Kevin Townsend

The Review: Knocked Up

Sophie Gilbert, Megan Garber, and Hannah Giorgis discuss Hollywood and the way it depicts abortion (or doesn’t).

• Kevin Townsend, Sophie Gilbert, Megan Garber, and Hannah Giorgis
• May 19, 2022

The Frenetic Basketball Nostalgia of Winning Time

Three basketball-loving writers discuss the first season of HBO’s controversial series about the 1980s Lakers.

• Kevin Townsend, David Sims, Ross Andersen, and Vann R. Newkirk II
• May 15, 2022

Why the Puzzle-Box Sci-Fi of Severance Works

Where Lost and Westworld spun out, the Apple TV+ show’s contained world succeeds.

• Kevin Townsend, Sophie Gilbert, David Sims, and Spencer Kornhaber
• May 8, 2022

The Northman’s Surprising Twist on Male Heroism

How the brutal Viking blockbuster uses a millennia-old tale to undermine the toxic masculinity of myth.

• Kevin Townsend, David Sims, Shirley Li, and Sophie Gilbert
• April 30, 2022

Everything Everywhere All at Once Is Multiverse Storytelling at Its Best

How the film turns a comic-book trope into an unpretentiously profound message

• Kevin Townsend, Shirley Li, David Sims, and Spencer Kornhaber
• April 23, 2022

The Post-villain Era of Animation

Today’s Disney movies aren’t like the ones you grew up with. That isn’t a bad thing.

• Kevin Townsend, Spencer Kornhaber, Shirley Li, and Lenika Cruz
• April 15, 2022

Pop Music’s Nostalgia Obsession

Why do older sounds seem to dominate music lately?

• Kevin Townsend, Shirley Li, Spencer Kornhaber, and Hannah Giorgis
• April 8, 2022

Why The Dropout Succeeds Where Other Scammer Shows Fall Short

It’s all too easy to forget the victims and glamorize the grifter.

• Kevin Townsend, Sophie Gilbert, Megan Garber, and Shirley Li
• April 2, 2022

West Side Story Needed an Update

The original is “a masterpiece … but it’s also a bit of a tough watch today.”

• Kevin Townsend, David Sims, Spencer Kornhaber, and Sophie Gilbert
• March 31, 2022

Why Robert Pattinson’s Grim Batman Is Cause for Optimism

By bringing the character back to his noir-detective origins, The Batman shows that comic-book movies can contain multitudes.

• Kevin Townsend, David Sims, Sophie Gilbert, and Spencer Kornhaber
• March 19, 2022

A Film That Finally Captures Murakami’s Writing

Drive My Car is a rare adaptation of the Japanese novelist’s work that brings his unique atmosphere to screen better than anything before.

• Kevin Townsend, David Sims, Shirley Li, and Lenika Cruz
• March 16, 2022

The Western Mythmaking of Jane Campion’s The Power of the Dog

“She’s trying to understand something about American masculinity and what a gossamer facade it is.”

• Kevin Townsend, Shirley Li, David Sims, and Spencer Kornhaber
• March 5, 2022

Justice for Pamela

The brutal sixth episode of Pam & Tommy should have audiences rethinking how culture treated the ’90s sex symbol.

• Kevin Townsend, Sophie Gilbert, Spencer Kornhaber, and Shirley Li
• February 26, 2022

America Needs a Rom-Com Bailout

“It’s this or porn, people.”

• Kevin Townsend, Sophie Gilbert, David Sims, and Hannah Giorgis
• February 19, 2022

Yellowjackets Is So Much More Than a ‘Female Lord of the Flies’

The real horror is the friends we made along the way.

• Kevin Townsend, Shirley Li, Megan Garber, and Lenika Cruz
• February 4, 2022

A Netflix Movie Echoing the Strain of Pandemic Parenting

The Lost Daughter is the rare film about a struggling mother that doesn’t excuse—or judge—her choices.

• Kevin Townsend, David Sims, Sophie Gilbert, and Shirley Li
• January 28, 2022

The Classic ’90s Sitcom That’s Actually Worth Rewatching

Frasier is a time capsule of its era—and yet, has aged remarkably well.

• Kevin Townsend, Megan Garber, Sophie Gilbert, and Spencer Kornhaber
• January 21, 2022

Why Are People So Mad About Don’t Look Up?

Climate change is a tough subject for any film, let alone a satire.

• Kevin Townsend, Sophie Gilbert, David Sims, and Spencer Kornhaber
• January 14, 2022

The ‘Meta-emptiness’ of Emily in Paris

Can the joyfully escapist Netflix show also argue for the importance of escapism?

• Kevin Townsend, Sophie Gilbert, Megan Garber, and Spencer Kornhaber
• January 7, 2022

How Far Can Marvel Keep Pushing Its Own Success?

“There are moments that had me tearing up, and yet, I understand if people want to say this is the end of cinema.”

• Kevin Townsend, David Sims, Shirley Li, and Spencer Kornhaber
• December 23, 2021