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< Back Longlegs conveys the burden of tracking down a gruesome villain Neon, 2024 101 minutes Director/Writer: Oz Perkins Reading Time: 6 minutes Longlegs Demogorgon (UTQ3ENKFYFFDOUHW) 00:00 / 06:42 📷 : Jaime Ventura https://www.jximedesigns.com/ https://x.com/jximedesigns Ginseng: Suspenseful and intense thrillers Matcha Mysteries or whodunnits Chris Chaisson 2024-07-12 Generally, I am not a fan of true crime. I will listen to the occasional podcast about a famous bank robbery, but some of my friends watch mini-series about serial killers, or bizarre murders involving families and love triangles. Often, the most chilling aspects of such cases are the lack of criminal history by the assailant. It leaves viewers with the feeling that no one is safe and no one is trustworthy. In the case of a string of connected crimes, an even more spooky element is the notion that the alleged killers may have not been in complete control of their actions. Some find this content fascinating but I prefer to get adequate sleep every night. Nonetheless, Neon’s newest horror thriller Longlegs dives into all of these elements of true crime through the eyes of a young law enforcement agent carrying a huge burden. Maika Monroe ( It Follows ) stars as rookie FBI Special Agent Lee Harker, who has an uncanny intuition even for her profession. Her first day in the field, she locates and brings in a violent suspect, putting her on the radar of Agent Carter (Blair Underwood). He assigns Lee to work a case involving a string of ritualistic killings, seemingly murder-suicides committed by the husband/father of each family and influenced by Satanic teachings. Despite no sign of forced entry, every crime scene consists of a letter in coded language signed by someone named Longlegs (Nicholas Cage). Lee must track down Longlegs and find the common thread in the continued murders before they persist. Director Oz Perkins (formerly Osgood) reincorporates the dark, grisly atmospheres created in his past movies, such as his A24 debut The Blackcoat’s Daughter . This one, however, plays much like a crime procedural. Lee exhibits a largely stoic and uptight demeanor, most clearly demonstrated in an early scene where she meets Agent Carter’s family. She initially resists and, once coaxed by Carter, enters his house but does not engage in any pleasantries. As she talks alone with his daughter, the audience receives a moment of vulnerability when the daughter asks, “Is it scary, being a lady FBI agent?” Lee responds yes without elaborating, but it is enough to explain her disposition; she is new, intimidated, and likely holding on to trauma that may have propelled her to this field in the first place. Perkins films Lee close up and in the dead center of the camera several times when she is at or approaching a crime scene. Few times in the film does Lee share the frame with anyone, even when she is not alone. This stylistic choice heightens the sense of fear and uncertainty that she feels, as she frequently has no backup when she is in danger. In addition to fear, the centered close-ups serve as a reflection of the pressure that she is under. Having been switched onto the case due to her clairvoyance, she has an immediate realization that lives are solely in her hands. Not only does Lee feel a sense of dread and being trapped, but she also has no one else to rely on. As with many thrillers that have occult influence, Longlegs has a couple of bloody and disturbing moments. The film, however, does well to pick its spots to scare or gross out the audience. A mistake some films make is to overdo the gore to the point that it becomes absurd and laughable, but Longlegs spaces out its gruesome scenes in order to stay in the pocket. The best compliment to pay to a thriller such as this is to laud its ability to go against the rhythm of scares that the average horror movie falls into. If you watch enough movies in the genre, you can predict when the jump scares, screams or spikes in music will happen. Instead, Longlegs manages to catch its audience off guard several times. It waits for the moment that the viewer relaxes to bring a random loud noise or sudden act of violence, compounded with Lee’s close-ups to make her feel trapped. If she has nowhere to run, then neither do we. As is always the case, the effectiveness of any crime thriller hinges on how scary the bad guy is. Cage as the devil-worshiping antagonist is more than convincing. Satanic characters in media tend to go one of two ways, either well put together and dressed to the nines or complete messes. Sometimes you can look at them and go, “I bet that guy worships the devil.” One such example is the minor character Declan from the series Banshee , who has literal horns inserted into his head. While Longlegs is not quite that on the nose (no pun intended if you’ve seen the film already), he appears very uncouth and deranged, randomly shouts and pants loudly as he talks. Despite his disposition, he has the skill to hand-craft dolls that play a part in his brain-washing schemes. The fact that he can build such influential toys as well as write coded messages that only Lee can crack makes him all the more chilling of a villain. Some may compare Longlegs to the 1995 David Fincher favorite Se7en , due to the religious influence in the antagonist’s crimes. Longlegs feels far less composed than John Doe, played by Kevin Spacey, yet they may be two sides of the same coin. The killers in other similar films like Zodiac or The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo may be diabolical and unsettling, but none of them feel as though they are serving some higher power. The conviction with which Doe and Longlegs carry out their acts adds the effect of feeling like they cannot be talked down or stopped, and if their own lives are taken, their influence can still lead to future violence. If you like true crime, Longlegs may serve you well; if not, you can still appreciate a well-executed thriller (and maybe turn your head before a certain character bangs his own off a table). Previous Next Sign-up for new reviews, exclusives, deep dives, and more First name Last name Enter your email here I agree to the terms & conditions Sign-up Thanks for joining us!

< Back Stutz tackles a heavy topic and concludes with a positive outlook Netflix, 2022 96 min Director/Writer: Jonah Hill Reading Time: 4 minutes Stutz Therapy (Y3TJGI41LL4LT4CK) 00:00 / 04:32 📷 : Used with permission, Netflix Dandelion: Movies and TV shows with heavy subjects Ginger: Thought-provoking movies and TV shows Chris Chaisson 2022-12-28 Documentaries can be groundbreaking, informative, and impactful. They sometimes even serve as the catalyst for change or long overdue accountability. Still, for all the wisdom documentaries impart, they often leave the audience feeling depressed and even a little hopeless. As they frequently revolve around sociopolitical issues, there rarely seems to be a happy ending or, frankly, any ending to the problem. Jonah Hill’s new project, Stutz , bucks this trend in a way. Sitting down with his long-time therapist, Phil Stutz, MD, Hill discusses the mental health techniques that Stutz has taught him over the years for managing grief and confronting his biggest mental hurdles. Hill’s goal in broadcasting these therapy sessions is to help those who may not have the same access to mental health resources that he does. While the subject is equally heavy to many other documentaries, its introspective nature and the coping mechanisms shared leave the audience feeling more optimistic. Similar to the way cinephiles look at a cast to decide whether or not to see a movie, Stutz , as an experimental project, undoubtedly benefits from having Hill at the helm. As a reputable actor appearing in his fair share of blockbusters and cult classics, Hill’s name recognition aids in the film’s mission of reaching as many people as possible. Those who have followed Hill’s career have seen him play both the supporting actor and the front-and-center roles, evolving from mostly comedic relief to a jack of all trades. Nonetheless, Hill lacks the All-American, magazine cover page look that many view as the “ideal” body image. While anyone can suffer from body dysmorphia, Jonah Hill may elicit more sympathy from an audience than say, Jason Momoa. On the other side of the room is Stutz, a 74-year-old native New Yorker with Parkinson’s disease. Despite Jonah Hill’s reputation as a comedic personality, Stutz cracks many of the jokes. His sense of humor and obvious rapport with Hill provides an immediate hook for the audience. Rather than sitting in reserved silence to listen to Hill’s problems, Stutz shares many of his own. Among them are dealing with the unexpected death of a loved one early in his adolescence, the discovery and diagnosis of his Parkinson’s disease, and his mother’s pessimism surrounding men based on her own life experience. Stutz’s contributions add balance, as most people’s perception of therapy is the patient doing all the sharing and the doctor merely being a soundboard. The real draw of Stutz is his ability to provide advice and exercises rather than follow-up questions and theories. As Jonah Hill points out early on, patients find themselves getting more advice from their naïve friends who just want to lend an ear, than their knowledgeable therapists. The methodology behind therapy is listening and not imposing ideas or assuming anything, which helps the patient open up. Stutz admits from the jump that he does not agree with the philosophy: “Do what the [heck] I tell you; do exactly what I tell you and I guarantee you will feel better.” Over the next hour and a half, Stutz runs through his terminology, (i.e. Loss Processing, Radical Acceptance, Graceful Flow) accompanied by drawings to visualize the concepts. Hill then shares his own experiences trying to implement said language and exercises into his own routine. His honesty allows the audience to realize that these exercises show incremental progress rather than immediate cures, an important lesson for those who view the effectiveness of therapy in absolutes. Admitting your fears, flaws and hang-ups from adolescence does not come easy to most people, which is often the biggest hurdle to even seeking help in the first place. Stutz just may provide a nudge to thousands if not millions of people who need it. Seeing a successful celebrity, alongside his anonymous mentor, show a willingness to open up and share helpful tips may spur on others to do the same. Previous Next Sign-up for new reviews, exclusives, deep dives, and more First name Last name Enter your email here I agree to the terms & conditions Sign-up Thanks for joining us!

