TheArchive: Reviewing the Rare, Retro, and Restored

If you’ve ever spent more time scrolling for something to watch than actually watching it, you’ve probably experienced streaming fatigue. With thousands of movies and TV shows spread across multiple platforms, choosing what to stream can start to feel less like entertainment and more like a chore. The average household now subscribes to several streaming services at once, giving viewers unprecedented access to films, series, documentaries, and hidden gems that may have slipped through the cracks during their original release. On the surface, that sounds like a good problem to have. More platforms should mean more movies, more exposure for underseen titles, and more chances to discover something outside your usual taste. But endless access does not always lead to better discovery. Sometimes, it just leads to more scrolling. Some of us are lucky enough to have experienced shopping for movie rentals at Blockbuster, which now has one remaining functioning location in Bend, Oregon. You walk...

The new Michael Jackson biopic, Michael, has already become one of the biggest movies of the year. According to The Hollywood Reporter in “ Michael Jackson Biopic Scores Record Box Office Opening ,” the film exceeded expectations in North America and achieved the biggest domestic opening ever for a biopic, passing Oppenheimer . It also reportedly surpassed Bohemian Rhapsody to become the biggest global opening for a music biopic. Part of what makes Michael such a fascinating cultural moment is not just its success, but the conversation around it. The film, directed by Antoine Fuqua and backed by the Jackson estate, focuses on Jackson’s rise, artistry, childhood, family dynamics, and transformation into one of the most famous entertainers in the world. But it has also drawn criticism for what it leaves out. As Variety discusses in “ ‘Leaving Neverland’ Director Torches Michael Jackson Biopic for Omitting Alleged Abuse ,” the film avoids the allegations of child sexual abuse that bec...

In honor of National Library Week , we wanted to highlight amazing films based on amazing books. Literature has been a major inspiration for film; the 1899 silent film Cinderella , directed by Georges Méliès, is widely considered the first book-to-film adaptation .  And that tradition is very much alive today. Some of the biggest films in recent memory have come straight from the pages of a book. Project Hail Mary , based on Andy Weir's beloved sci-fi novel, stars Ryan Gosling in a beautiful survival story. Hamnet , adapted from Maggie O'Farrell's acclaimed novel, turns a quiet literary meditation on grief and family into a powerful historical drama. Emerald Fennell took on Emily Brontë's Wuthering Heights with a bold new vision, and Denis Villeneuve's Dune films have reminded everyone just how epic a literary adaptation can feel. Dune: Part Three is arriving in December 2026.  Book-to-film adaptations are exciting because a novel can let us sit inside a charact...