Film Essays and Analysis

In Defense of the Happy Ending: Alice Wu and LGBTQ+ Movies - For so long, Hollywood has made it seem like only white, cisgender, non-disabled, heterosexual people fall in love. The films of Alice Wu offer condolence for those outside of that box. Essay by Tina Kakadelis.
How ‘The Worst Person in the World’ Redefines Romantic Cinema - How Joachim Trier rewrites the rules of silver screen romance to create one of the best romantic dramas of recent years, 'The Worst Person in the World'. Essay by Rehana Nurmahi.
‘Wanderlust’ and Its ‘Bizarro Cut’ at 10: How David Wain Split His Sensibility in Two for the Studio System - 10 years on from the release of David Wain's cult comedy 'Wanderlust', starring Paul Rudd and Jennifer Aniston, its 'Bizarro Cut' remains transparent about the comedy process. Essay by Nicholas Armstrong.
Little Women Is the Ultimate Christmas Film, Actually - Greta Gerwig's 'Little Women' (2019) starring Saoirse Ronan, Emma Watson, Florence Pugh and more, is the ultimate Christmas film, even if it's arguably not even a Christmas film at all. Rehana Nurmahi explains.
There’s No Place like St. Louis at Christmas - If 'The Wizard of Oz' taught us that there’s no place like home, 'Meet Me in St. Louis' taught us that, actually, there’s no place like St. Louis. Essay by Margaret Roarty.
85-Year-Old ‘My Man Godfrey’ Is a Crash Course in Comic Perfection - Gregory La Cava comedy 'My Man Godfrey' (1936), starring William Powell and Carole Lombard, could teach modern Hollywood some lessons, even at 85 years old. Retrospective essay by Sloan De Forest.
Prone to Bouts of Mania, Narcissism and Power Failure: Watching High-Rise and Snowpiercer in 2021 - With hindsight and terrifying changes in the real world, Ben Wheatley's 'High-Rise' and Bong Joon-ho's 'Snowpiercer' have been given new power and relevance as socially conscious art. Essay by Sam Sewell-Peterson.
Conjuring Nonsense: Devils Didn’t Make Him Do It - The third 'Conjuring' film reinforces the dangerous myth that the supernatural is somehow responsible for the heinous crimes of humanity, and it's a problem as big as cinema itself. Essay from Jacob Davis.



The Duality of the Female Psyche in ‘Mouthpiece’ - How 'Mouthpiece', created by Amy Nostbakken and Norah Sadava, forges a moving insight into womanhood through its presentation of the duality of the female psyche. Essay by Gala Woolley.
How Did I Fall in Love with this Little Thing Called Cinema? - How an early life encounter with James Cameron's 'Aliens' (1986) shaped The Film Magazine writer Mark Carnochan's love for movies.