Criterion Month Day 25: Boyz n the Hood

Boyz n the Hood (1991)

Film critics, especially the kind that make Important Lists, typically overcorrect for recency bias, which I respect. You can never be too sure something that seems groundbreaking now will still feel that way in a generation, and it’s just as easily to dismiss something that ends up being iconic. This Criterion Month I’ve been thinking about François Truffaut a lot and the importance of his debut, The 400 Blows. A towering achievement, especially as a directorial debut, Truffaut’s coming-of-age story is often discussed as one of the greatest films of all time.

Boyz n the Hood is older now than The 400 Blows was when Boyz n the Hood came out in 1991. I think that’s why Criterion recently released his Hood Trilogy box set, enough time has passed that you can talk about both these movies in the same breath. But what do I know? I just saw it. Maybe it’s too soon for me to be making declarations.

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Criterion Month Day 24: Naked Lunch

Naked Lunch (1991)

Today marks the 12th time this site has covered David Cronenberg, who kids today might know from his chilling monologue on the latest Charli XCX album. Why do we feel the need to keep picking and prodding at the King of Body Horror and his many oozing orifices? One, because Canada’s favorite son has a whopping eight films in the Criterion Collection, and two, he makes a lot of creepy crawlies well suited for Shocktober every fall.

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Criterion Month Day 23: Dogfight

Dogfight (1991)

It’s not a super abundant genre, but I do love a movie where two young romantics spend a night together and slowly start to develop an irresistible bond. From Before Sunrise to My Night at Maud’s to Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist, it’s just a really charming genre and one that taps into the idea that anything is possible when you’re young and naive and the night offers no expectations but a good time. Granted, I don’t recall any films in this genre that begin with one of the two romantic leads doing something really shitty to the other person and then spending the rest of the movie learning to be less of a jerk. Continue reading →

Criterion Month Day 21: Sid and Nancy

Sid and Nancy (1986)

A few months ago, I noticed the 2022 FX show Pistol floating around Amazon Prime. I love punk and Danny Boyle (he directed every episode), so naturally I enjoyed it. Adapted primarily from guitarist Steve Jones’ autobiography, the show was criticized for falling into typical biopic pitfalls, overexplaining and simplifying events. Regardless, I loved the performances, the tone, and the frenetic sound and visual style of the show. It’s everything I could want in a Sex Pistols biopic.

Sid and Nancy is everything I don’t want in a Sex Pistols biopic.

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Criterion Month Day 20: Working Girls

Working Girls (1986)

It’s always striking to see a film that holds up so well in terms of content and yet is so tied to its time period in terms of aesthetics. I’m hesitant to use the word “dated”, because I think a film like Working Girls is aiming to portray an authentic version of its own reality, even if that reality feels unmistakably born of the 1980s. But the guiding philosophy of Working Girls seems to be that “sex work is work”, a phrase I only remember popping up in the public consciousness in the last decade or so. So to see a film that portrays sex work in terms of labor and workplace politics feels pretty remarkable, even if the hair, make-up, and name brands used in the film feel like relics of the Reagan years.

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Criterion Month Day 19: The Killing of a Chinese Bookie

The Killing of a Chinese Bookie (1976)

“There’s nothing I despise more than being entertained.” This is a quote John Cassavetes told scholar and author Ray Carney, later published in Carney’s 2001 book Cassavetes on Cassavetes. John Cassavetes didn’t make films to transport us. He made films to turn the mirror on ourselves, showing us the grit and drama of relationships, success, failure, and violence.

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