The Apatovian formula is simple: Pluck an up-and-coming comic from the small leagues, support them while they write their own darkly funny but authentically heartfelt semi-autobiographical comedy, then produce and/or direct the final format.… Read More Movie Review: The Opening Act, a Nice Love Letter to Stand-up Comedy
The Eurovision Song Contest is a fever dream like no other. For the past few years, we’ve had performances featuring Germans confessing their love for Genghis Khan, a Romanian singer “summoning” demons onstage, a Russian song dedicated to grandmothers, and a Polish singer churning butter onstage.… Read More Eurovision Song Contest: the Movie of the Summer, I Guess…
A few years ago, the idea of a Borat sequel releasing days before a major election seemed unthinkable. The first film set itself up for a sequel with that ending, but it’s been years. 2020, however, has hardly been the realm of the expected, and of course, we had Sacha Baron Cohen come back as the titular Kazakh “reporter.”… Read More Movie Review: Borat Subsequent Moviefilm, Inviting the World to a Whole New America
The diva is an interesting way to study the nature and ambition of women – and especially women who want to be famous – in the public sphere.… Read More The High Note is a Little Pitchy at First, But Finds its Key Nicely
This is certainly reflected in his 23rd feature film, Da 5 Bloods. In comparison to some of his previous works, however, this film is much more subtle with its political message within the narrative.… Read More Da 5 Bloods, a Tale Answering the Call to War and Violence
Not every romantic relationship is the way a romantic comedy makes it seem – there will be fights, and there will be long fights. Michael Showalter’s The Lovebirds challenges this notion in an entertaining way.… Read More The Lovebirds is the Fun Film We Need Right Now
Prison literature as a genre is something that interests me a lot because of the many different ways that it can be classified – memoirs, fiction, exploitation novels, etc. The Mars Room is interesting because it combines the styles and characteristic elements (more on this later) of a variety of prison lit subgenres to create a fantastic yet realistic story about the flaws in our justice system and in society as a whole.… Read More Rachel Kushner’s The Mars Room
The Half of It is the latest in a series of straight-to-Netflix coming-of-age films. However, it has something that the rest of these films often lack: it’s genuinely good.… Read More The Half of It: A Creative and Fantastic Tale of Teen Love
A movie featuring a guy being dismembered right at the start of its Netflix trailer can mean one of two things: it’s either gonna have great violence or it’s gonna be straight-up torture porn. Coffee & Kareem is the exception.… Read More Coffee & Kareem, the Kind of Movie Kids Would Watch to Seem “Edgy
The book “Normal People,” by Sally Rooney, depicts the ebbs and flows of love between Connell and Marianne across a number of years at the end of high school and into college. We gain glimpses into their lives as they connect and reconnect over the years, and at different points in their relationship.… Read More ‘Normal People’ A Book to Keep You Company During Quaratine