< Back Drive My Car breaks convention even within the framework of a familiar setup. Bitters End, 2021 179 minutes Director/Writer: Ryûsuke Hamaguchi / Haruki Murakami, Ryûsuke Hamaguchi, and Takamasa Oe Reading Time: 5 minutes Drive My Car Awase (LREOPXDAVYJMCQWE) 00:00 / 05:26 📷 : Used with permission, Snollygoster Productions https://www.instagram.com/snollygoster.productions/ https://posterspy.com/profile/snollygoster-productions/ Honeybush: Nonfamily dramas with strong adult and/or socioeconomic themes Ginger: Thought-provoking movies and TV shows Chris Chaisson 2022-02-12 If you spent much of the pandemic locked down with the same one or two people, you may have thrown around the term “trauma bonding” more than you ever thought you would. The notion that shared grief can bring individuals closer makes all the sense in the world, and often is necessary for many to push through traumatic events. Many times, our will and inspiration come from an unforeseen presence. Such is the case in director Ryûsuke Hamaguchi’s critically acclaimed Drive My Car . Drive My Car breaks convention even within the framework of a familiar setup. After all, we’ve seen the narrative of a troubled protagonist befriending their driver/passenger before, most notably in Driving Miss Daisy . Hamaguchi’s film presents a more personal, familial struggle for each of its co-stars than we’ve seen in past movies. Yüsuke (Hidetoshi Nishijima), our lead, crosses paths with Misaki (Tôko Miura) when Misaki is assigned to be his chauffeur while he prepares to direct a stage play in Hiroshima. As they open up to each other about troubling events from their respective pasts, it highlights the reality that there is no timetable for the grieving process. Both suffer survivor’s guilt and question their own self-worth. They each discover how much they need a sympathetic ear and outside perspective to push through their remorse. While many films present us with a basic “guardian angel” character dynamic, Drive My Car provides its audience with portrayals that we do not often get to see in U.S. cinema. One major divergent path that Hamaguchi’s film travels is in portraying its Asian male characters as sexually active and capable partners. Too often in Western cinema, Asian men are portrayed as impotent, undesirable, or even asexual. Drive My Car , while not being overly raunchy, wades into these waters and humanizes all its characters in doing so. Additionally, Yüsuke and Misaki’s bond manages to pull the audience in and steer clear of the temptation to force them together. Most stories on screen do not entertain the idea of a platonic opposite-sex relationship between single characters. Though some of the blame can be laid at the feet of the industry, the reality is audiences tend to crave that romance. Drive My Car pulls off the feat of showing two people thrust together connecting emotionally without the temptation, or at least the necessity, of a physical element. Interestingly enough, the movie pulls this off despite (or maybe because of) having already established the sexuality of its protagonist. It even shows an ancillary character who frequently seduces women but feels an emptiness over not achieving an emotional connection like Yüsuke. The story, on several occasions, illustrates intimacy in unexpected moments between unexpected duos. Another trend the film manages to buck is the dependable but familiar revenge angle. In casting his play, Yüsuke encounters a stage actor named Kôji (Masaki Okada), who he has every reason to hold a grudge against. While some lingering resentment remains, he figures out a way to work with Kôji and communicate on a meaningful level. As they meet, a possible direction the story could take would be for Yüsuke’s entire focus to shift toward plotting Kôji’s demise. This shift would have undermined the far more important internal struggle that Yüsuke already faces and instead center the story around a far less important character. This is not to scoff at the allure of revenge films but more to applaud Drive My Car for choosing a route less rooted in escapism. The most endearing element of the film, uncommon in just about any cinema, is the presence of a hearing-impaired character with a significant number of lines and screen time. One of Yüsuke’s actresses, Lee Yoo-na (Park Yoo-rim), speaks Korean Sign Language and wins her role with a strong audition. Despite being the spouse of Yusuke’s assistant director, she chooses to audition anonymously to avoid any favoritism. She invites Yüsuke over for dinner and stresses that she does not want to be treated more kindly than any other actor in the production. The penultimate scene in the film consists of Lee delivering a long, powerful monologue on stage, signing a message of encouragement with her arms wrapped around Yüsuke. In addition to Driving Miss Daisy , Drive My Car also brings to mind the classic Alexander Payne film, About Schmidt . Jack Nicholson plays a disgruntled husband in a rut who, upon suddenly losing his wife, struggles adjusting to his new identity as a widower. He makes it his mission to hit the road and reconnect with his daughter, hoping to talk her out of what he sees as a future loveless marriage. While not an identical comp, Yüsuke needs a mission and a companion to find his sense of purpose. Hamaguchi weaves together a deep, personal story that manages to go against the grain, illustrating diversity of not just race and gender, but characters and relationships. 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< Back Polite Society offers life lessons without taking itself too seriously Focus Features, 2023 103 minutes Director/Writer: Nida Manzoor Reading Time: 6 minutes Polite Society K!ng (JY0GLFGSIJAMMVFN) 00:00 / 06:29 📷 : Pixabay White: Movies and TV shows that make you laugh, or involve urgency, like chase scenes or other physical activity Ginkgo Biloba: Youthful, lighthearted, and fun movies and TV shows Chris Chaisson 2023-05-09 “The gods whispered to the warrior, 'You will not withstand the fury.' The warrior whispers back, 'I am the fury!'” Between John Wick, Fast and Furious and the slew of comic-book movies in theaters, there is no shortage of big-budget action-packed cinema hitting the big screen. Nonetheless, these franchises all take themselves very seriously. Yes, they have humor and heart, but their characters are frequently indestructible despite their many brushes with death. They fight off villain after villain, sometimes without breaking a sweat, and reel off fake deep proverbs with a straight face. In fact, it’s been suggested that the goal of blockbusters is to create meme-worthy moments to increase their popularity. While it works, a nice change of pace would be a goofy action-comedy where the main character looks foolish and over their head at times. Director Nida Manzoor and her new action-comedy Polite Society provide this refresher. Polite Society unfolds from the perspective of Ria (Priya Kansara, Bridgerton ), a British-Pakistani high school student in London practicing martial arts and aspiring to become a professional stuntwoman. She finds inspiration in not only her idol, but also her older sister Lena (Ritu Arya, The Umbrella Academy ), an aspiring artist who has dropped out of school and moved back home. While they are a few years apart, Lena and Ria remain very close, with Ria helping Lena shoot videos of her training in martial arts and reciting mantras. One day, Lena, Ria and their parents attend the fancy party of a young doctor, Salim (Akshay Khanna, Grace ), whose mother, Raheela (Nimra Bucha, Churails ), is trying to marry him off. He is smitten with Lena, takes her on a date, and seduces her. Feeling as though she’s losing her sister to someone who will strip her of her passion for art, Ria sets out with her school friends to sabotage Lena’s promising new relationship, discovering Raheela’s true motives in the process. Polite Society ’s calling card is the heavily stylized action and editing. At times, it feels reminiscent of the 1960s Adam West Batman series, the Kill Bill movies or an Edgar Wright film. Between the voiceover narration, frequent quipping, and bombastic sound effects accompanying fight scenes, the film engages the audience through its absurdity. Manzoor makes it intentionally difficult to determine if the action depicted is exactly how scenes are playing out or part of Ria’s imagination. Considering her goal to be a career stuntwoman, this stylistic choice complements the story and protagonist well. If your main character is a dreamer, you may as well place the audience directly in her dreamlike world. However, Ria comes back down to earth frequently, such as when she cannot land a spinning kick on her school bully and comically falls to the ground in a heap. A clear example of such a surreal moment in the film is when Lena finds out that Ria has been tailing her boyfriend to find dirt on him. Lena enters Ria’s room and engages her in a violent fistfight, damaging walls, mirrors and doors all through the upstairs level of the house. Their parents, down in the kitchen, hear the noise and appear nonplussed, as though they are used to it. While they are both bloody and bruised, they eventually stop and have a verbal argument before parting ways. Similar to prior scenes, the violence is a bit over-the-top for what you’d expect from sisters with a healthy relationship. They go beyond tussling and bloody each other up. This type of fight choreography is meant to portray the existence Ria will likely have if she is successful with her career goals. It also heavily contrasts the notion that Pakistani women be meek, docile or subservient. A major theme of Polite Society is keeping one’s dreams alive. While Ria is young, rebellious and full of optimism, Lena feels beaten down by the beginning of her adulthood, experiencing self-doubt for the first time. Part of why she is so charmed by Salim is his recognition of her uncertainty, despite his own clear-cut career path. He comforts her with the sentiment that it is okay to be unsure of where you are headed, understanding her in a way that her sister cannot. Meanwhile, Ria and Lena’s camaraderie is clearly a source of motivation for Ria. Though her school friends are fiercely loyal, she craves Lena’s support in more ways than one. Not only does she need encouragement, but she also needs Lena to continue on with her own dream. Such a difference in perspective can occur between friends or siblings in different phases of life, where the younger of the two still thinks idealistically while the older becomes more practical. A noticeable element of the film is Ria’s strengths and weaknesses. Outside of meddling in her sister’s relationship, her fighting skills fail her in many confrontations; basically, every single one. She takes quite a few lumps in the movie, all in humorous fashion to keep a light-hearted tone. Her failures contrast sharply with many other movies where the main character has martial arts training. Instead of wiping the floor with everyone she faces off with, Ria struggles to execute all of the moves she has learned. Her inability to win fights or execute stunts makes the movie that much more endearing, as there is a clear message about perseverance in all of her disappointments. Despite her embarrassing and painful losses, she keeps getting back up and trying again. Similarly, she continues writing to her idol Eunice Huthart, a famous stuntwoman, despite months and months of having never heard back. Her persistence makes her a charming character, even if she is occasionally irritating to those around her. Polite Society tickles the funny bone throughout while still offering poignant moments and quirky action sequences. While having a different storyline, Manzoor’s indie flick feels strikingly similar to the 2010 action-comedy Kick-Ass . The latter is far more violent, but both lean heavily on style, sound editing and the humorous slapstick failings of their main characters. 