Bright Wall/Dark Room
@bwdr.bsky.social
A different lens on film | An independent, reader-supported film journal
issues & essays: brightwalldarkroom.com
support: https://www.brightwalldarkroom.com/subscribe
all the things: https://linktr.ee/brightwalldarkroom
issues & essays: brightwalldarkroom.com
support: https://www.brightwalldarkroom.com/subscribe
all the things: https://linktr.ee/brightwalldarkroom
Pinned
Double Features: Wake Up Dead Man and Conclave
Wake Up Dead Man and Conclave depict faith at work in a world that’s dark and growing darker. Both films hold faith up to the light and ask: In times like these, what are the faithful to do?
www.brightwalldarkroom.com
New today on the site:
“Both WAKE UP DEAD MAN and CONCLAVE depict faith at work in a world that’s dark and growing darker. Each film holds faith up to the light and asks: In times like these, what are the faithful to do?”
- @dodgyboffin.com
“Both WAKE UP DEAD MAN and CONCLAVE depict faith at work in a world that’s dark and growing darker. Each film holds faith up to the light and asks: In times like these, what are the faithful to do?”
- @dodgyboffin.com
Reposted by Bright Wall/Dark Room
bsky.app/profile/ohhh...
55 yr dads and me go HARD on this masterpiece movie
55 yr dads and me go HARD on this masterpiece movie
I'm just a normal girl who happens to think about the themes/performances/look of Miller's Crossing at least 7x a day
November 30, 2025 at 4:23 AM
bsky.app/profile/ohhh...
55 yr dads and me go HARD on this masterpiece movie
55 yr dads and me go HARD on this masterpiece movie
Reposted by Bright Wall/Dark Room
FYI: Extending this sale through 12/26! Get a full year of Bright Wall/Dark Room for less than $20 - or gift it to your movie loving friend this holiday season :)
Black Friday/Holiday Sale!
All first-time or returning subscribers can now purchase an annual subscription for $10 off their first year—which means just $19 for a full year of access to BW/DR and our entire 143 issue archive!
Also: you can gift it!
coupon code: HOLIDAY2025
All first-time or returning subscribers can now purchase an annual subscription for $10 off their first year—which means just $19 for a full year of access to BW/DR and our entire 143 issue archive!
Also: you can gift it!
coupon code: HOLIDAY2025
Subscribe - Bright Wall/Dark Room
Subscribe for $29 a year Subscribe now to receive immediate access to each new essay we publish, plus our entire 140+ issue archive. Bright Wall/Dark Room is 100% independent, runs no ads, and strongl...
www.brightwalldarkroom.com
November 29, 2025 at 9:04 PM
FYI: Extending this sale through 12/26! Get a full year of Bright Wall/Dark Room for less than $20 - or gift it to your movie loving friend this holiday season :)
Reposted by Bright Wall/Dark Room
Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again
What is a movie that you love that would surprise most people who know you?
November 30, 2025 at 8:23 AM
Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again
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I am not one of those "musicals are terrible" bros but even I was kind of thrown by how much I enjoyed 'Summer Stock'
November 30, 2025 at 4:19 PM
I am not one of those "musicals are terrible" bros but even I was kind of thrown by how much I enjoyed 'Summer Stock'
Reposted by Bright Wall/Dark Room
Anchorman
What is a movie that you love that would surprise most people who know you?
November 30, 2025 at 7:45 AM
Anchorman
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Far and Away
It’s one of Ron Howard’s most mediocre efforts (that’s saying something) with a lackluster script and totally unremarkable performances, and I’m a sucker for it.
It’s one of Ron Howard’s most mediocre efforts (that’s saying something) with a lackluster script and totally unremarkable performances, and I’m a sucker for it.
What is a movie that you love that would surprise most people who know you?
November 30, 2025 at 6:57 AM
Far and Away
It’s one of Ron Howard’s most mediocre efforts (that’s saying something) with a lackluster script and totally unremarkable performances, and I’m a sucker for it.
It’s one of Ron Howard’s most mediocre efforts (that’s saying something) with a lackluster script and totally unremarkable performances, and I’m a sucker for it.
Reposted by Bright Wall/Dark Room
Total Recall.
