Critical Writ: The Post

Tom Hanks refused to attend a screening of his own movie, The Post, at the White House, and denounces attacks on the First Amendment.

And over at EW, Olivia Munn pens an essay about her own experience with sexual harassment, and why she is speaking out against an industry with a history of forgiving abusers and punishing victims.

For today's musical hit, we have Katy Perry and "Hey Hey Hey"

Today's critical rolls: Blessed Be and Merry Winter Solstice to you if you celebrate it (I do). May your Hannukah have been wonderful if you celebrated that. And may your Christmas be full of warmth and happiness, if you will be celebrating next Monday. What are your holiday traditions, even if you don't formally celebrate a religious one at this time?

Critical Writ has a super-duper strict comment policy that specifies a single rule above all others: we reserve the right to ban you for being a terribad citizen of the internet.

It's good to have allies. John Oliver got into a feud with Dustin Hoffman over the allegations of sexual harassment, with Oliver defending the woman who has accused Hoffman. The actor fired back, but whatever, dude. We've got your number. John Oliver is a national treasure.

In this excellent article at The Hollywood Reporter, Steven Spielberg and Meryl Streep discuss why they decided to very quickly put together The Post, a film about Washington Post publisher Katharine Graham, who famously made the decision back in 1971 to post the Pentagon Papers, a momentous decision. Graham's story has never been told on the big screen, and was left out of the Watergate drama All The President's Men. This important woman will finally have her story told, and it's largely in part because of the current climate in Hollywood due to the Weinstein scandal, and the ensuing wave of allegations that have rippled through the industry since.

For today's musical hit, we have Demi Lovato and "Tell Me You Love Me"

Today's critical roll: There aren't nearly enough biopics about women in history, as important female figures like Katharine Graham are often cut out of the stories told by men about men. Hidden Figures was a welcome change, and it sounds like The Post might be too. Whatever other historical women would you like to see get biographical movies that do them justice?

Critical Writ has a super-duper strict comment policy that specifies a single rule above all others: we reserve the right to ban you for being a terribad citizen of the internet.