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< Back Faithfully Yours puts “trust” up for debate Millstreet Films, 2023 96 minutes Director/Writer: André van Duren / Elisabeth Lodeizen, Paul Jan Nelissen, André van Duren Reading Time: 5 minutes Faithfully Yours Trust Yourself (F0N4V1AHF7FIM00K) 00:00 / 05:56 📷 : Used with permission, Netflix Ginseng Suspenseful and intense thrillers Honeybush Nonfamily dramas with strong adult and/or socioeconomic themes Reba Chaisson 2023-05-24 In her 2014 TED talk , Professor Anne Curzan, a linguist at the University of Michigan, addresses how words get into dictionaries and become legitimated as part of our everyday vernacular. During her lecture, she states, “I am struck as a teacher that we tell students to critically question every text they read, every website they visit — except dictionaries.” Hmmm. I wonder then about the degree to which we take the meaning of some words for granted, words like “trust.” Dictionaries write that trust is all-inclusive, that a person is all-in with their belief and/or reliance on a person or thing. But Professor Curzan later states in her talk that words and their meanings are fleeting, changing over time. Perhaps this is the case with the word “trust,” which is at the center of Dutch director André van Duren’s film, Faithfully Yours . Beginning in present-day Netherlands, Faithfully Yours is about two close female friends, Bodil (Bo) and Isabel (Isa), who take a break from their stressful jobs and go away for the weekend. Both are married and professional women. Bo, a judge whose husband Milan is a physician, and Isa, seemingly a professor or researcher whose husband Luuk is a mystery writer, take these excursions to attend intellectual events. This weekend, they tell their spouses, respectively played by Nasrdin Dchar ( D3 12 van Oldenheim , Rabat ) and Gijs Naber ( Judas , Penoza ), that they are attending a lecture in Belgium. We begin to realize something is off when during their talk on the train, Isa gives her phone to Bo and informs her where she needs to be and when to text Luuk over the first half of the weekend. Bo looks mildly surprised until Isa adds, “Luuk’s totally unaware that I know he installed a GPS tracker on my phone. ... I got myself a burner phone. This is my number.” Handing Bo a piece of paper, Isa concludes, ”And after that, you’re free to do your thing for the rest of the weekend.” Bo smiles and replies, “Thanks. Next time I’ll make the plans.” The exchange comes across as perfunctory for the two women. And when they arrive in Belgium, situate themselves in front of the Oostende train station to take a picture “for the boys back home” and then go off in opposite directions, it becomes clear that these weekends along with the detailed planning are indeed routine for them. Bo heads to the spacious cottage she owns and Isa checks into her usual exclusive hotel. Weekend escapes are typically marketed as ways of getting away from stresses and routine that dominate our everyday lives. So escaping is about changing it up, letting go, and having a bit of uninhibited fun as Bo and Isa do on this weekend - in their own unique ways. Played respectively by Bracha van Doesburgh ( Kerstappels , De maatschap ) and Elise Schaap ( Ferry , Undercover ), the two women are enjoying themselves when Luuk calls Bo distressed that he cannot reach Isa. He has injured himself and needs her to return home. Bo relays the message to Isa who says she will stop by the cottage for her phone before leaving. But things go awry when Bo returns from a swim to find a pool of blood in the foyer of her cottage and no sign of Isa. Unable to reach her by phone, Bo alerts the Belgian authorities and notifies Luuk and Milan back in The Netherlands. Both arrive later, and over the next few days of the investigation, relations begin to devolve as Luuk blames Bo for Isa’s disappearance. In this sense, Faithfully Yours is similar to the 2014 film Gone Girl , where Ben Affleck plays a man whose wife suddenly disappears and questions around what happened to her linger for much of the movie. This is where the similarities end however, as Gone Girl was dark with an ominous tone. While Faithfully Yours is serious and suspenseful, it is neither dark nor scary. Indeed, what is revealed about Milan and Luuk during this stressful period is their level of intentional dependence on their wives and the lengths they go to keep them within their control. This does not occur through physical handling, but rather emotional manipulation and modern-day technology. The fact that the methods used do not involve touching does not make it any less problematic, invasive, or suffocating for the women. In fact, they make it feel like broken trust. Over the course of the 96 minute film, we come to understand that Bo and Isa’s weekend excursions are not so much about escaping the stresses of their jobs, but much more so about escaping the constraints of their spouses. The matter does beg the question though: Are Luuk and Milan manipulating and controlling because they are generally distrusting? Or has Bo and Isa’s dishonesty about how they spend their weekends bred their husbands’ distrust of them? Perhaps it’s time for “trust” to be critically questioned as something that suggests full investment. Maybe a new definition that reflects the flawed nature and fallibility of human beings is in order – at least for now. 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The English features a pairing uncommon in its genre < Back The English features a pairing uncommon in its genre Amazon Studios, 2022 51 minutes Creator: Hugo Blick Reading Time: 5 minutes 📷 : Licensed from Shutterstock The English Heist (X2EIFVYLXVNFHFWM) 00:00 / 04:54 Rosemary Movies and TV shows with intense action Barley Movies/shows with a lot of dialogue Chris Chaisson 2022-12-23 If you’re a fan of westerns, you know how often they center around a tough-as-nails protagonist, sometimes forced to fend for themselves. Ninety-nine percent of them tell a story through the perspective of a rugged White cowboy, rescuing a damsel in distress from outlaws or saving an entire town. While there are plenty of tales of vigilante justice, they rarely consist of any other main character than the typical perpetrators of self-righteous violence. Given the rigid characterizations we’re used to, Hugo Blick’s new mini-series The English provides a refreshing change of pace. The English revolves around Cornelia (Emily Blunt), a British aristocrat venturing across the Great Plains in 1890 to avenge her son’s murder. Cornelia comes from privilege but is skilled in both riflery and archery. Along the way, she crosses paths with a Pawnee tribe member, Eli Whipp (Chaske Spencer), heading to Nebraska to claim land he is owed for his military service according to the Homestead Act. When Cornelia first happens upon Eli, she rescues him from a rancher attempting to kill him. While initially going their separate ways, they reunite and continue westward to complete Cornelia’s mission together. For much of the series, Cornelia seems to be a fish out of water. She carries a large bag of cash with her in a satchel on her horseback carriage. As if that didn’t make her enough of a target, she wears fancy, pristine attire and skillfully applied cosmetics, not hiding her wealth at all. Every character around her carries with them the toll of physical labor or combat on their faces and clothes. This is in stark contrast to Cornelia’s prim and proper appearance that leads everyone to underestimate her, which she frequently uses to her advantage in the face of danger. Even after committing gruesome acts of violence, Cornelia seems troubled and guilt-ridden. In a universe with a desensitizing amount of violence, she serves as a presence right on the threshold of civilized and barbaric behavior. In contrast to the expressive Cornelia, Eli remains a portrait of stoicism for much of the mini-series. Likely a product of his military training, Eli’s even-keeled nature conceals not only the grief he feels from lost loved ones, but the burden of the oppression he experiences as a Native American. Despite his service, he still finds himself as the game being hunted in many scenarios, surviving due to his own cunning and Cornelia’s loyalty. The supporting characters stand much more in line with the typical Western personas. Most of the villains throwing up obstacles for Cornelia and Eli have the typical conniving motivations, out for riches (of which Cornelia has plenty), property or scalps to put on display (gross). Many either operate by the code of “kill or be killed” or have deep-seated bigotry toward Native Americans, to the point of engaging in grand, faux-philosophical discourse with the reluctant protagonists. Unlike your typical vengeance story, the focus of The English turns out to be the bond forming between the two leads. The audience can determine this based not only on where the majority of the series is spent but where it picks up. We are thrust right into the midst of Cornelia’s journey, meaning we neither meet the villain that she is after nor see the inciting incident that spurred her on. Similarly, for Eli, his time with the military ends at the very beginning of the pilot, upon which he is reminded by a fellow service member, “In there, you’ve been one of us, but out here, you’re one of them.” The series’ focus on the friendship rather than the vengeance itself could be construed as a statement on the unfulfilling nature of revenge. Though violence is as second nature to some as it is unthinkable to others, payback rarely satisfies the seeker as much as they expect it to. A hidden message in The English may be that the best way to heal from a painful loss is to foster relationships with those that are still here. Though each belongs to a different broader genre, The English and Kill Bill are similar revenge stories. Cornelia, like The Bride played by Uma Thurman in Kill Bill , lost a child and seeks retribution, killing many other villains in gruesome fashion along the way. Both characters are greatly underestimated by some of their foes. At the end of each of their journeys, the chase and eventual slaughter left both characters less content than the time they shared with their close companions along the way. Previous Next Sign-up for new reviews, exclusives, deep dives, and more First name Last name Enter your email here I agree to the terms & conditions Sign-up Thanks for joining us!

< Back Frankenstein encourages us to check our ambitions Double Dare You, 2025 149 minutes Director/Writer: Guillermo del Toro / Guillermo del Toro and Mary Shelley Reading Time: 7 minutes Frankenstein Escape Plan (8WESINJQ8TTB9TSS) 00:00 / 09:14 📷 : Used with permission, Netflix Coca: Movies and TV shows about drugs or with disorienting presentations Dandelion: Movies and TV shows with heavy subjects Reba Chaisson 2026-03-15 Even if you don’t like artificial intelligence (AI) and the prospects it holds for replacing people’s labor, you have to be impressed by its speed and versatility. Specifically, you have to be taken aback by its ability to make something inanimate not only look human but present as rational and capable of feeling a wide range of emotions. I won’t go any deeper into the rabbit hole on this one. But all of this is prompted from watching Guillermo del Toro’s Frankenstein , a film adapted from Mary Shelley’s 1818 novel about a scientist who creates a creature in his laboratory and loses control of it. Frankenstein opens in 1857 France with a Danish military ship run aground in large, thick blocks of ice. An officer informs the captain that the crew is cold and weary and needs to take a break, but he barks at the officer, ordering him to keep picking and shoveling to free the ship. When they hear shooting in the distance, a small cadre leaves to investigate, and they find a badly injured man who they take back to the ship. Later, the man tells them that his name is Dr. Victor Frankenstein (Oscar Isaac), and he proceeds to tell them the story of his life. Close to his mother as a child, Victor is deeply saddened when he loses her during the birth of his younger brother, William. He blames his powerful, wealthy, arrogant, and abusive father, who is also a medical doctor, for not saving her. So, he vows to do something his father could not, which is to cheat death. “Not slow it down,” he says, “but stop it.” Years later, when the wealthy Harlander (Christoph Waltz) sees Victor’s demonstration during a presentation at a medical school, he and Victor’s brother, William (Felix Kamerer), offer to fund his work creating a being that defies death. Watching the scenes of the three setting up Victor’s lab at the huge Frankenstein estate made me wonder about Shelley’s designs as she crafted the details for this work in her novel. The era predated electricity, so the work was done by sunlight and candlelight. Additionally, the work wasn’t intricate like surgery today. Victor haphazardly used saws to cut legs off one body and arms off another. He used tweezers to pluck eyes out of one body and a ping hammer to smash down joints where he needed. Taken from a military battlefield, the bodies were not those of human beings to Victor. They were tools for his invention. As he finished with one, he literally threw it aside and moved on to the next until eventually there were body parts everywhere. I couldn’t help but think how desensitized he was to the fact that these corpses were people who meant something to their friends and families. Victor didn’t seem to have a clue or even care. I also wondered if this kind of approach to research is what eventually prompted legislation around anatomical gifts! Initially excited after shocking “The Creature” (Jacob Elordi) to life and teaching him to say “Victor,” Victor leads him to the deepest level of the mansion and keeps him chained there. When he is unable to get The Creature to speak any other words, he becomes angry, calls him names like “stupid” and “moron,” and makes him position himself to be beaten. My use of pronouns here to refer to The Creature are inconsistent with Victor’s label, which is “it.” His objectification of The Creature also contrasts with the way William’s fiancée, Elizabeth (Mia Goth) interacts with The Creature. Upon discovering him in the basement, she slowly approaches him and allows him to gently touch her hands. Clearly smitten by her, he repeats her name when she introduces herself. After marveling at his body, she asks him about the source of a fresh, bloody wound on his abdomen. Angry, she heads upstairs and accuses Victor of beating him, which he denies. Fearing he can neither teach nor control the creature he created, Victor tries to kill him but is unsuccessful. In his escape, The Creature stumbles upon a farm and makes his home in the barn attached to the family’s home. Watching and listening to the goings-on in the cracks between the wood, he learns to read and appreciate the value of family. In exchange, he secretly supports the farm by fixing broken fences and using his incredible strength to remove big pieces of logs and debris. When The Creature is discovered on the farm, he returns to Victor to ask him to make another creature like him. “I cannot die and I cannot live alone,” he says. Instead of acknowledging the depths of The Creature’s humanity as demonstrated by his rational thought, capacity for emotion, speech, and clear need for human touch and companionship, Victor picks up where he left off in his verbal and physical abuse. The Creature retaliates in-kind. Several films and television shows have been based on Shelley’s story of Frankenstein over the years. Most notable for me is The Munsters , a television comedy starring Fred Gwynne whose character, Herman Munster, was constructed of metal and screws, wore heavy boots, and had green skin. Despite his intentionally frightening appearance, he and the other monsters in the show were hilarious. Guillerno del Toro’s Frankenstein reminds me a great deal of the television series Beauty and the Beast , with Ron Perlman as Vincent (The Beast) and Linda Hamilton as Catherine Chandler, an assistant district attorney he protected and longed for. Roy Dotrice was “Father,” a man Vincent could rely on for safety and a safe haven. While Catherine was Vincent’s love interest in the TV series, Elizabeth was The Creature’s in the movie, Frankenstein . We knew this as light music cued whenever the two were in each other’s company. In stark contrast, while Father protected Vincent in Beauty and the Beast , Victor browbeat and bullied The Creature. The various twists made on Shelley’s novel over the years across genres, characters, and relationships have been imaginative and engaging. As a child, I remember seeing an episode of the Friday night series, Screaming Yellow Theater , where a man’s leg was amputated in an eighteenth century operating room theater to teach other surgeons how it’s done. No anesthesia was used on the patient, and what I still remember decades later is the man screaming while the doctor sawed off his leg just below the knee. Perhaps, the man was given a shot of whiskey or bourbon to prepare him, but clearly it was not enough. It would be unfair to view the medical and research protocols practiced centuries ago through today’s lens. It is fair to critique, however, a person’s humanity