Sissy Spacek and Martin Sheen in “Badlands.”
Tail Pop

How Terence Malick’s ‘Badlands’ Reinvented Moviegoing

It was the summer of 1974, and for my  sister and me, there was a gross injustice in the world. I could tell you that the injustice involved saving the whales or impeaching Nixon—but we were entitled teenagers who lived near the beach and equated tanning with personal fulfillment; our outrage was over the fog being in all day. […]

Columns

Andrew Davis’ ‘The Fugitive’

At my high school, admission to advanced placement (AP) classes was by invitation only. I tried four times to be admitted into AP English. The head of the department, a sour and exhausted woman named Ms. Gallagher, eventually told me, “I wouldn’t feel good about myself if I encouraged you to pursue something at which you won’t succeed.” […]