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Coleman Spilde

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Coleman Spilde is a senior culture writer and critic at Salon, covering film and its role in the broader human experience. Coleman’s work seeks to make sense of a chaotic world while highlighting the best and most important films of the present and past, the artists behind them and what we can learn from cinema — even when we think we’ve got it all figured out. He was previously a staff critic at The Daily Beast, and in addition to Salon, his work has appeared in Vulture, Slate, and his newsletter Top Shelf, Low Brow. He can be found sipping a black coffee at the movies.

"Naza" (JW Films/The Guardian)

“NAZA” could be the tipping point in the public perception of Gaza

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Sebastian Stan as Mihai Gheorghiu in "Fjord" (Neon)

“Fjord” tests whether we can ever stay objective

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Tom Cruise (XNY/Star Max/GC Images/Getty Images)

Tom Cruise wants the last word

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Sydney Sweeney (Axelle/Bauer-Griffin/FilmMagic/getty images)

Sydney Sweeney’s bombshell act masks a career with no endgame

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Sandra Bullock and Nicole Kidman in "Practical Magic 2" (Warner Bros. Pictures)

Some sequels are destined to disappoint

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(Illustration by Salon / Getty Images / AaronP / Bauer-Griffin / Matthew Nichols)

AMC, Warner Bros. bring back movie snobbery — and it’s about time

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Nathan Fielder and Elizabeth Holmes in "You Can See Everything" (A24)

The Oscars is shaping up for a showdown

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Anne Laure Sellier in "Chronovisor" (Grasshopper Film)

“Chronovisor” makes literacy the key to another world

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Isaac Mizrahi and Naomi Campbell in "Unzipped" (Janus Films)

Isaac Mizrahi’s “Unzipped” shows why flawed artists matter

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Mica Miller worships at Solid Rock Church in a clip from Netflix's "Death of the Pastor's Wife." (Courtesy of Netflix)

“Death of the Pastor’s Wife” casts doubt on true crime

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(L-R) Robert De Niro as Peter Willis, Adam Scott as Tom Kennedy and Michelle Monaghan as Amanda Beck in The Whisper Man (David Lee / Netflix © 2026)

Why Netflix only champions crap

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Will Forte in "Coyote vs. Acme" (Ketchup Entertainment)

It’s critical that you see “Coyote vs. Acme”

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Dolly Parton performs Best Song nominee "Travelin' Thru" from "Transamerica" at the 78th Annual Academy Awards. (M. Caulfield / WireImage)

“Travelin’ Thru” is the Dolly Parton song that can’t be forgotten

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HBO Max (Thomas Fuller/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)

HBO Max is sacrificing its credibility to vertical video

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Hannah Einbinder and Gillian Anderson in "Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma" (MUBI)

“Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma” withers in metaphor Hell

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Phinehas Yoon, Akira Jackson and Noah Toth in "It Ends" (Neon)

“It Ends” beat Hollywood at its own game to reach theaters

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Anne Hathaway in "The End of Oak Street" (Daniel McFadden/Warner Bros. Pictures)

“The End of Oak Street” does pastiche right

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David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson in "The X-Files" (Fox/Liaison/Getty Images)

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

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Hayden Panettiere (L) Michelle Trachtenberg (R) in "Ice Princess" (Walt Disney / Courtesy Everett Collection)

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

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Sophie Thatcher in "Her Private Hell" (Neon)

“Her Private Hell” belongs to Sophie Thatcher

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Monica Barbaro and Callum Turner in "One Night Only" (Nicole Rivelli / Universal Pictures)

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

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Antonio Banderas and Dominic Sessa in "Tony" (Seacia Pavao/A24)

Anthony Bourdain would have hated his own biopic

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Brad Pitt (Gareth Cattermole/Getty Images for Warner Bros. Pictures)

Brad Pitt’s sobriety story deserves more scrutiny

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Ariana Grande greets fans (Kevin Mazur/Kevin Mazur/Getty Images for Universal Pictures)

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

Coleman Spilde
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