Marshall Shaffer
@marshallshaffer.bsky.social
Freelance writer frequently seen on The Playlist, Decider, Slant Magazine, Slashfilm, and Crooked Marquee. We'll get along. (he/him) https://marshallandthemovies.substack.com/
LATE FAME’s desire to resist easy storytelling paradigms is admirable, writes @marshallshaffer.bsky.social, but only up to a point. Kent Jones’s film opens in theaters this week.
'Late Fame' Review: Kent Jones's Poet Drama Pulls Its Punches
'Late Fame' manages to coast for a while on Willem Dafoe's performance, which exudes his characteristic gracefulness.
slantmagazine.com
Kurosawa Kiyoshi’s first historical film THE SAMURAI AND THE PRISONER offers a master class in framing and blocking. Read @marshallshaffer.bsky.social's review.
'The Samurai and the Prisoner' Review: A Visually Entrancing Study of Power
Kurosawa Kiyoshi continually finds new ways to render the story's self-contained setting as a source of rich visual pleasure.
slantmagazine.com
I now understand this was a preface for the most underwhelming venice line up in years
Today's newsletter 📬 @dodgyboffin.com drops by to talk about her book, BECOMING ALIEN, ahead of the 40th anniversary of ALIENS! marshallandthemovies.substack.com/p/becoming-a...
Becoming ALIEN(S)
40 years after release, a chat with author Sarah Welch-Larson
marshallandthemovies.substack.com
“This is more than just a mere masterpiece of tone and form,” @marshallshaffer.bsky.social writes of ‘The Immigrant.’ “This clear-eyed look at the past can point a path toward a national future rooted in life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.”
crookedmarquee.com
A little #America250 read from me, your friend who hasn’t shut up about how stunning THE IMMIGRANT is for 13 years
Crooked Marquee@crooked-marquee.bsky.social · last mo.Don't let Harvey Weinstein win. Here's why James Gray's ‘The Immigrant,’ which the disgraced distributor attempted to bury over a decade ago, deserves to be recognized as both a masterpiece and a canonical work of American cinema. crookedmarquee.com/for-america-...
We had the incredible honorable of speaking to Ross McElwee about his new film REMAKE, the re-release of SHERMAN'S MARCH, and dealing with death and then getting on with life. tinyurl.com/3mtk2jnp
Read our interview with Adrian Chiarella about LEVITICUS, why horror was the right vessel for his commentary, how his cast transformed their characters, and more. tinyurl.com/2s3p7s8w
Adrian Chiarella’s LEVITICUS is a creepy horror tale that also happens to be a potent and poignant teen romance. Read @marshallshaffer.bsky.social's review.
'Leviticus' Review: When Teen Romance Hurts Like the Devil
Adrian Chiarella's at times intensely creepy horror tale reveals itself to also be a potent and poignant teen romance.
slantmagazine.com
Exactly what you want to read with LENNY out on Criterion today, I just know it!
Crooked Marquee@crooked-marquee.bsky.social · 2mo ago“Many facets of David Fincher’s filmmaking have led cinephiles to see him as the second coming of Stanley Kubrick,” @marshallshaffer.bsky.social writes. “But there’s just as much to be gained from thinking of him as a Bob Fosse disciple.”
Bob Fosse / DavidFincher: An Unexpectedly Illuminating Auteurist Pairing By @marshallshaffer.bsky.social @crooked-marquee.bsky.social thefincheranalyst.com/2026/05/23/f...
Fosse/Fincher: An Unexpectedly Illuminating Auteurist Pairing
Marshall ShafferMay 21, 2025Crooked Marquee “Can SONY market a ONE MAN SHOW (?)” wrote David Fincher in an email uncovered by the 2014 Sony hack, regarding his excitement about Aaron Sorkin’s Steve…
thefincheranalyst.com
Why yes, I did pair all five Bob Fosse films with something in David Fincher’s catalog!
Crooked Marquee@crooked-marquee.bsky.social · 3mo ago“Many facets of David Fincher’s filmmaking have led cinephiles to see him as the second coming of Stanley Kubrick,” @marshallshaffer.bsky.social writes. “But there’s just as much to be gained from thinking of him as a Bob Fosse disciple.” crookedmarquee.com/fosse-finche...