regardless of the era. Dehumanizing people is a choice we make, and if Victor is any example, the choice is made easy when ambitions go overindulged and unchecked. William and Harlander fed Victor’s aspirations and determination, and by doing so allowed him to wreak havoc on The Creature’s life and on their own lives as well. I was surprised at how much I liked Frankenstein . I found it digestible because The Creature, while constructed of a composite of body parts, looked human rather than made of metal boxes and screws. Making him this way allowed him to appear human and relatable, which was further legitimized by his verbal, psychological, and emotional development over time. These heightened his likability and paved the way for his presentation as an empathetic and even flawed human being. This progression from grunting monster to empathetic human is quite a feat, especially since he was only assigned a label in the film and never given a name despite the irony of being more humane and compassionate than his maker. Congratulations to Guillermo del Toro and his team on their Best Picture nomination. Previous Next Sign-up for new reviews, exclusives, deep dives, and more First name Last name Enter your email here I agree to the terms & conditions Sign-up Thanks for joining us!

< Back This suspenseful political thriller starring Jessica Chastain, takes viewers on a whirlwind around Washington’s power-elites where influence, will, and ingenuity meet center stage. EuropaCorp, 2016 132 minutes Director/Writer: John Madden / Johnathan Perera Reading Time: 5 minutes Miss Sloane Intercept (KJBRWNSW03XUAWPG) 00:00 / 05:39 📷 : Licensed from Shutterstock Ginseng: Suspenseful and intense thrillers Barley: Movies and TV shows with a lot of dialog Reba Chaisson 2022-05-22 Some people might argue that it takes a person devoid of emotion to do the work of politics, where the goal is not to be charismatic but simply to get your way. This suggests that those who do political work are automatons motivated solely by the desire to win, damn the cause and the potential human costs— even to oneself. This also suggests that the person has lost him or herself in the quest to win. That they have become oblivious to what drove them to the debate in the first place. When this happens, they lose sight of their peripheral vision and are blindsided by moves they failed to anticipate. Why? Because politics is a game of chess, not checkers. Chess so aptly describes Miss Sloane , an immersive film about political maneuverings, manipulation of relationships, and ideologies that shift with the wind depending on which direction yields the advantage over an adversary. Headlined by Jessica Chastain ( Molly’s Game , Zero Dark Thirty ) in the title role as Madeline Sloane, the contemporary Washington DC-based drama is a suspenseful political thriller, in which figuring out motivations and a winning strategy proves to be simultaneously mind-boggling and mind-blowing. Because Shakespearean tragedies involve the death of a political hero, few people consider their parallels when tragedy befalls a heroine. To sell a modern story as one, the central character must be cloaked in stoicism and traditional, yet masculine exhibitions of leadership and determination. In Miss Sloan for example, Evelyn Sumner, a wealthy supporter of feminist causes who is played by Christine Baranski ( Mamma Mia! , The Good Wife ), does not hide her disdain for Sloane, telling her directly that “all she needed was a d***.” So, a woman who exhibits traditional male qualities and conducts her business in a traditional male domain is essentially viewed as problematic when she does not consistently support feminist causes. This, however, narrows what women can be and helps explain why some exhibit behaviors typically associated with men, particularly in the political arena. Sloane is a quick-witted, high-energy, and bold thirty-something political operative who takes on the powerful gun lobby to regulate firearm purchases. This not only upsets the lobbyists but also raises the ire of certain congressional members who receive millions of dollars in campaign donations and in-kind favors under the tacit assurance that restrictions are never imposed on gun purchases. With the vote on a gun regulation bill looming, the lobby solicits the political consulting firm where Sloane is highly regarded and used to winning. Unable to contain her cynicism when approached by the head of the gun lobby, Bill Sanford, played by Chuck Shamata ( The Day After Tomorrow , One Week ), she laughs in his face and declares that they have no case. Incensed, her boss, George Dupont, played by Sam Waterston of Law and Order fame, gives her an ultimatum. She then takes viewers on a whirlwind around Washington’s power-elites where influence, will, and ingenuity meet center stage. The 2016 release is reminiscent of the 1987 film, No Way Out , which stars Kevin Costner as Navy Lieutenant Commander Tom Farrell. He secretly witnesses the accidental killing of his lover, Susan Atwell by Senator David Brice, a powerful politician who was having an affair with her. Played by Gene Hackman ( The French Connection , Runaway Jury ), Senator Brice finds a Polaroid negative underneath Atwell’s bed appearing to be Atwell and her lover. He then embarks on a plan to divert attention away from himself by pointing the authorities in the direction of Farrell as the killer. Not only must he get the negative developed first, but he must ensure Atwell’s friends don’t reveal his relationship with her. Unfortunately for Farrell, Senator Brice exerts his influence to get the case assigned to him and to insist he uses the Pentagon’s software to render “the killer’s” image from the negative. Unbeknownst to Brice, the image is that of Farrell, who must work against himself to ensure the picture does not get revealed and that he simultaneously protects Atwell’s friends by staying one step ahead of Brice and his goons. Both are done at great cost to all involved. Like No Way Out , Miss Sloane uses politics to tell a story about human costs and sacrifice. Sure, the cost of expending energy to win in Washington is measured in terms of livelihood, degree of influence, and wealth. So determined are the players to get their way that they leave immeasurable human wreckage in their wake. Instead, said wreckage manifests itself in intangibles like unmet needs, unchecked emotions, and unrequited love. Miss Sloane left me wondering how much of ourselves we should sacrifice, and if winning is worth what we are risking. The price of not pausing to consider these has long-term consequences for what many believe are the most important things in life. Understanding this, is winning truly everything? Previous Next Sign-up for new reviews, exclusives, deep dives, and more First name Last name Enter your email here I agree to the terms & conditions Sign-up Thanks for joining us!

