menu_open Columnists
Coleman Spilde

Coleman Spilde

The Daily Beast

We use cookies to provide some features and experiences in QOSHE

More information  .  Close

“The End of Oak Street” does pastiche right

In a studio culture obsessed with nostalgia, David Robert Mitchell's dino thriller knows what we truly want

20.08.2026 6

Salon

Coleman Spilde

“The X-Files” still make us want to believe

Chris Carter's new director's cut of the 2008 "X-Files" movie indicates a broader trend toward creativity

19.08.2026 10

Salon

Coleman Spilde

“Ice Princess” quietly defined Hayden Panettiere’s whole career

In the 2005 film, Panettiere and Michelle Trachtenberg's search for greatness feels eerily prophetic

18.08.2026 8

Salon

Coleman Spilde

“Her Private Hell” belongs to Sophie Thatcher

Nicolas Winding Refn's neon-drenched fable finally gives Thatcher the role she deserves

17.08.2026 10

Salon

Coleman Spilde

“One Night Only” and the summer of rom-com sex talk

Three new films find room for intimacy in a slide toward fascism

15.08.2026 8

Salon

Coleman Spilde

Anthony Bourdain would have hated his own biopic

Matt Johnson's uninspired "Tony" confines Bourdain to the public's imagination. It sorely lacks Bourdain's depth

12.08.2026 8

Salon

Coleman Spilde

Brad Pitt’s sobriety story deserves more scrutiny

Celebrity culture continues to shield powerful men from accountability

11.08.2026 8

Salon

Coleman Spilde

Ariana Grande fans need to see “Maddie’s Secret”

John Early’s film on the realities of eating disorders sparks a critical conversation

08.08.2026 10

Salon

Coleman Spilde

“I Want Your Sex” is deliberately unsexy

Gregg Araki's first film in 12 years declares Gen Z's disaffection with sex a problem only shame can solve

31.07.2026 10

Salon

Coleman Spilde

“Remake” will shift your perspective on grief

In his magnificent documentary, Ross McElwee evaluates the role of his films in the life and death of his son

24.07.2026 20

Salon

Coleman Spilde

Netflix is turning your brain to mush

In reports to shareholders, Ted Sarandos disclosed that the shows you're watching may already be modified by AI

23.07.2026 10

Salon

Coleman Spilde

The “Melania” movie is empty, foul and worse than we imagined

Neither insightful nor interesting, the first lady’s disgraceful doc exists only to fuel Trump’s propaganda machine

23.07.2026 2000

Salon

Coleman Spilde

“Obsession” hasn’t earned classic status

A true cinematic classic must meet its moment in unexpected ways. Curry Barker's smash hit merely winks at it

22.07.2026 20

Salon

Coleman Spilde

Christopher Nolan’s “The Odyssey” is pointless

The blockbuster director's latest exercise in cinematic spectacle makes Homer feel hollow

18.07.2026 20

Salon

Coleman Spilde

Sam Neill, king of the creature feature

Beyond "Jurassic Park," Neill's vast career showed us that humans can be as hideous as the monsters we fear most

17.07.2026 10

Salon

Coleman Spilde

“Night Nurse” sexualizes the scam call

In her debut film, Georgia Bernstein twists those eerie grandparent scams into a topical, leisurely thrill

15.07.2026 10

Salon

Coleman Spilde

If Letterboxd sells out to Netflix, the people lose

The film-logging platform is weighing a sale. Its users are weighing a mutiny

15.07.2026 10

Salon

Coleman Spilde

“Gail Daughtry and the Celebrity Sex Pass” is absurdism done right

David Wain's surreal spin on "The Wizard of Oz" is full of high-concept, laugh-a-minute bits when we need them most

12.07.2026 10

Salon

Coleman Spilde

The sex ed icon who won’t go quietly

In "Bang My Box: The Robin Byrd Story," the sex-positive cable TV siren makes the case for aging loudly and proudly

10.07.2026 10

Salon

Coleman Spilde

Bonnie Tyler’s anthems will live forever

During her five-decade career, Tyler's songs soundtracked both silver-screen hits and the movies of our lives

09.07.2026 20

Salon

Coleman Spilde

Madonna’s irresistible contradictions

With "Confessions II," Madonna reworks her scrapped biopic into an autobiographical album worthy of the big screen

08.07.2026 10

Salon

Coleman Spilde

“The Invite” debunks heteronormativity

Olivia Wilde's third film is her best yet, a mature comedy that asserts no one is exempt from romantic hang-ups.

