‘Blade Runner’ (1982) Has an Inexplicable Gender Blindspot
I watched Blade Runner with the same friend who helped me tackle Rosemary’s Baby and, for the first hour or so, we thought we were...
Author: Sarah Jae Leiber
No One Told Me Hoggle Was Mishpacha in ‘Labyrinth’ (1986)
I’m aware that my first-time-watching “Labyrinth” reaction was supposed to be, “Wow, that David Bowie sure is sexy playing the human-esque king in a fantasy...
The Amityville Horror (1979) and the Banality of Domestic Abuse – Retro Review
I’ve been listening to a lot of the You’re Wrong About podcast recently — I’ve devoted the past few days to their series about the...
“Peggy Sue Got Married” (1986) Works Because it Wouldn’t Work Today
Not to be this person, but do you realize that if they made Peggy Sue Got Married today that the 25 year time jump would...
9 to 5 (1980) and the Liberal Fantasy of Ethical Capitalism – Retro Review
I think I experienced a different 9 to 5 than what was intended. People sold it to me as a glorious fantasy about working women...
‘Rosemary’s Baby’ (1968) Holds Up, Despite Polanski – Retro Review
It always upsets me when I see people my age disparaging The Beatles. I grew up on my parents’ music, and I held very narrow...
The Way We Were (1973), Objectivity, and What Makes a Masterpiece — Retro Review
There’s a really unfortunate New York Post piece from 2015 that posits that women are incapable of understanding Goodfellas because we’re incapable of understanding the...
The Genre-Bending Sincere Silliness of ‘Pee-wee’s Big Adventure’ (1985) – Retro Review
Pee-wee’s Big Adventure lives rent-free in my brain. It’s a movie of images before it’s a movie of substance, but is substance really necessary when...
Post-War Attitudes and ‘Hair’ (1979) – Retro Review
There’s a big difference between “seeing” and “watching.” You “watch” a movie on your own, in your home, passively. You “see” a movie in a...
Time Bandits (1981) and the Limits of Imagination – Retro Review
Terry Gilliam is a difficult filmmaker — stylistically, politically, personally. He’s divisive as he is beloved for movies like Brazil and The Fisher King and...