and unbelievable.  2005 was before the prestige TV era and all those antihero protagonists really came in, so Michael is still expected to be unreasonably morally upright, despite being surrounded by convicts.

I'm glad that I watched the first season of "Prison Break" for context, if nothing else.  As I've been working through my Top Ten TV project, it's been enlightening to trace the trends and expectations of episodic television back through the years.  "Prison Break" is a show very much of its time - ambitious and novel in many ways, but also very beholden to the programming demands of broadcast television.  

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"Tuner" and "Pressure"

This past spring was awfully light on memorable new releases, so I'm highlighting a few of the smaller titles aimed at grown-ups that you might have missed.  

"Tuner" is the narrative feature debut of Daniel Rohrer, who made "Navalny" and several other well-regarded documentaries.  It's a thriller about an apprentice piano tuner named Niki (Leo Woodall), who suffers from hyperacusis.  This means that his hearing is so sensitive to noise that he has to constantly wear earplugs and headphones, but it also unexpectedly gives him the ability to break into safes.  

This is an old fashioned kind of thriller, in the same vein as other character-focused heist movies like Michael Mann's "Thief."  Niki becomes involved in a life of crime almost by accident.  His beloved mentor, Harry (Dustin Hoffman) takes ill and needs the money.  And then he falls in love with a pretty music student, Ruthie (Havan Rose Liu), who becomes another point of leverage.  Of course, he trusts the wrong person, in this case an Israeli alarm system installer named Uri (Lior Raz), who brings Niki in on more and more dangerous jobs.  I like that Rohrer takes his time showing us how Niki functions and the progression of his relationships long before the safecracking element comes into play.  I would have been happy to watch an entire film that was just about Niki and Harry being piano tuners, making their trips to a series of rich people's houses to lovingly tune all the fancy pianos that are barely ever played.      

I wouldn't call "Tuner" slow, with its rapid-fire montages of safecracking attempts and the use of anxiety-inducing soundscapes that torture Niki when his jobs become more dire.  However, the pacing is very deliberate and patient, giving the quieter performances the time to breathe.  I like Leo Woodall as Niki, and his presence here wouldn't be half as effective if he didn't have a director who was willing to give him the space to exist onscreen the way he does.  I also like the use of music - we get to listen in on several piano and orchestral performances for decently long stretches of time, which allow us to actually take them in and appreciate them more fully.  Frankly, I can't remember the last time that happened, and I appreciate "Tuner" all the more for it.    

Now on to "Pressure," a movie I didn't have high hopes for.  There have been so many films about WWII and D-Day in the last few years, covering it from every possible angle.  I was a little exasperated to find that director Anthony Maras and writer David Haig had somehow managed to make a movie about the D-Day weather forecast.  Seriously, the movie is about Captain James Stagg (Andrew Scott), the meteorologist who predicted inclement weather and got the Normandy invasion delayed by a day, averting possible disaster.  It didn't help that Brendan Fraser was blustering around the screen as  Dwight D. Eisenhower, threatening to make the movie look even more like a parody of typical Oscar bait.  Fortunately, despite doing absolutely nothing original in the script or direction, "Pressure" is still a perfectly good watch.  It's executed well, Andrew Scott's performance is excellent, and there is something to be said for knowing exactly what you're getting.

Of course the story of James Stagg is exaggerated for the big screen. I highly doubt that Stagg was pitted against his fellow meteorologist, Colonel Irving P. Krick (Chris Messina), who is set up as a brash American rival.  Nor would he have needed championing by Eisenhower's secretary, the lovely and sensible Kay Summersby (Kerry Condon).  Surely Stagg didn't need to deliver an impassioned defense of his forecast to Eisenhower and the other top brass in charge of Operation Overlord.  However, a good melodrama is helped along by all of these things, and though I can see this movie exasperating history buffs, it's also nice to see a minor historical personage getting a little more attention.  And as D-Day approaches and the storm clouds gather, and the music gets more intense, it's perfectly enjoyable to see the whole drama play out, knowing that everything works out all right in the end for the good guys.  

So, this isn't particularly sophisticated or groundbreaking entertainment, but it does the job.  Some good actors get a chance to deliver some stirring monologues, and the archival footage we've all seen before gets trotted out again, spruced up a bit for yet another bit of WWII silver screen mythmaking.  And if this sounds like the kind of movie you would enjoy, surely you wouldn't want it any other way.

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"The Vampire Lestat" is Calling

Of the Anne Rice novels I've read, and I admit did go through that phase in high school, "The Vampire Lestat" is the one that I know the best.  It recenters the narrative begun in "Interview with the Vampire" on the character of Lestat de Lioncourt (Sam Reid), as he decides to embrace the modern age by flouting the vampire rules and becoming a rock star.  The television series adaptation does the same thing.  The title has been changed, but this is essentially the third season of AMC's "Interview With the Vampire" series, created by Rolin Jones, with all the major cast members returning.  It's also not easy to follow what's going on if you haven't seen the earlier seasons.

