The Favourite Explores The Nexus of Power, Sex, and Love
************************This review contains spoilers**************************** The Favourite finds us in 18th century England during a time of war with the French. Leading England at this time is Queen Anne (Olivia Colman), a sick and impressionable queen lacking self confidence,…
Read More »Burning’s Intriguing Mystery Cannot Overcome It’s Overwhelmingly Slow Pace
************************This review contains spoilers**************************** Burning follows a young Korean man named Lee Jong-soo (Ah-In Yoo) who works as a delivery boy to make ends meet while his farmer father stands trial for an assault case. While making deliveries,…
Read More »Boy Erased Explores the Crossroads of Love and Religious Repression
Boy Erased is a film based on the true story of Garrard Eamons (Lucas Hedges), the son of a small-town Baptist pastor Marshall (Russell Crowe), who is struggling with his burgeoning homosexuality and how it squares with the…
Read More »Suspiria Haunts the Arthouse
************************This review contains spoilers**************************** “A mother is a woman who can take the place of all others but whose place no one else can take.” Suspiria is an ambitious re-imagining of Dario Argento’s 1977 cult classic horror film of…
Read More »An Emotional Portrait of Addiction, Beautiful Boy Captures Our American Moment
************************This review contains a mild spoiler**************************** “When I discovered drugs my world went from black and white to technicolor. I can never give that up.” Beautiful Boy is based on the real-life memoirs of father and son David…
Read More »Why Suspiria is an Enduring Horror Cult Classic
Suspiria is the 1977 cult classic Eurohorror film made by legendary director Dario Argento. In the film we follow Suzy Bannion (Jessica Harper) an aspiring ballerina who travels to Germany from the United States to attend the best…
Read More »Can You Ever Forgive Me? Explores The Human Need for Recognition and Acknowledgement
Can You Ever Forgive Me? follows the life of biographer to the stars Lee Israel (Melissa McCarthy) as she suffers through a career downturn, no longer able to secure publishing for her work in a changing literary landscape….
Read More »The Hate U Give Explores the Complicated Journey toward Identity for Black Youth
“Know your rights. Know your worth.” The center of The Hate U Give’s universe is Starr Carter (Amandla Stenberg), a 17 year old high school girl with one foot each in a different world — the inner city,…
Read More »Bad Times at the El Royale’s Momentary Thrills Can’t Save It
Bad Times at the El Royale takes place in a formerly luxurious motel that is now down on its luck run-down hotel that sits on the border between California and Nevada. One fateful night, seven strangers, Father Flynn…
Read More »
Widows Spins a Thrilling Heist Film into Social Commentary about Grief and the Mistreatment of Women
“The only thing that matters is to survive. Look around you, it’s like Custer’s last stand; kill, or be killed.” Widows follows three women in Chicago, Veronica (Viola Davis), Linda (Michelle Rodriguez), and Alice (Elizabeth Debicki) after a…
Share this: