PETERSON REVIEWS
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The Perennially Relevant ‘Ladybug Ladybug’
The frustrations at the heart of Eleanor and Frank Perry’s 1963 Cold War drama have barely faded.
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Stepping Up
‘American Doctor’ and ‘Mad Bills to Pay,’ reviewed.
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The Meticulous Empathy of ‘Descendant’
In 2019, a sunken slave ship was discovered, after years of speculation, in Alabama’s Mobile River. A great 2022 documentary, ‘Descendant,’ powerfully probes the aftermath.
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‘Sherman’s March’ is Pretty Exhausting
It’s easy to see why Ross McElwee’s 1986 documentary was so influential. It can also be enervating.
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‘The Hamptons’ is a Compulsively Watchable Nightmare
Barbara Kopple’s 2002 documentary saps the mythic vacation destination of any romanticization.
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The Triumph and Tragedy of ‘The Joy Luck Club’
Wayne Wang’s 1993 adaptation of the homonymous Amy Tan novel was a breakthrough that deserved to trigger more of an industry ripple effect than it ultimately did.
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What This Northwest ‘Drag Race’ Alum Has Planned for Her Seattle Tour Stop
For 425: Bosco wasn’t originally going to bring her new show to her adopted hometown. Here’s why that changed.
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‘The End of Oak Street’ is Entertainingly Derivative
Plus: The much-delayed Looney Tunes comedy ‘Coyote vs. Acme’ is, for the most part, worth the wait. (For 425)
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Love Letters
‘Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma,’ ‘A Sad and Beautiful World,’ and ‘Cactus Pears,’ reviewed.
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Strong, Stoic Types
Director-star Paul Newman’s 1971 treatment of Ken Kesey’s ‘Sometimes a Great Notion’ perceptively observes the corrosiveness of toxic masculinity.
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Coming-of-Age Drama ‘Sugar Cane Alley’ Doesn’t Sugarcoat Things
Euzhan Palcy’s excellent debut feature set the stage for a career making social issue-forward movies that managed to be both hopeful and unsentimental.
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‘My Mom Jayne’ is a Moving Act of Familial Investigation
Mariska Hargitay’s 2025 voyage into her iconic mother’s past abounds in tenderness and hard truths.
SEPTEMBER 2026
The Theme is ‘Based on an Article’
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‘Bigger Than Life”s Resounding Anger
By the film’s end, which offers no resounding resolution, you feel practically pummeled by its driving dilemma.
August 19, 2026
May 25, 2026
May 13. 2026
Strong, Stoic Types
Director-star Paul Newman’s 1971 treatment of Ken Kesey’s ‘Sometimes a Great Notion’ perceptively observes the corrosiveness of toxic masculinity.
August 7, 2026
Working Girls
‘Broken Mirrors,’ Marleen Gorris’ 1984 follow-up to her still-transcendent feminist drama ‘A Question of Silence,’ expands on its predecessor’s themes while dramatically improving on its writer-director’s aesthetic command.
July 9, 2026
Found Connections
Donna Deitch’s ‘Desert Hearts’ was a breakthrough for lesbian representation in cinema. It also achieves another rarified thing: Characters who feel like they exist outside a screenplay’s bounds.
June 30, 2026
Peterson Reviews 