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Watching “The American Revolution” in our fourth crisis

When discussing his work and its long conversation with the American story, Ken Burns often shares a version of a quote long attributed to Mark Twain. “History doesn’t repeat itself,” the maxim maintains, “but it rhymes.” The filmmaker was careful…

November 15, 2025 · by Friedrich Arndt · 0

The “Yellowstone” effect: Welcome to the new era of TV Westerns

In the fourth season finale of “Yellowstone,” Kevin Costner‘s John Dutton III announces his candidacy for governor of Montana by proposing a simple platform. “I am the opposite of progress,” he tells the state’s prospective voters. “I’m the wall that…

November 13, 2025 · by Friedrich Arndt · 0

Oh, you handsome devil: How “Bram Stoker’s Dracula” ushered in our thirst for the “sexy killer”

In 1890, Bram Stoker began research on what would become his most famous book, “Dracula.” During this research, which spanned years, the Irish author kept extensive journals in which he scribbled down his findings from hours spent poring over ancient…

November 13, 2025 · by Friedrich Arndt · 0

People are just the right amount of horny for Frankenstein’s monster

Eagerly anticipated and decades in the making, the new adaptation of Mary Shelley’s “Frankenstein” from lifelong monster superfan Guillermo del Toro easily soared to the top of Netflix last Friday, after an abbreviated theatrical release. Racking up more than 29…

November 13, 2025 · by Friedrich Arndt · 0

In “Predator: Badlands,” diversity is the secret weapon

In placing his spin on the “Predator” universe, director Dan Trachtenberg has ushered in several crucial firsts. His 2022 debut, “Prey,” is the first major movie to feature a Native American woman, Amber Midthunder, as the lead in a film…

November 12, 2025 · by Friedrich Arndt · 0

Jesus died for somebody’s sins … but not hers

Almost at the beginning of Steven Sebring’s documentary “Patti Smith: Dream of Life,” a film and art installation and photography book that have been 12 years in the making, we hear a narration from the eponymous rock goddess-poet, declaiming a…

November 11, 2025 · by Friedrich Arndt · 0

With “Prey,” Amber Midthunder gives us a woman warrior worthy of sequels

“Prey” yields a slew of reasons to sing its praises. But for a certain viewer, what makes the latest round in the “Predator” franchise stands head and shoulders above its four predecessors is Naru, Amber Midthunder‘s aspiring Comanche hunter. Tradition…

November 11, 2025 · by Friedrich Arndt · 0

Patti Smith opens the final door of her life story

With “Bread of Angels,” Patti Smith has finally given readers the long-awaited follow-up to 2010’s “Just Kids.” Unlike “M Train” (2015) and “Year of the Monkey” (2019), both of which mixed memoir with surrealism, “Bread of Angels” is presented as…

November 11, 2025 · by Friedrich Arndt · 0

Women didn’t ruin the workplace. Capitalism did

“Did women ruin the workplace? And can conservative feminism fix it?” asked the headline of a New York Times roundtable discussion/podcast that appeared late last week. Shortly afterward, the piece reappeared under a new title: “Did liberal feminism ruin the…

November 10, 2025 · by Friedrich Arndt · 0

When it comes to body horror, “Welcome to Derry”‘s got female trouble

For the entity called Pennywise, the demon that haunts Derry, Maine, fear is the best seasoning for flesh. That’s why this evil enjoys feasting on children most of all. All the townsfolk are susceptible to Its predation, but kids are…

November 9, 2025 · by Friedrich Arndt · 0