Not a big action movie guy or Verhoeven guy generally but I think that movie is *perfect*
Not a big action movie guy or Verhoeven guy generally but I think that movie is *perfect*
What is a movie that you love that would surprise most people who know you?
November 30, 2025 at 6:01 AM
Total Recall.
Not a big action movie guy or Verhoeven guy generally but I think that movie is *perfect*
Not a big action movie guy or Verhoeven guy generally but I think that movie is *perfect*
Reposted by Bright Wall/Dark Room
Turtles 2 Secret of the Ooze
What is a movie that you love that would surprise most people who know you?
November 30, 2025 at 6:52 AM
Turtles 2 Secret of the Ooze
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This is the most embarrassing thing I've read today. "Has been sending millennial cinephiles into critical paroxysms" followed by “mumblecore Shakespeare for the TikTok generation.” Generational mad-libs.
In @nytopinion.nytimes.com
The new film “Hamnet” offers up a vision of William Shakespeare as “Marlon Brando in Elizabethan drag,” writes Drew Lichtenberg. While this character may appeal to some, it “played to me like mumblecore Shakespeare, conceived for the TikTok generation.”
The new film “Hamnet” offers up a vision of William Shakespeare as “Marlon Brando in Elizabethan drag,” writes Drew Lichtenberg. While this character may appeal to some, it “played to me like mumblecore Shakespeare, conceived for the TikTok generation.”
Opinion | ‘Hamnet’ Reimagines Shakespeare for the TikTok Generation
Our love of his plays have led to a centuries-long fascination with the writer. So why does each new fictional iteration get his life so wrong?
nyti.ms
November 30, 2025 at 5:37 AM
This is the most embarrassing thing I've read today. "Has been sending millennial cinephiles into critical paroxysms" followed by “mumblecore Shakespeare for the TikTok generation.” Generational mad-libs.
Reposted by Bright Wall/Dark Room
Everyone who orders from our bookstore gets a free whistle. Everybody! Even if all you order is a $2 used paperback, you get a whistle. It's the perfect accessory for the winter months. You know—because of all the ice.
If you're looking for something delightful and unexpected for that film, TV, or music lover in your life (who may in fact be you!) check out the recently opened, ever-growing MZS.press magazine section. It includes some vintage titles & recent special issues. mzs.press/Magazines-c1...
November 30, 2025 at 5:57 AM
Everyone who orders from our bookstore gets a free whistle. Everybody! Even if all you order is a $2 used paperback, you get a whistle. It's the perfect accessory for the winter months. You know—because of all the ice.
Reposted by Bright Wall/Dark Room
where the heart is
(the one where Natalie Portman has a baby in a Wal-Mart)
(the one where Natalie Portman has a baby in a Wal-Mart)
What is a movie that you love that would surprise most people who know you?
November 30, 2025 at 5:58 AM
where the heart is
(the one where Natalie Portman has a baby in a Wal-Mart)
(the one where Natalie Portman has a baby in a Wal-Mart)
Reposted by Bright Wall/Dark Room
I hate sci-fi. I love this.
November 30, 2025 at 5:36 AM
I hate sci-fi. I love this.
Reposted by Bright Wall/Dark Room
Not only do I now mostly get all the jokes and references in the Dungeons & Dragons movie, but I genuinely think we should have a dozen of these by now. What have I become
November 30, 2025 at 5:06 AM
Not only do I now mostly get all the jokes and references in the Dungeons & Dragons movie, but I genuinely think we should have a dozen of these by now. What have I become
Reposted by Bright Wall/Dark Room
I don’t even like Elvis or Baz but I can almost get high off of this chaotic messterpiece
November 30, 2025 at 5:23 AM
I don’t even like Elvis or Baz but I can almost get high off of this chaotic messterpiece
Reposted by Bright Wall/Dark Room
10 things I Hate About You
What is a movie that you love that would surprise most people who know you?
November 30, 2025 at 3:46 AM
10 things I Hate About You
Reposted by Bright Wall/Dark Room
Reposted by Bright Wall/Dark Room
Reposted by Bright Wall/Dark Room
Aw, crap. It’s Billy Zane’s The Phantom.
November 30, 2025 at 4:00 AM
Aw, crap. It’s Billy Zane’s The Phantom.