However, "The Vampire Lestat" feels like a significant break from the narrative so far.  Since we've swapped narrators from Louis de Pointe du Lac (Jacob Anderson) to the much more chaotic Lestat, the storytelling follows suit.  Most of the action takes place in the present day as Lestat and his band are on tour, with only very limited, often inaccurate flashbacks to Lestat's earlier life and history.  It's evident that the budget was a limiting factor, as several of the book's most memorable events are only described rather than depicted, and the season ends right before a major cataclysm - was a planned finale cut for some reason?  However, that's not really what the adaptation wants to focus on.  Instead, it's giving us a good, long, look into the messy psyche of Lestat, who is constantly lying to himself, self-aggrandizing in the extreme, and courting disaster as he keeps seeking the spotlight.  He and Louis have had another falling out since the release of the book Daniel (Eric Bogosian) managed to write based on his notes from last season, and Lestat is in the throes of emotional turmoil.  He's hired Daniel to make a documentary about him, which means bringing him on tour to be his sarcastic confessor and interrogator.  Also his mother, the vampire Gabriella (Jennifer Ehle), has resurfaced after a long absence, bringing more mess into the situation.  

I really like this version of Lestat de Lioncourt, who is absolutely not the same character from the books.  Anne Rice's Lestat was a bratty rebel who pushed back against the vampire establishment because he wouldn't be constrained by their rules.  Sam Reid's version is a walking trainwreck, screwed up by centuries of trauma, abandonment, epic mommy issues, and unprocessed grief.  Where the book Lestat was effortlessly a superstar, the screen Lestat is a mediocre musician at best, with songs composed by Daniel Hart.  The tour is not going well at the start of the series, and it's a running joke that the band regularly gets terrible reviews. (Personally the music isn't really to my taste either, but it works in the context of the show, so no complaints here).  What looks like rock 'n' roll impetuousness and provocation is really a combination of clumsy self-destruction or maybe very badly applied self-help.  However, those moments when Reid takes the stage and starts riling up the crowd are frequently electric, and if this is all just Lestat's idea of therapy, at least it's wonderfully entertaining to watch.  The dialogue remains very sharp, and Lestat's narration, full of terminally online social-media speak, is also frequently hilarious.      

 

There's also the matter of keeping all the regulars from "Interview With the Vampire" around for the new season, so reasons are engineered for characters like Louis, Armand (Assad Zaman) and Claudia (Delainey Hayles) to keep making appearances, which I will not spoil.  We spend far more time with them than we do with characters like Nicholas de Lenfent (Joseph Potter), Magnus (Damien Atkins), Marius de Romanus (Christopher Heyer Dahl), and Akasha (Sheila Atim), who all had considerably bigger parts in the book.  At least all of them are here, setting up future events in what I hope will be multiple seasons to come, but several of the introductions are very rushed.  The big exception is Gabriella, who has controversially been turned into a more vicious, calculating presence with her own agenda.  She's not quite an antagonist this season, but has the potential to be, which is very exciting.  

I'm not quite disappointed in the ending since I know that there's more coming, but it's hard to parse a season that feels so unfinished.  There are several episodes that I adore in isolation, with a few specific scenes and performances that are absolutely worth taking the trouble for, but there are also many conceits and ambitious reaches here that just don't pan out.  "The Vampire Lestat" is a daring, creative season of television that I'm so glad exists, but it also left me wanting far more than what I think the series is ready to provide.     

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"Michael" and "Is God Is"

The trouble with Antoine Fuqua's "Michael" is that the subject is too famous and the audience is too well informed.  If they made this kind of uplifting, all highlights biopic about a musical star of less renown, it probably would have come across better.  Antione Fuqua does a fantastic job of recreating the hype and the excitement of Michael Jackson's incredible rise to the top of the charts.  Jaafar Jackson, Michael's nephew, certainly looks the part of the '70s and '80s Michael Jackson and handles all the singing and dancing flawlessly.  If all you want out of this movie is to relive the most fun and triumphant parts of Michael Jackson fandom with all these big budget re-enactments of his most famous performances, this is the movie for you.  

As a biopic, however, there's a lot to be desired.  "Michael" posits that the biggest difficulty Michael Jackson had to overcome was wresting away control of his own destiny from his abusive father Joe Jackson (Colman Domingo).  Creatively, he seems to have no difficulties whatsoever, from his early days as a child prodigy, portrayed by Juliano Valdi, to the writer and performer of "Thriller," "Billy Jean," and "Beat It."  He's constantly referred to as a generational talent destined for greatness by everyone around him.  As "Michael" was made with the heavy involvement of the Jackson family, there's also the familiar characterization of Michael as a lonely kid who never grew up, collecting pets, watching cartoons, and daydreaming about "Peter Pan" well into adulthood.  The film cuts off in 1988 with the first solo tour, and there's no mention of the well-documented abuse allegations that would mar the rest of Jackson's career.  