< Back Hamnet sees bravery as a universal quality Focus Features, 2025 125 minutes Director/Writer: Chloé Zhao / Chloé Zhao and Maggie O’Farrell Reading Time: 6 minutes Hamnet The Warm Color of Day 00:00 / 06:53 📷 : Focus Features Honeybush: Nonfamily dramas with strong adult and/or socioeconomic themes Dandelion Movies and TV shows with heavy subjects Reba Chaisson 2026-03-15 Bravery is considered a virtue. I don’t think it’s unique to a single culture or geographic region of the world; it’s a universal value that has existed across time. What is also universal is who is expected or compelled by others to be brave and who is often overlooked for having this quality. I have been stuck on this notion of bravery since watching Hamnet , a movie based on William (Will) Shakespeare’s life and the fuel believed to have driven the writing of his famous play, Hamlet . Set in a small, rustic community in sixteenth century England, Hamnet opens with Will (Paul Mescal), a scholar and aspiring writer, tutoring three young lads in Latin. He is distracted by a woman (Agnes) exiting the woods and heading toward a nearby barn, carrying a hawk on her gloved arm. Telling the boys to keep reading, he abruptly leaves to greet her and the banter between the two indicates their attraction for each other. Initially shown sleeping in the woods, Agnes (Jessie Buckley) presents as an odd duck. But as the theorist Max Weber asserts, you can’t understand someone without engaging them. And for the next two hours, director Chloé Zhao trains the camera on Agnes. We learn that Agnes’s mother taught her to appreciate nature and rely on its forests, waters, natural yields, and rhythms to take care of her. Deeply invested in this, Agnes takes off in the middle of the night to give birth to her child, Jessie, alone in the woods. When her mother-in-law physically restrains her to keep her from doing the same with a later pregnancy, she curses her, vows to never forgive her, and struggles emotionally to give birth to her twins, Judith and Hamnet, by traditional means. The child of an abusive father, Will exhibits frustration and sadness soon after he and Agnes start their family and expresses doubts about his ability to be a good father. Concerned, Agnes tells her brother Bartholomew (Joe Alwyn) that she will send Will to London to do the work he loves because it is “what he needs.” With Will now gone for months at a time, Agnes raises their three children on her own, which takes its toll. Soon after the excitement of his return home, he suddenly appears in the kitchen with his bag packed and explaining to Agnes yet again that “people are waiting for him in London.” Agnes slowly ceases peeling the shells off the basket of boiled eggs on the table to stand up and hit him. Embracing her and staring into her eyes, Will asks, “What do you see?” She replies, “Nothing, nothing at all.” And as if resigning herself to the reality of her life, she tells him to go. Period pieces centering families rarely view parenting as taxing in any way ( Cheaper by the Dozen (1950), Belle (2013), Downton Abbey ). This is a bias in a lot of these films, as they typically portray people of means with nannies and servants to hand off children and offload household duties when the parents don’t want to be bothered. In terms of contemporary releases that parallel Shakespeare's family structure, Tully , the 2018 film starring Charlize Theron as a stay-at-home mom, best aligns with the tone and main themes in Hamnet . In Tully , Theron’s character becomes exhausted caring for her infant at night and hires a nanny. Screenrant writes that the film gives parents permission to ask for help when feeling overwhelmed. Agnes has the option for support from her and Will’s family but rejects it in part because of her lingering resentment about the forced indoor birthing of her twins and the friction between Will and his father. Four hundred years later, these types of family dynamics are still at play in many parents’ options for help. In Hamnet , Will’s absence also takes a toll on his young son (Jacobi Jupe), who could sense when his father was preparing to leave. After a fun family outing, Hamnet approaches Will and asks if he is leaving again soon. Will confirms this is the case and picks up his roughly nine-year-old son, twirls him around and repeatedly tells him that he needs him to be the man of the house, stay away from his grandfather, and be brave. “You can be brave, right?” Hamnet assures his dad that he can. But as Hamnet tries to keep his promise to his father, tragedy strikes the family during Will’s absence, and Agnes blames Will for never being there. It is interesting that a film about Shakespeare gives significantly more face time and attention to his wife, Agnes than to the playwright himself. Could it be that Hamnet is less about Shakespeare’s motivation for crafting the requiem for his lost son and more about shining a light on Agnes’s role in freeing him to do what he loved? If the story is understood in this way, then “bravery” requires viewing through a more expanded lens. Agnes going into the dark woods alone to birth her child took courage and strong will. Caring for the daily needs of her young children, planning meals, and addressing their ailments required a mustering of mental and physical energy that would leave most people too exhausted to care for themselves. Despite being told by her family that it is too late to do anything for her child, for instance, Agnes tirelessly pushes the soups and fluids, dabs their forehead with cool towels, talks to them, and holds them close. I struggle to think of any load that is heavier or labor that is more intense and heart-wrenching. Yes, the prevailing thought is that men are brave, and boys are expected to be. Consider if Will’s highly successful and profitable plays could have been written without the tenacity of his wife, Agnes, and the unpaid work she performed at home. Clearly Zhao believed that bravery isn’t a notion reserved for men and boys only, but a quality that appears in many different forms and should be recognized in others as well. Previous Next Sign-up for new reviews, exclusives, deep dives, and more First name Last name Enter your email here I agree to the terms & conditions Sign-up Thanks for joining us!