Reposted by Bright Wall/Dark Room
Unstoppable, the runaway train thriller with Denzel and Chris Pine.
People are surprised bc it’s usually when they also find out I feel this with my whole heart:
Tony Scott > Ridley Scott
People are surprised bc it’s usually when they also find out I feel this with my whole heart:
Tony Scott > Ridley Scott
What is a movie that you love that would surprise most people who know you?
November 30, 2025 at 4:00 AM
Unstoppable, the runaway train thriller with Denzel and Chris Pine.
People are surprised bc it’s usually when they also find out I feel this with my whole heart:
Tony Scott > Ridley Scott
People are surprised bc it’s usually when they also find out I feel this with my whole heart:
Tony Scott > Ridley Scott
Reposted by Bright Wall/Dark Room
What is a movie that you love that would surprise most people who know you?
November 30, 2025 at 3:42 AM
What is a movie that you love that would surprise most people who know you?
Reposted by Bright Wall/Dark Room
BWDR is one of very few subscriptions I keep on auto-renew without any 2nd-guessing. Still the best long-form film criticism on the internet. And here's a compelling example: Sarah Welch-Larson on the vital visions of faith in CONCLAVE and WAKE UP DEAD MAN: www.brightwalldarkroom.com/2025/11/26/d...
November 29, 2025 at 9:36 PM
BWDR is one of very few subscriptions I keep on auto-renew without any 2nd-guessing. Still the best long-form film criticism on the internet. And here's a compelling example: Sarah Welch-Larson on the vital visions of faith in CONCLAVE and WAKE UP DEAD MAN: www.brightwalldarkroom.com/2025/11/26/d...
Reposted by Bright Wall/Dark Room
The death of browsing is part of the reason art is the way it is now. Our opinions are largely fed to us by algorithms. Spending a spare 15 minutes wandering around a bookstore or comic shop or video rental place was how you found stuff you wouldn't ordinarily pick up and thereby expanded your taste
Bookselling is like the most "people go to the store and buy what looks cool to them without a particular agenda" type business left, and your purchases have a huge influence on what is ordered, what is displayed, and what is recommended.
November 29, 2025 at 6:44 PM
The death of browsing is part of the reason art is the way it is now. Our opinions are largely fed to us by algorithms. Spending a spare 15 minutes wandering around a bookstore or comic shop or video rental place was how you found stuff you wouldn't ordinarily pick up and thereby expanded your taste
Reposted by Bright Wall/Dark Room
renewing my sub next week as well as buying a local arthouse membership ☺️
Black Friday/Holiday Sale!
All first-time or returning subscribers can now purchase an annual subscription for $10 off their first year—which means just $19 for a full year of access to BW/DR and our entire 143 issue archive!
Also: you can gift it!
coupon code: HOLIDAY2025
All first-time or returning subscribers can now purchase an annual subscription for $10 off their first year—which means just $19 for a full year of access to BW/DR and our entire 143 issue archive!
Also: you can gift it!
coupon code: HOLIDAY2025
Subscribe - Bright Wall/Dark Room
Subscribe for $29 a year Subscribe now to receive immediate access to each new essay we publish, plus our entire 140+ issue archive. Bright Wall/Dark Room is 100% independent, runs no ads, and strongl...
www.brightwalldarkroom.com
November 29, 2025 at 9:06 PM
renewing my sub next week as well as buying a local arthouse membership ☺️
Reposted by Bright Wall/Dark Room
Gattaca (1997)
A beautiful work of art, that had some very poignant things to say about genetic engineering, genetic-determinism and in a less direct way: the burden of being perceived as "gifted".
A beautiful work of art, that had some very poignant things to say about genetic engineering, genetic-determinism and in a less direct way: the burden of being perceived as "gifted".
What movie are you most thankful for? (not necessarily your favorite!)
November 29, 2025 at 8:59 PM
Gattaca (1997)
A beautiful work of art, that had some very poignant things to say about genetic engineering, genetic-determinism and in a less direct way: the burden of being perceived as "gifted".
A beautiful work of art, that had some very poignant things to say about genetic engineering, genetic-determinism and in a less direct way: the burden of being perceived as "gifted".