From the news of the production troubles around the film, it's clear that Fuqua tried to address some of the later parts of Jackson's life, but was stymied by legal issues.  As a result, "Michael" feels incomplete, if not outright evasive.  However, the portrayal of Michael Jackson is still fundamentally unsatisfying in the parts of the biopic that remain.  Jaafar Jackson's acting abilities are mediocre but serviceable.  The larger problem is that Michael is written as totally opaque, a bland extension of the public persona we all knew instead of a full human being.  Any signs of complexity or dysfunctions are acknowledged only for the purpose of being forgiven, minimized, or explained away as mere eccentricities.  The last twenty minutes of the film are given over to recreations of Jackson's stage performances, similar to the end of "Bohemian Rhapsody," but in context they feel like Fuqua simply giving up on the narrative, and playing the hits.  

A far more interesting and rewarding film comes from writer/director Alesha Harris in her feature debut.  "Is God Is" is a revenge film, one that looks like a "Kill Bill" style exploitation flick at first glance.  Twins Racine (Kara Young) and Anaia (Mallori Johnson) were left burned and scarred after the Man, their father, set their mother (Vivica A Fox) on fire when they were children.  All of them somehow survived.  Long estranged, but now on her deathbed, the mother summons her two grown daughters and charges them with a mission to hunt down and kill the Man who hurt and abandoned them, and to bring ruin to everyone around him.  On their journey, Racine and Anaia encounter the Man's other children, partners, and associates, who have all been damaged in one way or another by his evil.  Other members of the impressive cast include Janelle Monae, Erika Alexander, Mykelti Williamson, Sterling K. Brown, Justen Ross, and Xavier Mills.       

Revenge is a hard thing in "Is God Is."  It is inherently destructive and violent, which is difficult for Anaia because she isn't a violent person.  She's the quieter, more reserved twin, whose terrible scars mar her face.  However, she is deeply connected with her more beautiful twin Racine, the fiercely aggressive and protective sister, who has no such qualms.  And as we learn more about the Man and his trail of evil deeds, whose legacy to his children is violence.  It's clear that more  violence may be the only thing that can stop him.   Anaia's journey is one of empowerment, loss of innocence, and self acceptance.  Eventually she chooses violence too, but never becomes inured to it.  In "Is God Is" violence is always brutal, and the consequences are ugly.  Racine's weapon of choice is a rock in a sock, which she uses to bludgeon her unfortunate targets to a bloody pulp.  It becomes emblematic of the film's attitude toward hate and revenge - a heavy, blunt, smashing force that can so easily be turned back against those who wield it.  

While the film is about hate, it's also about love.  It's about women connected through common blood, culture, language, and trauma.  Racine and Anaia look and sound like no other cinematic characters I've ever seen, with their blond dreadlocks, their heavy scars, and their sharply stylized dialogue.  They're so close, they often address each other simply as "Twin," and sometimes don't need to speak at all to communicate.  Their wordless exchanges are helpfully captioned for us.  But in spite of their closeness, Racine and Anaia's relationship is often rocky, and their disagreements can be vehement, even explosive.  And "Is God Is" looks like no other film this year.  The frames are bright with purposeful color, and the landscapes bake under the midwestern sun.  The editing is exacting but playful, reflecting characters who are full of irrepressible life and emotion.  Everything here feels so alive, pulsing and vibrant.  Everything demands your attention, and I couldn't look away.

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My Top 25 of the Last 25: Reviews

This was by far the toughest of these lists to write, and not just because the research took so much longer than I anticipated.  Many of these reviews are challenging to access now, and I spent a lot of time cursing at paywalls as I dug through old archives and hit a lot of dead links.  A few reviews are not on this list simply because the podcast or publication in which it originally existed has been lost to time.  This feature would not have been possible without the Wayback Machine, for which I am eternally grateful.  Frankly, serious critical reviews of any kind are getting much too rare.  Most of the entries below are movie reviews, but there are reviews for a few other things as well, including a fictional review of a fictional restaurant.  

I tried to keep a balance between the positive reviews and negative ones, putting more emphasis on the thoughtful longform pieces.  Some of these reviews were chosen by the critics themselves, because in a few cases I knew I wanted the reviewer on the list but had trouble picking a specific piece.  David Ehrlich, for example, has claimed his favorite review that he's written is the one for "Personal Shopper," and I can't find any reason to disagree with him.

As with all the lists in this series, there are 25 entries, but only the top ten get writeups.   In the interests of keeping this list more navigable, I'm simply listing the critic and what they reviewed, and leaving off the actual titles of the reviews as some of them get confusing.  I'm also leaving off the publications in most cases, as a few went through name changes or got sold off to other companies, and untangling those webs is not something I'm keen on spending more time doing.  

