Director: Aaron Sorkin Starring: Jessica Chastain, Idris Elba, Kevin Costner, Michael Cera, Jeremy Strong, Chris O'Dowd, Bill Camp When Molly Bloom, the eponymous “Poker Princess” of “Molly’s Game” was ready to have her memoir adapted for the screen, she knew exactly whom she wanted to write that translation: Aaron Sorkin. In retrospect, Bloom’s story of … Continue reading Molly’s Game (2017)
Director: Marc Meyers Starring: Ross Lynch, Alex Wolff, Dallas Roberts, Anne Heche As humans, we obsess over understanding the motivations of anomalous people - like the motivations of serial killers, for example. We want to know why Ted Bundy kept select victims’ decapitated heads as mementos, how the Killer Clown achieved orgasm through his murders. The … Continue reading My Friend Dahmer (2017)
“Women aren’t funny” is a phrase we’ve all heard too often. Audiences and industry executives tend to make this generalization, usually before they’ve even given a woman an opportunity to show off her comedic skills. Fortunately, the emergence of female-led comedies in recent years shows that this petty and ignorant opinion is beginning to wane. … Continue reading The Funniest (Fictional) Women On-Screen in Recent History
The most common complaint critics have about “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2” is that it’s fun, but does nothing we haven’t seen in the original. As Bill Goodykoontz writes for The Arizona Republic, “it’s the classic example of the sequel to a really imaginative original: If the first one didn’t exist, this one would … Continue reading “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2” Redefines the Role of Women in Superhero Films
Director: S. S. Rajamouli Starring: Prabhas, Rana Daggubati, Anushka Shetty, Sathyaraj, Ramya Krishnan, Nassar "Baahubali 2: The Conclusion," aka "Why Kattapa Killed Baahubali: The Movie," takes us back to the story of Amarendra and his son Mahendra Baahubali, both played by Prabhas in a dual role. While the film's predecessor, "Baahubali: The Beginning," introduces the … Continue reading Baahubali 2: The Conclusion (2017)
Director: Niki Caro Starring: Jessica Chastain, Johan Heldenbergh, Michael McElhatton, Daniel Bruhl The latest installment in Niki Caro’s filmography is what The New York Times calls, “Schindler’s List With Pets,” which is a fairly accurate description. Jessica Chastain stars in and executive produces the war drama (holding a different animal in every scene, so that … Continue reading The Zookeeper’s Wife (2017)
Director: Matt Spicer Starring: Aubrey Plaza, Elizabeth Olsen, O'Shea Jackson, Jr. The term “Instagram stalker” brings to mind a girl huddled over her phone, scrolling through photos of her “Insta-crush” - an image that’s weird, but harmless. Director and co-writer Matt Spicer utterly crushes this image with his first feature film, “Ingrid Goes West.” The comedy-drama … Continue reading Ingrid Goes West (2017)
You’re probably sick of it. This topic. I get it; all of us women do. It feels like we’ve been talking about this issue for ages, and this isn’t the 1950s; things are much better for women now. While it’s true that all facets of life for women have improved since that time, they still … Continue reading The State of Women in Film
Director: Woody Harrelson Starring: Woody Harrelson, Owen Wilson, Willie Nelson Harrelson was inspired to write Lost in London by one of the worst nights of his life, which happened in 2002. As he said in the Q & A session immediately following the film, “time plus tragedy equals comedy”, and that’s how the script for Lost in … Continue reading Lost in London (2017)
Director: Martin Scorsese Starring: Andrew Garfield, Adam Driver, Tadanobu Asano, Ciarán Hinds, Liam Neeson The world is not short on stories in which faith is tested. Yet "Silence" is a Scorsese - so naturally, it’s done so well that the movie feels like a brand new story. This specific trial of faith happens for two Jesuit … Continue reading Silence (2016)
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