Now playing on the Criterion Channel Welcome back, cinephiles. Here’s another batch of flicks to enjoy on the Criterion Channel site and app. Newly added: Ryuichi Sakamoto: Coda (2017) One … Read More
Criterion Channel Picks – July 2nd, 2020: “But I’m a Cheerleader” & more
Now playing on the Criterion Channel Hey there, cinephiles! We’re doing a slight overhaul on the Criterion Channel column. Now, I’m going to be posting shorter columns every Thursday with … Read More
Movie Review: Binoche and Deneuve squabble over “The Truth”
Fabienne Dangeville, the septuagenarian film star played by Catherine Deneuve in The Truth (La Vérité), is an imposing, self-centered diva cut from the same cloth as Bette Davis’s Margo Channing in All About … Read More
Review: New stand-up hour from Eddie Pepitone, “For the Masses”
Eddie Pepitone, the Bitter Buddha, assesses America in the “end times” “WE HAVE TO GET IN THE STREETS AND FUCKING FIGHT! … Now I’m not going to be able to … Read More
Album review: Myq Kaplan’s “A.K.A.” is compassionate, confounding stand-up
Myq Kaplan’s newest album of wordy, nerdy stand-up comedy is out today. As he readily admits in his stand-up, Myq Kaplan (it’s pronounced “Mike”) can be an acquired taste. At … Read More
New stand-up album from Myq Kaplan arrives May 8th
Myq Kaplan’s A.K.A. – available for pre-order Stand-up comedian Myq Kaplan (it’s pronounced “Mike”) has a new album coming out May 8th, entitled A.K.A. The album is the same material that … Read More
Movie Review: “The Booksellers” is a charming doc about print culture
The battle between physical and digital media rages on in The Booksellers. In general, I think we here at Pop Culture Beast are big fans of real objects: discs, action … Read More
April Criterion Channel Picks to Battle Pandemic Boredom
Stuck at home? Love movies? Here’s some excellent cinema available on the Criterion Channel subscription streaming service. I’m back again with a follow-up to last month’s batch of picks, highlighting … Read More
New Music Friday: R.E.M.’s “Monster” 25th Anniversary Box Set
R.E.M Monster (ed: this piece originally ran 12/19) The R.E.M. album Monster occupies an odd space in the band’s body of work. Released in 1994, at the peak … Read More
Criterion Channel Picks for the Self-Quarantined
Criterion Channel: The streaming service that’s an isolated cinephile’s dream As more and more of the U.S. joins the rest of the world in staying home, it turns out there … Read More
Movie Review: “Portrait of a Lady on Fire” burns with repressed passion
Portrait of a Lady on Fire (not quite a literal translation of the French title, Portrait de la jeune fille en feu, but I’ll let it slide) is the kind of film … Read More
Movie Review: “Recorder: The Marion Stokes Project” profiles a VHS idealist
Technology merges with political idealism into a mad obsession in the new documentary, Recorder: The Marion Stokes Project. Driven by the desire to capture and catalogue the way that the … Read More
Movie Review: Dark comedy “Parasite” is the year’s best so far
The title of Bong Joon-Ho’s latest, Parasite, might lead viewers to suspect they are in for another wildly imaginative creature feature from the director of Okja and The Host. And sure, Bong’s tragicomedy features … Read More
New Music Friday: David Hasselhoff is at it again
David Hasselhoff, the erstwhile star of TV’s Knight Rider and Baywatch (not to mention Baywatch Nights), has had a pop music career almost the entire time that he has been … Read More