05.07.2026 30

Salon

Coleman Spilde

“Blow Out” exposes the real American way

The 45th anniversary of Brian De Palma's film meets America's 250th, proving corruption is as American as apple pie

04.07.2026 20

Salon

Coleman Spilde

Of course, Elon Musk adores Armie Hammer’s terrible comeback film

Hammer's comeback film, "Citizen Vigilante," is a bigoted pile of garbage, perfect for a hungry fly like Musk

30.06.2026 20

Salon

Coleman Spilde

In “Couture,” Angelina Jolie rethinks aging onscreen

Alice Winocour's film finds Jolie in peak form, wrestling with the tough decisions the actress knows all too well

29.06.2026 20

Salon

Coleman Spilde

Steven Spielberg’s “A.I. Artificial Intelligence” foretold our solitude

Spielberg's divisive 2001 film looks far more prescient 25 years on, tackling the ChatGPT era with alarming urgency

28.06.2026 10

Salon

Coleman Spilde

“Supergirl” proves Hollywood studios still don’t trust women superheroes

Milly Alcock brings a fresh energy to Superman's cousin that's snuffed out by a risk-averse studio culture

27.06.2026 40

Salon

Coleman Spilde

Google’s investment in AI tools for A24 sparks backlash

With a major investment from Google's DeepMind AI initiative, the trendy studio takes a hard turn away from fans

23.06.2026 20

Salon

Coleman Spilde

“Maddie’s Secret” is perfectly imperfect

In his brilliant tribute to the TV movie melodrama, comedian John Early puts on the wig and expels his inhibitions

22.06.2026 40

Salon

Coleman Spilde

“Toy Story 5” can’t conquer tech

The Disney-Pixar sequel contends with the iPad kid, but refuses to disparage devices in a critical moment

21.06.2026 20

Salon

Coleman Spilde

Pride Month makes me feel like an imposter

Every June, I'm forced to reckon with the parts of myself that still don't fit

18.06.2026 20

Salon

Coleman Spilde

“Blue Film” is the gay indie that won’t let you look away

The controversial film is much more than its shocking premise, probing sexuality with complete candor

15.06.2026 20

Salon

Coleman Spilde

“Disclosure Day” is Steven Spielberg’s last word for humanity

Cinema's great optimist returns to sci-fi with a plea for compassion. Will we listen?

13.06.2026 30

Salon

Coleman Spilde

The cinema spoof will never die

"Scary Movie" and "Stop! That! Train!" revamp a bygone subgenre for a generation in need of high-concept stupidity

11.06.2026 20

Salon

Coleman Spilde

The best movies of the year (so far) are experiments in big-swing cinema

Outside of "good" or "bad," 2026's finest films have enough risk-taking creativity to restore your faith in movies

10.06.2026 20

Salon

Coleman Spilde

How “Cars” ruined Pixar

The for-boys movie became Pixar's first big miss. 20 years on, the studio's still feeling the repercussions

06.06.2026 50

Salon

Coleman Spilde

The misplaced obsession over “Obsession”

Touting Curry Barker’s perfectly fine horror film as an instant classic reveals the depth of its flaws

04.06.2026 20

Salon

Coleman Spilde

John Travolta’s directorial debut is a rare piece of spellbinding autofiction

"Propeller One-Way Night Coach" finds the seasoned actor indulging in auteur theory. It's not to be missed

02.06.2026 20

Salon

Coleman Spilde

We’re trapped in “Backrooms” hell

Kane Parsons' beguiling debut leaps from YouTube to chronicle our inadvertent journey into a beige emotional void

30.05.2026 20

Salon

Coleman Spilde

Jake Gyllenhaal’s masculinity crisis

With "In the Grey," Gyllenhaal performs machismo to the point of parody. What's muscling him out of better roles?

27.05.2026 20

Salon

Coleman Spilde

A pair of unlikely films remind us why painful memories matter

"The Sheep Detectives" and "Blue Heron," two of the year's best films, explore the importance of remembering

25.05.2026 30

Salon

Coleman Spilde

Boots Riley’s zany love letter to theft

In "I Love Boosters," Keke Palmer's brigade of bandits makes labor uprisings into next season's hottest trend

22.05.2026 30

Salon

Coleman Spilde

“Is God Is” makes revenge a religion

Aleshea Harris' debut is a tale of gods and monsters, for a moment when they're hard to tell apart

19.05.2026 30

Salon

Coleman Spilde

The “Devil Wears Prada 2” wake-up call

At the Met Gala and beyond, consumers must reconcile the same choices as the Miranda Priestlys of the world

06.05.2026 40

Salon

Coleman Spilde

Something’s off about “Animal Farm”

Distributed by the studio behind "Sound of Freedom," this take on George Orwell's classic is uniquely insidious

03.05.2026 30

Salon

Coleman Spilde

“The Devil Wears Prada 2” weighs the cost of fighting for our passions

In a legacy sequel done right, Meryl Streep and Anne Hathaway warn that the demise of media affects us all

01.05.2026 30

Salon

Coleman Spilde

“I Shot Andy Warhol” channels our rage

30 years on, Mary Harron's groundbreaking film about Valerie Solanas blisteringly reflects a society gone awry

29.04.2026 30

Salon

Coleman Spilde

“I Swear” tests our compassion

With the dust settled after February's BAFTAs incident, John Davidson's biopic is all the more timely — to a point

26.04.2026 40

Salon

Coleman Spilde

The inescapable unease of the Michael Jackson biopic

Antoine Fuqua's "Michael" movie is fittingly odd, but not for the reasons you might expect

25.04.2026 30

Salon

Coleman Spilde

The divine lessons of “Mother Mary”

In David Lowery's haunting quasi-ghost story, Anne Hathaway and Michaela Coel initiate a biblical reconciliation

24.04.2026 30

Salon

Coleman Spilde