Michael Marano

Book Review: The Mouse That Ate the Movies — Vicky Osterweil Dissects Disney’s Cultural Monopoly

April 7, 2026
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Vicky Osterweil examines how Unca Walt’s empire imposes a politically dangerous, patriarchal form of homogenization across all its intellectual properties—from the Marvel Cinematic Universe to cartoons, to “Star Wars” films and shows, and to amusement park “experiences.”

Film Review: “Alpha” — A Plague‑Haunted Masterpiece of Memory and Marginalization

April 2, 2026
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AIDS made us strangers in our own lives. It took our world and made it foreign, putting us in the same socio-cultural no-man’s-land where “Alpha”‘s immigrant family is struggling.

Theater Review: Eddie Izzard’s “Hamlet”: A Bare-Stage Rebellion Against a World Out of Joint

March 25, 2026
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I’m thinking that a one-person performance of “Hamlet” by a Brit transwoman might get under Trump’s necrotic skin.

Film Review: “Project Hail Mary” — The Sweet Smell of Science Fiction Wonder

March 18, 2026
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“Project Hail Mary” is an antidote to dystopias, real and imagined.

Film Review: “Melania” — An Aggressively Dull Travesty

February 2, 2026
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As a dick-waving demonstration of fascist corporate and political power, “Melania” would make a great double bill with Pasolini’s “Salò, or the 120 Days of Sodom.”

Film Review: “Send Help” — A Grotesque Satire of Corporate Survival

January 29, 2026
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The sitcom tropes encourage director Sam Raimi to unleash his utterly demented black humor sensibilities.

Film Review: “Die My Love” — A Film of Disturbing Brilliance

November 7, 2025
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“Die My Love” is a healthy bitch-slap, its shock encouraging young folks to dismiss the bullshit about relationships too many other movies have hawked over the past decade and a half or so.

Film Review: “Bugonia” — A Delightfully Warped Night at the Movies

October 23, 2025
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There’s a profound catharsis in watching “Bugonia,” one that echoes the catharsis articulated by those who attended the ‘No Kings’ protests on the 18th.

Film Review: “Tron: Ares” — It Might Have Been a Contender

October 9, 2025
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 Tron: Ares  hurries from one spectacular concept and one spectacular set piece to another. But it doesn’t take the time to let any of those remarkable things sink in.

Film Review: “Fantastic Four: First Steps” — Deliciously Self-Contained

July 24, 2025
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My reviewing this movie is like Proust reviewing a tea-dipped madeleine, but I think even old Marcel could spot when bits of the sponge cake were stale or too soggy.

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