I didn’t set out to become a critic.
Like most people, I started as a consumer—watching films, reading books, forming opinions that felt sharper than they probably were. At some point, those opinions became harder to ignore and slightly more difficult to defend. Writing them down seemed like the only honest solution.
This site is the result.
I review films, literature, and, when necessary, life itself. Not because everything deserves criticism, but because most things are improved by being looked at closely. We live in a time where reactions are immediate and disposable. I am interested in the opposite—taking something apart slowly enough to understand why it works, why it fails, and why it lingers.
Cinema is the natural starting point. It offers structure, intention, and a shared language of images and sound. But the same questions apply elsewhere. A novel, a conversation, a decision you regret three days later—these are not separate categories. They are all, in their own way, texts. They can all be read.
My approach is simple, though not always easy:
pay attention, assume nothing, and be willing to admit when I was wrong.
This last part happens more often than I would prefer. It is also, inconveniently, where the most interesting conclusions tend to live.
You won’t find hot takes here. You won’t find outrage carefully calibrated for engagement. What you will find are considered judgments, occasionally flawed, but always earned.
If that sounds like something worth reading, you know what to do.
If it doesn’t, that’s fine too. Not every review needs a five-star rating.
— Theron