Month: May 2021
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“Spiral” is a Fresh Update of the “Saw” Franchise, but Leaves the Audience Wanting More
Spiral could easily spawn new sequels and will most likely churn a decent profit. Is it a good Saw film? Absolutely. Could it have been revolutionary though? Also yes.
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‘Oxygen’: Mélanie Laurent Helps Elevate a Familiar Premise
These confines won’t really encourage you to read the film as a metaphor for the nerve-inducing experience we’ve all been through over the last year, however — and in the interest of maintaining your dignity, you probably shouldn’t. While the sociopolitical commentary may have worked for the similarly-themed Buried (2010), in which we find Ryan Reynolds on his own buried alive in the Middle East, but this futuristic take on the premise is best left as a piece of distracting entertainment. Nevertheless, the atmosphere is no less suffocating, literally and dramatically.
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Fall in Love With Anna Biller’s ‘The Love Witch’
“I’m always interested in exploring female fantasy, and the sexy witch is a loaded archetype that is simultaneously about men’s fears and fantasies about women, and women’s feelings of empowerment and agency. So whereas we are used to seeing the sexy witch or the femme fatale from the outside, I wanted to explore her from the inside.” – Anna Biller, on why she made The Love Witch
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Thelma & Louise is a Queer Love Story…You Just Have to Look For It
The classic 1991 hit Thelma & Louise is more than a contemporary, female-dominant version of Bonnie and Clyde. While upon first glance many viewers may think that the film is simply a story of loyal friendship, when watching the film through a queer analytic lens it is evident that Thelma and Louise in fact share […]
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Boy Erased: Progressive Queer Representation? It’s a Negotiation.
Joel Edgerton’s 2018 film Boy Erased highlights the abuse faced by many LGBTQ+ Americans forced to attend gay conversion therapy. Boy Erased tells the true-life story of Arkansas young adult, Garrad Conley and his experience of living life as a gay man in the Christian church. While the film of course is not exempt from […]
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“Waves” Goes the Wrong Direction in Racial Depiction, Despite Its Intent and Beauty
Spoiler Warning
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In the Long Run, the Answer To COVID Hangover.
A few episodes in, I realized the most prominent theme of In The Long Run wasn’t culture, race or even finding independence–but the idea of belonging.
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‘Jack and Diane’ Review: Wasted Potential
The plot could’ve really been interesting if the elements of lycanthropy was integrated with perhaps the struggle of identity of being LGBTQ+. It’s an experience for so many that as they’re starting to realizing their true selves, they feel like a monster, especially if they come from unsupportive homes or communities. Instead, the horror and transformation elements seem thrown in without contemplation of how this could deepen the narrative.
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What Netflix’s “Shadow and Bone” Gets Right and Wrong with the Books’ Diversity
Netflix’s Shadow and Bone has a complicated relationship with race. It has a diverse cast, but not without its problems. Based on Leigh Bardugo’s two book series, the show features characters from the Shadow and Bone trilogy, which is very straight and white, and the Six of Crows duology, which is much more diverse. When bringing together a cast and writing about these characters, the team behind the show expanded upon some of the representation missing from the first trilogy, then seemed to take away representation from the duology. Shadow and Bone seems to play a bit of a push and pull game when it comes to portraying diversity onscreen.
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Young Adult Matters Review: A Well Performed, but Self-Indulgent Runaway Teen Flick
Movie explained – Despite the glaring flaws present, Young Adult Matters is held together by the performances from Yoo Mi and Hani, who keep the story afloat. Though an interesting story, Young Adult Matters is worth watching solely for these performances. Among its brilliant performances is a messy, self-indulgent, and at times overwhelmingly brutal story with more potential than follow through.