< Back Sinners takes vampirism to the Deep South Warner Bros., 2025 137 minutes Director/Writer: Ryan Coogler Reading Time: 7 minutes Sinners Swamp Tale (G9X2F45UL234MNVH) 00:00 / 07:36 📷 : Used with permission, Nuno Sarnadas (www.darkdesign.pt ) Rosemary: Movies and TV shows with intense action Saffron Movies and TV shows with great visual effects Chris Chaisson 2025-05-08 Zombie films seem to have been all the rage the last decade or so. The popularity of The Walking Dead has led us to embrace the post-apocalyptic universe in the entertainment world and question our own survival skills. As I discovered on a trip to the bookstore during Covid, much in the world of fiction, whether in novel or screenplay form, imagines a dystopia as opposed to the contemporary, somewhat functional society. Even stories such as The Handmaid’s Tale , the Hunger Games trilogy, or the Mad Max franchise exist as zombie movie fill-ins, with people acting as blood-thirsty monsters without a conscience just the same. These stories can be thrilling and reveal the character of its survivors amidst their difficult decision-making, but as far as monster movies go, they represent a bleaker reality than, say, vampire movies. Over the holiday season, I went to see Robert Eggers’s rendition of Nosferatu with my father. As we left the theater, he mentioned that though he enjoyed it, he was expecting it to deviate from the original a little more than it did. Having not seen the original, I went into it with very little expectation but enjoyed the traditionalist feel that it presented. My association with vampire movies leaned more in the modern, fast-paced action category, which is to say, Buffy , Blade , and Underworld . The great thing about a fantastical sub-genre like vampire movies is the ability to place it in both real and surreal universes, as most of us are familiar enough with the concept of vampires to buy into them. Ryan Coogler’s new hit, Sinners , takes vampirism to a world we all know but have not seen vampires represented in: Jim Crow in the Deep South. Set in the 1930’s, Sinners kicks off with twin brothers Smoke and Stack (Michael B. Jordan) returning to their home state of Mississippi after spending a few years in Chicago. Happy to be home, they buy an abandoned farmhouse with the plan to run a juke joint and host a grand opening. After closing the deal, they head into town to reunite with their cousin Sammie, a talented musician, and spread the word about their opening. Once the evening falls and everyone shows up for a good time, three strangers arrive with their instruments and Irish folk tunes in hopes of joining the festivities, but something seems off about them. After Smoke and Stack turn them away, Stack’s old flame Mary (Hailee Steinfeld), starts after them to play peacemaker. This gesture proves to be a mistake and sets off a chain of violent supernatural events no one saw coming at the beginning of the night. The brilliance of Sinners is its multi-faceted nature. Rather than immediately jump into vampirism, it sets up a compelling story that can exist independent of its supernatural elements. The first half of the film delves into the pasts and desires of its main characters in relation to music and business. Smoke and Stack have had their fill of the North and have returned to their roots to run a successful establishment. Although they do not necessarily want to revisit their young and immature ways, they need the support of their chums from the past. Sammie has a deep passion for blues guitar and a captivating singing voice, but his father Jedidiah believes his musical exploits to be the work of the devil. Delroy Lindo plays Delta Slim, an alcoholic musician who jumps at the opportunity to participate in Smoke and Stack’s grand opening. He fears that he doesn’t have very many of such experiences left in his future. These various storylines and motivations combine for an enjoyable party scene before the crap hits the fan. In a way, the gathering is reminiscent of teen party comedies such as House Party , Animal House and Project X , but with a more earnest and soulful intention behind it. The characters escape from the pressures of life expectations and the dangers of being Black in the Jim Crow South, even if just for a few hours. While Sinners deviates from other vampire movies in certain respects, it maintains plenty of vampire folklore. For instance, there are a couple of intense standoffs at the entrance to the farmhouse when those who have been infected ask to come in, a request vampires must make before entering. Just the same, the vampires have superhuman strength, become excited by the sight of blood, and perish in the daylight. Maybe most significant to the atmosphere of the movie is their abilities of hypnotism and seduction. The film has its fair share of promiscuity before vampires ever enter the equation, as Smoke, Stack, and Jedidiah all engage in sexual acts in the first half of the movie. But the addition of vampirism to the story only heightens the sexual tension between the characters, many of whom are engaging in either infidelity or miscegenation, an unlawful act during the Jim Crow era. Most impressive about Sinners is its ability to weave in elements of history amidst the fiction and supernaturalism. Frequently throughout U.S. history, prosperous Black communities were viewed as a threat and were ravaged by White out-of-towners, burned down to smoldering remains. Neighborhoods in Rosewood, Tulsa, Harlem and many others suffered this fate. The film hints at these massacres with its imagery in the third act. Additionally, blues music has been subject to cultural appropriation, often being stolen from its founders or repurposed with no attribution. The antagonists in Sinners make the same effort, which Ryan Coogler captures in an opening scene filled with symbolism as Sammie limps back into town with mere shards of his guitar. Moreover, the film alludes to racism that Black people faced when they sought to travel north. Smoke comments early in the film, “Chicago ain’t nothin’ but Mississippi with tall buildings instead of plantations.” This statement alludes to the fact that while the economy in northern cities was more industrial than agrarian, the bigoted mindset and discrimination remained intact. Finally, two of Smoke and Stack’s friends include a Chinese-American couple with their own store in town who join the party. The vampires threaten to raid the store and harm their children, alluding to the threats that many Asian-American immigrants also suffered at the time. All in all, Sinners stays true to much of the folklore surrounding vampires, appealing to fans of the sub-genre itself. However, it strategically places new elements around the vampirism: a predominantly Black cast, the backdrop of 1930s Mississippi, and the infusion of blues music. It blends genres like comedy, action, historical fiction, and even the “teen partying” into the story. The film’s multifaceted nature allows viewers to catch something different when watching a second or third time, while not being too preachy or on-the-nose with the social issues it broaches. The genre blend makes it difficult to provide a comparable film, so I will instead say Sinners is True Blood meets Mississippi Burning with just the right amount of Mo’ Betta Blues . Hopefully, when you check it out, it makes more sense than whatever I just said. Previous Next Sign-up for new reviews, exclusives, deep dives, and more First name Last name Enter your email here I agree to the terms & conditions Sign-up Thanks for joining us!