Justin Chang, "Oppenheimer" - I didn't particularly like "Oppenheimer," and I didn't see what Justin Chang saw in the film - and more importantly what he and others didn't see in the film.  However, I came to appreciate what Christopher Nolan was doing more after reading Chang's passionate analysis of "the radical subjectivity" of "Oppenheimer" and the complicated cultural and historical waters that a biography of this kind has to navigate.  

Manohla Dargis, "The Dark Knight" - I had the hardest time picking a review for Dargis, but I finally settled on her meticulously constructed positive review of "The Dark Knight," because it does such a thorough and thoughtful job of articulating all the reasons why the film stood out from the blockbuster crowd.  While I enjoy the critics with entertaining writing, it's the ones who can really put together a strong argument that I find indispensable.    

David Erhlich, "Personal Shopper" - It's a brave reviewer who puts so much of themselves in their reviews, and it doesn't get more personal than this.  Ehrlich grapples with the death of a loved one while writing about "Personal Shopper," a singular ghost story.  Along the way, he also interviews star Kristen Stewart and filmmaker Olivier Assayas and contributes his own musings on the nature of film, interpersonal connections, and modern technology.  

Roger Ebert, "Synecdoche, New York" - I planned to write about Ebert's fantastic "Grave of the Fireflies" review, only to discover it was published a few months too early for this list.  I also considered some of his legendary pans, such as the ones for "Pearl Harbor" or "The Human Centipede."  But I went with the "Synecdoche, New York" review, because it is a film we both loved, and Ebert was always at his best championing the movies that he loved.

Film Crit Hulk, "The Last Jedi" - There have been so many writeups on what happened with "The Last Jedi" and the "Star Wars" fandom, but Film Crit Hulk's reasonably-sized rave about "The Last Jedi" and the very, very, very long follow-up piece he wrote for The Observer about the fan backlash are really all you need to understand what happened.  The length is typical for Film Crit Hulk, a critic who could not have existed in his current form pre-internet.  

Hbomberguy's review of The Nostalgia Critic's review of "The Wall" - The video essay is sometimes a very good vehicle for reviews, and Hbomberguy's takedown of The Nostalgia Critic's musical parody of Pink Floyd's "The Wall" has become one of the most notorious.  It's not just a review of a review, but a review of a reviewer's entire modus operandi, and it's a scathing one.  In fact, it bears a few similarities to the next entry on the list, which brings up to…

Andrea Long Chu, A Little Life and other works by Hanya Yanagihara - As someone who hasn't been much of a reader, particularly of prestigious modern literature, Andrea Long Chu's description of the misery-porn plot of A Little Life sounded too tasteless and ridiculous to be real.  The accompanying critique is lengthy, merciless, very well written, and I'd feel sorry for Yanagihara if it weren't for her book's evisceration clearly being so richly deserved.  

Emily St. James, "Mad Men" - To be specific, these are the AV Club reviews that St. James wrote as the show was airing weekly in the 2010s.  Long form television recapping and reviews really only happened with the advent of the internet, and I knew I had to represent them on this list somehow.  So, I'm picking St James's "Mad Men" reviews, because I read them as I binged the show, and I find that I can't mentally separate the two experiences.  I know I'm not alone.

Pete Wells, Guy Fieri's American Kitchen & Bar in Midtown Times Square - I don't know anything about food, but this is a very entertaining piece of writing and well worth revisiting.

Stephanie Zacharek, "Cowboy Bebop: Knockin' on Heaven's Door" - Finally, I think this is the only major negative review I've found of Hayao Miyazaki's "Spirited Away," a film that Zacharek uses to contrast against in her rave for Shiniciro Watanabe's "Cowboy Bebop" feature - an obscure science-fiction anime romp aimed at adults.  I disagree with her conclusions, but agree with most of her arguments and deeply appreciate her willingness to make them.

The next fifteen:

David Denby, "Ida" and "Detropia"

Phil Hoad, Yoshitaro Nomura's "The Demon"

Charlie Jane Anders "Transformers 2: Revenge of the Fallen"

Noah Antwiler "Bloodwings: Pumpkinhead's Revenge"

Anthony Lane "Air"

Wesley Morris, "The Help" and "The Fast and Furious" movies

Jenny Nicholson, Star Wars Galaxy's Edge hotel

The Oatmeal, Twilight

Nathan Rabin, "Megalopolis"

Alan Sepinwall "The Sopranos" and "Atlanta"

A.O. Scott, "Joker"

Lindy West, "Sex and the City 2"

Mark Kermode,"Sex and the City 2"

and 

"Top Gear," a green Ford Fiesta

Anton Ego, Gusteau's Restaurant

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