Madwomen & Muses

The Feminine Grotesque No.3: There Is So Much More to the Millennial Madwoman Than This

I discuss Die My Love (2025) in order to explore my frustration with the narrow portrayals of female madness and women's lives as they enter their late…

May 30 • Angelica Jade Bastién

47

3

7

"Is God Is" and the Future of Women's Rage Chat with Angelica Jade Bastién and Marion Teniade

We chatted about Is God Is, The Bride!, Couples Therapy (lol), and what's coming up on our newsletters.

May 27 • Angelica Jade Bastién and Marion Teniade

24

50:05

What I've Been Reading, Watching, and Listening To: Weekly Log No. 1

From Monday May 11th through Sunday May 17th including a review of "Obsession" (2026) and an announcement about a Substack live that will be happening…

May 19 • Angelica Jade Bastién

67

19

4

"The Bride!" Is a White Feminist Nightmare

There's a growing canon of white "feminist" Hollywood films committed to victimhood and banal understandings of feminist ideals that are oblivious to…

May 3 • Angelica Jade Bastién

160

29

18

April 2026

Watching “Cool Hand Luke” at Music Box This Month Was a Spiritual Experience

An essay about Paul Newman as one of cinema’s greatest star-auteurs, soulful cinematic masculinity, and the kind of faces I miss watching in movies.

Apr 22 • Angelica Jade Bastién

60

18

7

Watching “Making Mr. Right" (1987) Reminded Me of Why I Currently Have A Conflicted Relationship with the Romantic Comedy Genre

Watching Susan Seidelman's Miami-set sci-fi rom-com brought up questions about what makes a good love story & Hollywood's failure to capture the truths…

Apr 14 • Angelica Jade Bastién

12

2

March 2026

Today I Watched An Amazing Pre-Code Film I Hadn’t Heard of Before

“Heat Lightning” (1934) is an engaging portrait of an unconventional woman that Hollywood doesn’t portray anymore, which examines desire and sisterly…

Mar 26 • Angelica Jade Bastién

22

2

What is a “Sinner” to an Oscar? and other Questions on the State of Black Film with Angelica Jade Bastién

A recording from Angelica Jade Bastién and Maya Cade's live video from March 13th, 2026.

Mar 26 • Angelica Jade Bastién and Maya Cade

16

1

1:01:02

The Oscars Needs "Sinners"

More than Ryan Coogler’s movie needs 16 Academy Award nominations, or a Best Picture win

Published on Black Film Archive by Maya S. Cade • Mar 13

Film Is In Its Own Existential and Material Crisis, Timothée

Timothée Chalamet’s comments about opera and ballet are condescending. But there’s an anxiety underneath the surface — about the film industry’s future…

Mar 9 • Angelica Jade Bastién

234

20

69

January 2026

Personal Reflections and Creative Epiphanies at Sundance Film Festival

I attended the Sundance Film Festival for the first time as a critic representing Vulture. Talking with filmmakers and actors opened up creative…

Jan 30 • Angelica Jade Bastién

49

6

5

November 2025

The Feminine Grotesque No.2: The Ugly Stepsister (2025) and What Women Mean When We Say Beauty Is Pain

It’s a gross, aesthetics-obsessed treatise on beauty as currency and trap for women. I may not love the movie but I can't stop thinking about it.

Nov 14, 2025 • Angelica Jade Bastién

39

4

3