< Back Footnotes illuminates the highs and lows of a pandemic-era romance Box Party Films, 2023 95 minutes Director/Writer: Chris Leary Reading Time: 4 minutes Footnotes Home Inside (LJBFFLYOBAYC6VUN) 00:00 / 05:03 📷 : Used with permission, Chris Leary Barley: Movies and TV shows with a lot of dialog Jasmine Movies and TV shows with heart, positive vibes, and warm messages Chris Chaisson 2023-06-23 We’ve all heard idioms such as, “Absence makes the heart grow fonder.” However, platitudes like this ignore the reality of how humans survive in a new environment. Adapting involves making new friends in your new surroundings and letting go of connections from your old one. Those who believe in soulmates feel like their heart will always yearn for the same person regardless of distance, but for everyone else, it is important to turn the page. Chris Leary’s touching pandemic-era romantic drama Footnotes highlights these diverging mindsets. The co-stars of this indie film set at the height of the pandemic in 2020 are Will (Chris Leary), a 20-something building manager in Los Angeles, and his new tenant Apurna (Sharayu Mahale). They meet in February, when she moves in, and hang out to pass the time after the economy shuts down due to COVID. Early on, Apurna addresses the elephant in the room, saying that she will not sleep with Will. After clearing the air, the two hit it off, swapping stories and sharing intimate details about themselves over the course of several months. While their relationship is platonic, they clearly have romantic chemistry, evident when Apurna is silently jealous of Will having a date with another girl. Despite their budding unspoken romance, Apurna takes a trip home to New England to visit family around the holidays. Now apart, only time will tell whether their feelings grow or simply dissipate. During the pandemic, many couples experienced severe turbulence in their relationships, as their increased time together exacerbated any conflict between them. Footnotes presents the flipside of this dynamic, illustrating how the pandemic also had the opposite effect of bringing two people together who likely would have never formed a bond. Both homesick and living alone, Will and Apurna become friends in large part due to going stir-crazy. Through his dialogue, writer/director Chris Leary takes viewers back to the very relatable phenomenon of the struggle to socialize after a lack of human interaction or to reexamination of their place in life, both of which many people experienced back in 2020. Just the same, Will and Apurna’s exchanges foreshadow what is to come in their relationship, particularly as they talk about their exes. Though there are no flashbacks in the story, the sentiments they share reveal their flaws as potential partners. Will puts people and his relationships with them on a pedestal, while Apurna hedges, staying non-committal. Their imperfections feel very real and apply to someone in most people’s dating history. Even if the co-stars come off as flaky on one side or possessive on the other, Apurna and Will are operating in a very uncertain time period and have no idea of what the future holds. Remembering this uncertainty that many of us felt at the time makes their actions and emotions understandable. A new romantic connection can be exciting but also intimidating in what feels like an alternate universe, prompting people to return to what may be a more familiar past. Apurna is faced with such a mix of emotions as she reverts to her past by returning home. While Will seems too dependent on Apurna to maintain his emotional state, struggling to take care of himself when she leaves, his difficulties appear similar to the stories told by single people about their emotional challenges during the pandemic. Despite its minimal cast, Footnotes also manages to depict cultural differences. Apurna’s Indian heritage is discussed in her conversations with Will and depicted when she returns home, both in a way that does not feel forced. While being traditional, her parents still have their own personalities, as is shown when Apurna’s mother engages in a Jane Fonda-like workout on TV, or her dad stares in confusion at the box of Special K cereal Apurna brings home with her. These slice-of-life moments keep all of the characters from feeling like stereotypes and keep the story from being too centered on Will’s perspective alone. Footnotes feels most similar to the 2009 Joseph Gordon Levitt-led film 500 Days of Summer . Like Will, Tom (Levitt) is a hopeless romantic who has put his love interest on an unreachable pedestal and is crushed by reality. Sadly, Footnotes lacks a flash mob scene set to Hall and Oates but does deliver on the other emotional swings of a romantic drama. Previous Next Sign-up for new reviews, exclusives, deep dives, and more First name Last name Enter your email here I agree to the terms & conditions Sign-up Thanks for joining us!

< Back Perfect Days reminds us to count our blessings Master Mind, 2023 123 minutes Director/Writer: Wim Wenders / Wim Wenders and Takuma Takasaki Reading Time: 5 minutes Perfect Days Warmth And Wonder (E97ZYSRMYWTFIXZS) 00:00 / 05:33 📷 : Used with permission, Christian Niemann https://www.instagram.com/justbychris/ https://twitter.com/justbychris https://www.behance.net/justbychris Jasmine: Movies and TV shows with heart, positive vibes, and warm messages Sage: Movies and TV shows with low-key characters Chris Chaisson 2024-02-28 A frequent topic amongst news outlets and culture critics is the seemingly endless rise in depression, particularly amongst adolescents. There are several theories on why (e.g.. social media pressures, financial struggles, loneliness, etc.), and they’re probably all at least a little bit correct. The sheer number of hypotheses might pinpoint the cause: life has gotten too complicated, and those who can simplify it often remain the happiest. I harken back to an episode of the ‘90s sitcom Frasier , where Frasier creates a long and detailed bucket list after seeing a false obituary of himself in the local paper. His dad cautions him against trying to accomplish all these random, herculean tasks, saying, “You know, I think what you discovered this week is that something's missing from your life. And before you start to fill it up with everything but the kitchen sink, I think you ought to just ask yourself, "what do I really want? What is really going to make me happy... now?" Wim Wenders ponders this notion in his latest film, Perfect Days . Set in Tokyo, Perfect Days covers the daily routine of Hirayama (Koji Yakusho, Babel ), a very kind but somewhat aloof man who cleans public toilets for a living. Hirayama sleeps on the floor of his home and wakes up every day to the sound of a neighbor sweeping the sidewalk. When doing his work, he patiently waits for bathroom attendees and even lets them in when the bathroom is technically closed. Nothing seems to bother him about his job or the behaviors of others, who often shuffle past him as if he is not there. On his breaks, he takes time to stare at the greenery around the parks and public areas he is in, direct people who get lost, or comfort children looking for their parents. His assistant Takashi (Tokio Emoto, Outrage ), much younger than him, is less committed to and enthused about the job, but maintains a good rapport with his cleaning partner nonetheless. While Hirayama’s existence seems lonely and mundane, he takes constant joy in the simplicity of his daily agenda. As the film follows its protagonist through every single scene, it is easy for the audience to at first feel like something is missing. Often, the conflict in our favorite yarns is produced from frenzied, anxiety-inducing run-ins with villains, bullies, or nature. Perfect Days carries a calmness and quirkiness throughout, where the antagonist becomes less an actual person and more a desire for complexity. Hirayama’s routine slowly exorcises this need from the viewer, and we see the positives of enjoying what we have without looking for something more. The characters around Hirayama serve as the audience’s subconscious, providing a contrast to his content nature. He has several interactions with people who are busy, anxious, or too complex for their own good. For instance, Takashi opines about his social life early on in the movie and later ditches work with no heads up. A mother in the park scowls at Hirayama for comforting her son after they get separated. Some of the bathroom attendees avoid eye contact and treat him as though he is a bother, or worse, invisible. The biggest contrast is provided by Hirayama’s pre-teen niece, Niko, who runs away from home and visits him. Few things illustrate a lack of happiness like running away from home as an adolescent. Her desire to visit him not only shows her affection for him but also her recognition of how he differs from her mother. Niko’s frequent tendency to pull out her smartphone to take pictures and perform Google searches sharply contrasts with Hirayama’s use of his phone for nothing but phone calls. At one point, Niko mentions Spotify, which he has never heard of, and he confuses it for a brick-and-mortar store, much to her delight. Ultimately, when Niko’s mother tracks her down, she reunites with Hirayama and carries on a conversation with him that very much highlights their differences. Though the love is clearly there, she cannot fathom the thought of him being pleased with his modest lifestyle. While these interactions call attention to the anomaly of living such a simple life, they also reveal people’s willingness to connect with Hirayama where he’s at. For instance, one bathroom attendee, whom he never actually meets, leaves a game of tic tac toe behind for someone to join in. Hirayama finds the game and makes a new move every day, enthused by the interaction. Just the same, he attends a restaurant every day where the staff knows him by name and greets him with a glass of water “for his hard work.” Though not directly called out, these moments are clearly bright spots in his day, an experience many regulars at restaurants can relate to. All in all, Perfect Days and its protagonist urge us to be content with and appreciative of what we have and what’s positive in our lives, whether that be friends, family, or an enjoyable view. Whether or not cleaning toilets brings Hirayama joy, the interactions his job allows him to have with others, and the calming environment it places him in, ultimately lead to the happiness that many others cannot achieve in much more lucrative professions. His enduring spirit can be a lesson to us all: figure out what really makes you happy, shut out everything else, and enjoy both the clarity and simplicity of your life. Previous Next Sign-up for new reviews, exclusives, deep dives, and more First name Last name Enter your email here I agree to the terms & conditions Sign-up Thanks for joining us!