Criticism Is Dead – Details, episodes & analysis

We’re sorry for the wait! The fate of Criticism Is Dead has been decided. We hope you will listen to this update. Thank you. <3

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Where to find us:

Pelin: Twitter / Letterboxd / Instagram Jenny: Twitter / Instagram / Newsletter / Letterboxd If you need to get in touch, still: criticismisdead@gmail.com

Music: REEKAH

Artwork and design: Sara Macias and Andrew Liu

This is SUCCESSION SENDOFF, our special series following along Succession’s fourth and final season.

In episode 10 “With Open Eyes,” the board decides.

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Follow us on Twitter and Instagram. For extended show notes — including links that we reference, plus more — subscribe to our Substack. Inquiries, complaints, and recs for what to watch can go to criticismisdead@gmail.com.

Music: REEKAH

Artwork and design: Sara Macias and Andrew Liu

This is SUCCESSION SENDOFF, our special series following along Succession’s fourth and final season.

In episode 4 “Honeymoon States,” the Coronation Demolition Derby kicks off, garbed in black.

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Follow us on Twitter and Instagram. For extended show notes — including links that we reference, plus more — subscribe to our Substack. Inquiries, complaints, and recs for what to watch can go to criticismisdead@gmail.com.

Music: REEKAH

Artwork and design: Sara Macias and Andrew Liu

We discuss Nomadland, a film about human impermanence, and Judas and the Black Messiah, a betrayal biographical drama.

03:12 Nomadland, streaming on Hulu, follows the uprooted life of a woman who lives out of her van.

29:12 Judas and the Black Messiah, available on HBO Max through March 14, follows the life and eventual death of revolutionary Fred Hampton.

39:26 Plus, cultures notes about how WandaVision is introducing a under-appreciated actors — like Randall Park, Kathryn Hahn, and Teyonah Parris — to a whole new generation of fans. (Here is one of the TikToks, we'll link more in our Substack.)

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Follow us on Twitter and Instagram. For extended show notes — including links that we reference, plus bonus bullshit — subscribe to our Substack. Inquiries, complaints, and recs for what to watch can go to criticismisdead@gmail.com.

Music: REEKAH

Artwork and design: Sara Macias and Andrew Liu

Find out more at https://criticism-is-dead.pinecast.co

We discuss — and we mean really discuss — Minari, Lee Isaac Chung's new semi-autobiographical film about a Korean American family that moves to rural Arkansas in the 1980s.

Things we touch on: Asian American and immigrant narratives, nature and the land, Korean masculinity and fatherhood, the idea of the "American Dream," and more!!!

We are joined by special guest Inkoo Kang, who is a TV critic for The Hollywood Reporter, a fantastic culture writer, and a great person to follow on Twitter (@inkookang).

Read Inkoo's thoughtful interview with Lee Isaac Chung and her piece on the promise and pitfalls of Asian American reality TV.

And check out her and Daniel Schroeder's limited podcast All About Almodóva‪r‬, about the films of Pedro Almodóvar.

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Follow us on Twitter and Instagram. For extended show notes — including links that we reference, plus bonus bullshit — subscribe to our Substack. Inquiries, complaints, and recs for what to watch can go to criticismisdead@gmail.com.

Music: REEKAH

Artwork and design: Sara Macias and Andrew Liu

Find out more at https://criticism-is-dead.pinecast.co

We discuss WandaVision and Malcolm & Marie, two "firsts" that have people buzzing for different reasons.

03:22 WandaVision, Disney+'s first Marvel Cinematic Universe-based TV series, is a slow-drip fun watch, even for absolute non-MCU heads like us.

19:01 Malcolm & Marie, Netflix's first big feature film to be entirely created and filmed during the pandemic, is causing a bit of a stir among critics.

38:41 Plus, culture notes about the weird nature of Golden Globe noms, the snub everyone's talking about, and the need to watch better stuff.

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Follow us on Twitter and Instagram. For extended show notes — including links that we reference, plus bonus bullshit — subscribe to our Substack. Inquiries, complaints, and recs for what to watch can go to criticismisdead@gmail.com.

Music: REEKAH

Artwork and design: Sara Macias and Andrew Liu

Find out more at https://criticism-is-dead.pinecast.co

We discuss The Dig and Wolfwalkers, two films — one Anglo, one Celtic — that look back in time.

04:16 The Dig (2021), new to Netflix, is a reimagination of the true story of the excavation of a 7th-century medieval burial ship of an Anglo-Saxon king.

22:12 Wolfwalkers (2020) is an animated children's film about Irish folklore, family, sisterhood, nature, and the oppressive forces of colonialism and Christianity.

35:16 Plus, culture notes about a truly embarrassing clusterfuck in which Variety threw a freelance critic under the bus because Carey Mulligan took issue with his review of Promising Young Woman.

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Follow us on Twitter and Instagram. For extended show notes — including links that we reference, plus bonus bullshit — subscribe to our Substack. Inquiries, complaints, and recs for what to watch can go to criticismisdead@gmail.com.

Music: REEKAH

Artwork and design: Sara Macias and Andrew Liu

Find out more at https://criticism-is-dead.pinecast.co

We discuss Bling Empire, a reality TV show about having everything, and The White Tiger, a film about having nothing and wanting everything.

01:49 Bling Empire, Netflix's latest glossy smooth-brain content, is, disappointingly, neither particularly crazy rich nor particularly Asian.

18:08 The White Tiger, also new on Netflix, is about what it takes to become a "have" in a cruel system of haves and have-nots.

31:34 Plus, culture notes about the Bernie Sanders mittens meme outrage cycle.

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Follow us on Twitter and Instagram. For extended show notes — including links that we reference, plus bonus bullshit — subscribe to our Substack. Inquiries, complaints, and recs for what to watch can go to criticismisdead@gmail.com.

Music: REEKAH

Artwork and design: Sara Macias and Andrew Liu

Find out more at https://criticism-is-dead.pinecast.co

We discuss Promising Young Woman and Sound of Metal, two films about finding silence after what feels like the end of the world.

04:05 Promising Young Woman, available for rental now and out in theaters soon, is talked about as a revenge fantasy, but it's more about how to sit with the terrible reality that what happened happened.

20:52 Sound of Metal, streaming on Amazon Prime Video, is a uniquely immersive look at the experience of losing one's hearing but gaining something else.

32:51 Plus, culture notes about what's going on with the Armie Hammer stuff (sorry).

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Follow us on Twitter and Instagram. For extended show notes — including links that we reference, plus bonus bullshit — subscribe to our Substack. Inquiries, complaints, and recs for what to watch can go to criticismisdead@gmail.com.

Music: REEKAH

Artwork and design: Sara Macias and Andrew Liu

Find out more at https://criticism-is-dead.pinecast.co

We discuss The Flight Attendant, an overly hyped caper, and Lupin, a heist show that deserves all the hype.

02:15 Are we mavericks for opining that The Flight Attendant, HBO Max's buzzy not-limited series, is... not good???

17:50 Netflix's new heist series Lupin, on the other hand, is very good.

26:56 Plus, culture notes about the last time we remember seeing real romantic chemistry on the screen, and what that has to do with recent chatter about the upcoming film Malcolm & Marie.

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Follow us on Twitter and Instagram. For extended show notes — including links that we reference, plus bonus bullshit — subscribe to our Substack. Inquiries, complaints, and recs for what to watch can go to criticismisdead@gmail.com.

Music: REEKAH

Artwork and design: Sara Macias and Andrew Liu

Special thanks: Dan Geneen

Find out more at https://criticism-is-dead.pinecast.co