Archive - The New Hollywood Criterion

Moneyball: "It's hard not to be romantic about baseball"

Thinking about the difference between accuracy and authenticity, and what happens when you know what "really" happened in a film.

Feb 17 • Thomas Bevilacqua

January 2026

Anora: "I'm just gonna go chill in my mansion or whatever, you know, no big deal!"

Thoughts on Sean Baker's film that dominated the 2025 Academy Awards.

Jan 25 • Thomas Bevilacqua

BlacKkKlansman: "Why are you acting like you don't got skin in the game?"

Spike Lee's hit 2018 film starring John David Washington and Adam Driver.

Jan 12 • Thomas Bevilacqua

Oppenheimer: "Theory will take you only so far."

Christopher Nolan's hit 2023 biopic centering on the man driving the Manhattan Project.

Jan 7 • Thomas Bevilacqua

Get Out: "Now, you're in the sunken place"

About 9 years too late, but I finally weigh in.

Jan 4 • Thomas Bevilacqua

December 2025

One Battle After Another: "Let's not nitpick over the passwords."

Paul Thomas Anderson's latest film is a fascinating text and another exemplary work in the director's oeuvre.

Dec 31, 2025 • Thomas Bevilacqua

"You don't beat it. You don't beat this river."

On finally watching Deliverance, and why we shouldn't reduce a film to just one or two simple things.

Dec 29, 2025 • Thomas Bevilacqua

"You're full of ifs"

Sam Peckinpah's 1972 film The Getaway gives us a chance to appreciate Steve McQueen's star persona as well as the magnetism of Ali McGraw

Dec 24, 2025 • Thomas Bevilacqua

"I don't believe in surrenders. Nope, I've still got my saber"

A couple of films, highlighted by Tarantino, that engage with the themes and structures of John Ford's The Searchers

Dec 22, 2025 • Thomas Bevilacqua

"Do you know any of these shows or people I'm talking about"

My takeaways after watching quite a few films directed and/or written by Quentin Tarantino.

Dec 12, 2025 • Thomas Bevilacqua

"It's everything! It's everyone! We are all - guilty"

My thoughts on G.W. Pabst's 1930 anti-war film, Westfront 1918.

Dec 9, 2025 • Thomas Bevilacqua

"Truth is, it doesn't hide at all. I was staring right at it."

The second film in the Knives Out series, directed by Rian Johnson and once again starring Daniel Craig

Dec 8, 2025 • Thomas Bevilacqua

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