As for me, my mind was blown open by Blue Velvet when I saw it college-aged in first run in 1986 at the Nickelodeon Cinema in Boston with my then-girlfriend. We could not speak when we left the theater, so rattled were we by this terrifying new thing that had come into the world (the same summer and fall as Down by Law, She’s Gotta Have It, Big Trouble in Little China, and Something Wild). This filmic world of smashed TVs, diners, wood paneling, the ominous hum of electricity, and rose-pink...| n+1
I’m troubled by writers who never ask themselves, “What if I didn’t do this?” Some things should be passed over in silence. I felt that way last fall when Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour came out in theaters. When I noticed aging male film critics rushing to see this nearly three-hour concert film so they could write about it, I was embarrassed for them.| n+1