Kurosawa Kiyoshi’s first historical film THE SAMURAI AND THE PRISONER offers a master class in framing and blocking. Read @marshallshaffer.bsky.social's #Cannes2026 review.
'The Samurai and the Prisoner' Review: A Visually Entrancing Study of Power
Kurosawa Kiyoshi continually finds new ways to render the story's self-contained setting as a source of rich visual pleasure.
slantmagazine.com
“The only real way to get ahead, ‘The Devil Wears Prada’ argues, is to make it as far as you can following an older generation’s rulebook before chunking it out to chart your own path,” @marshallshaffer.bsky.social writes.
crookedmarquee.com
Niche post for anyone who has seen John Wilson’s THE HISTORY OF CONCRETE on the festival circuit: saw this local celebrity in the wild today
And @marshallshaffer.bsky.social on the phenomenon of THE DEVIL WEARS PRADA and what it taught millennials about the workplace: crookedmarquee.com/20-years-ago...
20 Years Ago, The Devil Wears Prada Taught Millennials How to Work — Crooked Marquee
You think this has nothing to do with you? Twenty years ago, ‘The Devil Wears Prada’ became the unofficial onboarding manual for millennials in the white-collar workforce - and its sequel only builds ...
crookedmarquee.com
“The only real way to get ahead, ‘The Devil Wears Prada’ argues, is to make it as far as you can following an older generation’s rulebook before chunking it out to chart your own path,” @marshallshaffer.bsky.social writes.
crookedmarquee.com
You think this has nothing to do with you? Twenty years ago, ‘The Devil Wears Prada’ became the unofficial onboarding manual for millennials in the white-collar workforce - and its sequel only builds on this legacy.
crookedmarquee.com
For @crooked-marquee.bsky.social, I wrote about THE DEVIL WEARS PRADA as the onboarding manual for millennials into the white-collar labor force (and what it still says about workism two decades later): crookedmarquee.com/20-years-ago...
Anne Hathaway GIF
ALT: Anne Hathaway GIF
media.tenor.com
Josh O'Connor, on the incredible performance note he got from Steven Spielberg while shooting Disclosure Day apnews.com/article/disc...
"We wanted him to be as good as he possibly could [...] I never wanted him to be a bad dad. I wanted him to be dealt a bad hand of cards." Talked with one of my favorite actors, John Magaro, for @slantmagazine.com about his leading turn in OMAHA (out today): www.slantmagazine.com/features/joh...
John Magaro on 'Omaha' and Finding Honesty in His Acting
Magaro discusses where he found the honesty in the film's script and why he thinks audiences understand his character's controversial choice.
slantmagazine.com
Let’s see if this works… I’m in a bit of a rut with vegetable recipes, anyone have some favorites they’d be willing to share?
"I fucking hate boxes, I really do. I find it so boring that we live in a world now where people seem so keen to identify themselves by the tramlines that they think they must stay within." Chatted with Tom Blyth about his new film, WASTEMAN, and more: www.menshealth.com/entertainmen...
Men Might Be in Crisis. But Tom Blyth Sure Isn’t.
"I want to keep stretching my skin.”
menshealth.com
Cal McMau’s WASTEMAN illustrates why a powerful paradox about prisons makes them such a popular staging ground for psychodramas. Read @marshallshaffer.bsky.social's review.
'Wasteman' Review: Cal McMau's Tense Prison Thriller
While 'Wasteman' is largely verité in approach, the filmmakers introduce several breaks in style to emphasize big moments.
slantmagazine.com
Today marks 15 years since SOURCE CODE, one of the best time loop films - and one I wish had set director Duncan Jones on a different trajectory. I reflected on it a while back for Decider: decider.com/2018/03/09/d...
Duncan Jones Can Rebound From ‘Mute’ By Finding Another ‘Source Code’
Jones seems to be at his best when collaborating with a gifted writer to translate their vision into pure cinema.
decider.com
not a joke, not a drill: we've hired a new film critic! www.avclub.com/film-critic-...
Please welcome our new Film Critic, Monica Castillo
Please welcome our new Film Critic, Monica Castillo
avclub.com
Read our extensive interview with Lily Gladstone about Martin Scorsese's KILLERS OF THE FLOWER MOON, why learning Osage was so central to unlocking her character, and what she still carries from her experience playing Mollie Kyle. tinyurl.com/4cpk9ws2
