The Oscars, as both an institution and a form of critique, have demonstrated something increasingly difficult to ignore: the power of good campaigning often outweighs the power of good critique. As a result, the average moviegoer, film connoisseur, and those in between have consistently found themselves out of step with the Academy. This year feels no different. Despite Sinners being the top pick among students for Best Picture in a survey of Columbia film lovers I conduct

Why are so many audiences nowadays laughing at scenes that are meant to be uncomfortable? In this piece, Caleb Lee argues that the rise of inappropriate and performative laughter is a reflection of a more disturbing social trend that prevents us from dealing with sincerity in our everyday lives.

A review of Kelly Reichardt’s The Mastermind, a minimalist, tragicomic twist on the heist genre, following Josh O’Connor as an apathetic family man whose amateur art theft slowly falls apart.

Imagine this: you are walking down the street at 9 a.m., barely awake, caffeinated beverage in hand, merely trying to make it through another day when you make eye contact with a stranger.  They’re cute.  They raise their eyebrows slightly. Are they surprised? Okay be nice.  You smile. They don’t smile back. Did you smile too wide? Are they disgusted by you?  Wait!  Someone else is looking at you weird. You think?   Is there something on your face? Oh god.  There are more peo

Not having a good time in this world? Try a new one! If you’re looking to stave off the next four weeks of seasonal depression, check out this list of recommendations for films that can improve your mood by a few percentage points through 1) soundtracks that will make you nostalgic for a time you never experienced 2) casts of loveable societal outcasts, and 3) narrative arcs that tie everything into a nice little bow.

The ivory tower of cuisine comes alive in Brad Bird’s Ratatouille. Remy the rat, under the tutelage of the spirit of the late Chef Gusteau, attempts to find the key, but what will it take for the world to welcome its most unconventional chef?

Awareness of mortality ultimately gives life its meaning, a truth explored through Harold and Maude (1971) and Y tu mamá también (2001). In both films, the presence of death, embodied in the older women, Maude and Luisa, awakens younger men to the urgency and fragility of existence. Set within different cultural landscapes, each story approaches mortality differently, with one as a performative assertion of freedom, the other as a quiet, inescapable reality woven into social

A look into Anthony Bourdain’s exploration of Hanoi, engagement with its people, and the sore thumb of the leader of the free world that tries to understand what made Tony special, under the pressure of historical weight and buff secret service men.

A24 has built a cinematic universe where sadness is not weakness but a compass, guiding characters toward emotional truth. From Lady Bird to Midsommar, the studio transforms grief, longing, and existential dread into something intimate, beautiful, and deeply recognizable. This piece explores how A24 has evolved into something bigger than a studio, becoming a cultural mood, an aesthetic, and a shorthand for feeling deeply in a world that often rewards detachment.

Although the post-irony poison in our 2026 water may make us inclined to giggle at the prospect of an isolated group of crewmates being picked off by a mysterious “imposter” identical to themselves, John Carpenter’s 1982 masterpiece The Thing remains heralded as one of the greatest (horror) movies of all time–while the same cannot quite be said for its 2011 prequel. Taking a retrospective glance at both films, it’s evident what makes the classic so untouchable.

This article attempts to analyze Wes Anderson’s work through the lens of James C. Scott’s 1998 book Seeing Like A State, using Asteroid City and The Phoenician Scheme to try to understand auteurship as a form of quasibureaucratic control, a form of control that these films, despite their pervasive stylization, subtly yet consistently undermine. Many have accused Anderson of retreating into pure mannerism, but these films can be read as dramatizations of resistance to their ow

Dear the film community at Columbia University, Double Exposure hereby cordially invites you to take part in the 2026 Oscar Pool. The pool is open to all undergraduate students (CC, SEAS, GS, BC) and all faculty members. Here is the link to sign up: https://www.runyourpool.com/contest/?jCode=ed8c64508859495b903525b721b81907 Create an account with your Columbia/Barnard email address and make your picks. The results will update live during the ceremony. Below is the scoring sy

Set in 1920s China, Raise the Red Lantern (Zhang Yimou, 1991) follows a young woman who becomes the fourth mistress in a wealthy household. Jessie Li’s article analyzes the film through Michel Foucault’s concept of the panopticon, arguing that the film visualizes a system of patriarchal control by enforcing constant visibility and rivalry among women. 

A wave of TV shows is quietly overwhelming our not-so-distant past with the likes of Ripley, One Day and The Gentlemen asking why Hollywood can’t bear to let last decade’s movies grow cold. This article follows that inquiry from IP-hungry streamers to prestige makeovers, nostalgia on fast-forward, ideological rewrites and an industry terrified of irrelevance. Whatever it may be, we obtain a culture remaking what it still remembers and calling it “new” with suspicious enthusia

In this article, Jackson Palmer explores the thematic parallels between stop-motion animation and the autumnal aesthetic, and how these connections pay homage to stop-motion’s foreground ability to produce fabricated stories that beautify our corporeal world from which it physically derives.

On behalf of CLiP (Crowned Lion Innovative Pictures): CLiP is Columbia University’s student-run filmmaking organization dedicated to hands-on creative education. While Columbia’s undergraduate Film & Media Studies program emphasizes theory, history, and critical analysis, CLiP exists to complement that academic foundation with real, practical filmmaking experience. CLiP provides the applied side of film education, bringing together writers, directors, producers, cinematograph

Matthew Colandrea attended Marvel Television and Animation’s panel at New York Comic Con, where the studio previewed trailers and outlined their plans for the next year of Marvel Television. Matthew details how these reveals provide hope that Marvel has learned from their mistakes with their series over the last few years, and is beginning to course correct into making real television shows.

Jean Rollin’s films blur the line between dream and death, portraying women as extravagantly spectral figures who resist definition. This essay argues that his work transforms the unknowable feminine into poetic myth, mystery becomes a form of understanding beyond patriarchal narrative, rather than a base level fetishization of the female mind.

Welcoming the New Year with finals behind, Caramelo prompts the usage of troupes and the future of storytelling with its own comedic and sensitive uniqueness. Whether it be a statement piece or a slapstick comedy, it’s important to experience films that remind us of the beauty and transformation of film.  

2025 marks the fourth year of what has now become an annual tradition: agonizing over the list, caught between performativity and pure dopamine. A few things are different this time. The industry, ever more so, is tasked with answering the existential questions regarding the ethical use of generative videos, mergers, box-office numbers, and perhaps most importantly of all, the role of advocacy cinema in the current zeitgeist, where paranoia and distrust for the government and