Stuart Klawans

Film Critic

Stuart Klawans was the film critic for The Nation from 1988 through 2020

‘Everybody Wants Some!!’ Has Just Enough Gravity

‘Everybody Wants Some!!’ Has Just Enough Gravity ‘Everybody Wants Some!!’ Has Just Enough Gravity

If you’re determined to do it, you can wring a story, some themes, and even a moral out of Richard Linklater’s new movie.

Apr 6, 2016 / Books & the Arts / Stuart Klawans

Tina Fey Goes for Drama

Tina Fey Goes for Drama Tina Fey Goes for Drama

Whiskey Tango Foxtrot is a movie with neither highs nor lows.

Mar 3, 2016 / Books & the Arts / Stuart Klawans

A scene from Rabin, the Last Day.

Israel’s Willful Blindness Israel’s Willful Blindness

Two films explore why the Israeli peace movement collapsed, and, taken together, might advance you toward an answer.

Feb 3, 2016 / Books & the Arts / Stuart Klawans

Hodgepodge, Mismatch, and Wild Disproportion

Hodgepodge, Mismatch, and Wild Disproportion Hodgepodge, Mismatch, and Wild Disproportion

Dueling satirical films about white-supremacist America, and how not to be an imbecile when criticizing Star Wars.

Jan 7, 2016 / Books & the Arts / Stuart Klawans

Haskell Wexler

Remembering Haskell Wexler, Genius Cinematographer and Committed Leftist Remembering Haskell Wexler, Genius Cinematographer and Committed Leftist

For more than six decades, Haskell Wexler spoke to the public through the movies he made.

Jan 4, 2016 / Stuart Klawans

Sylvester Stallone (left) as Rocky Balboa and Michael B. Jordan as Adonis Johnson in Creed.

Rocky Without Reaganism Rocky Without Reaganism

Creed offers a surprisingly daring depiction of the Rocky universe as seen from the other side of the tracks.

Dec 3, 2015 / Books & the Arts / Stuart Klawans

She’s Leaving Home

She’s Leaving Home She’s Leaving Home

In Crimson Peak and Brooklyn, women have to find the world in order to find their place in it.

Nov 5, 2015 / Books & the Arts / Stuart Klawans

Something Important Seeping Out of the World

Something Important Seeping Out of the World Something Important Seeping Out of the World

Films about mourning and illness, and some worthy commercial fare, dominated this year’s New York Film Festival.

Oct 22, 2015 / Books & the Arts / Stuart Klawans

The Good, the Bad, and the Veteran

The Good, the Bad, and the Veteran The Good, the Bad, and the Veteran

Problem-solving will only get liars and filmmakers so far.

Oct 8, 2015 / Books & the Arts / Stuart Klawans

Black Panthers on parade at a Free Huey rally in Defermery Park in West Oakland, July 28, 1968.

White Hands and Black Skulls: From the Panthers to ‘Straight Outta Compton’ White Hands and Black Skulls: From the Panthers to ‘Straight Outta Compton’

Two new films prove the urgency, and inadequacy, of outrage.

Aug 27, 2015 / Books & the Arts / Stuart Klawans

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