new and ongoing cinema releases, US/Can, from Jul 21
A simple listing of movies opening this week and in continuing release.
new and ongoing cinema releases, UK/Ire, from Jul 21
A simple listing of movies opening this week and in continuing release.
2017’s films ranked
I rank films on the fly as I see them during the 2017 awards year. (Exclusively for subscribers only, until the end of the year, when it will be made public.)
Birthright: A War Story documentary review: how America hates women
An enraging, essential documentary rundown of all the ways that women’s rights, agency, and bodily autonomy are under attack in the US. It’s not just about abortion.
curated: no, it’s not “ignorant” to ask where the women and the people of color are in ‘Dunkirk‘
No, history is not lily white, or a total sausage party.
Captain Underpants: The First Epic Movie review: a brief look at the long and the shorts of it
Sweet, subversive, and absolutely hilarious, at once a snarky superhero sendup and an unironically joyful celebration of friendship and imagination.
Scribe (La mécanique de l’ombre) movie review: all tapped out
This would-be faux-70s paranoid thriller piles on too-obvious intrigue and embarrassing clichés, and lacks suspense, thrills, and a protagonist to care about.
curated: Christopher Nolan hates Netflix
The reason why will shock you! </clickbait>
Dunkirk movie review: the power of purpose
Primal and exhilarating, full of dread and tension. Drops us right into the chaos of war to tell an intimate story about fear and intensity of purpose.
City of Ghosts documentary review: how to tell a story that some don’t want told
A devastating portrait of Syrian citizen journalists, of the sacrifices they make to tell of ISIS occupation, and a cautionary tale for Western culture, too.
curated: there’s a petition to make Doctor Who a man again…
…and it is as hilariously pathetic as you are imagining.
curated: BBC apologizes for talent gender pay gap, but only as it’s about to be made public
So forgive me if I doubt the sincerity of this apology.
curated: the other side of the Kermit’s-voice-got-fired story
Wish I knew which one to believe…
new and ongoing dvd & vod releases, US/Can, from Jul 18
A simple listing of new releases and other stuff currently available.
new and ongoing dvd & vod releases, UK/Ire, from Jul 17
A simple listing of new releases and other stuff currently available.
curated: real-life places that belong in a Wes Anderson film
Wonderful.
curated: Kermit the Frog is getting a new voice
And not for any good reason that anyone has offered.
curated: the new Doctor Who is known female Jodie Whittaker
And here is one big reason why it’s important…
Wish Upon movie review: be careful what movies you see about wishes you should be careful about
Simple, yet stupid. A magic box grants a teen wishes… that don’t come free. Apparently they’re not making eighth graders read “The Monkey’s Paw” anymore.
The Women’s Balcony movie review: men, cross women at your peril
A slyly wise, hugely entertaining portrait of an Orthodox Jewish community that loses its joy when a newcomer sows discord. You don’t have to be religious to love it.
Cars 3 movie review: road to nowhere
Three movies in, and this world of sentient driverless cars still creeps me out, and still does nothing except advertise a mountain of related merch for kids.
one big reason why I love ‘House of Cards’ (spoiler: its depiction of women wielding power)
Because it features so many women who are smart, capable, and wield power like men do. But even so, there has not previously been a moment as powerful as this one in S05E07.
curated: a whole buncha critics (including me) on the best movies of 2017 so far
Polled for this was my top 10 so far…
this site is now secure (with https://)
You should barely notice any difference, though…
curated: the toll that shooting rape scenes takes on everyone involved
Difficult reading.
War for the Planet of the Apes movie review: empathy for the ape
A triumph of science fiction storytelling: a sweeping tale of mythological scope told with astonishing FX wizardry that brings emotion and intelligence to nonhuman people.
curated: the nepotism that benefits celebrity spawn deserves all the ridicule we can throw at it
Maybe we can make it stop.
The Midwife (Sage femme) movie review: the birth pangs of midlife renewal
The chemistry of two formidable actresses fuels an extraordinary yet subtle clash in a nuanced, unsentimental story about how women’s friendships shape our lives.
The Last Word movie review: wealthy white privilege, unchecked
Cantankerous old grump teaches directionless young people about life… in a way that is totally obnoxious and not in the least bit convincing.
Spider-Man: Homecoming movie review: boys and their alien toys
Thoroughly charming. Spider-Man’s signature light comedy works surprisingly well even as this story is uniquely steeped in the darker Marvel Cinematic Universe.
curated: ‘Spider-Man: Homecoming’ is yet another example of an inexperienced white guy getting a big Hollywood boost
Until Hollywood starts taking these leaps of faith with directors who aren’t white guys, I’m gonna keep bitching about it.
curated: many of my problems with ‘Doctor Who,’ all in one place
Steven Moffat’s Doctor Who kept returning to the same stories and the same dynamics over and over again.
curated: Canal+ in France stops paying what it owes to artists and creators
Is this a first shot in an escalation of the copyright wars?
Baby Driver movie review: common car-nage
Edgar Wright used to send up cinematic clichés with gusto and with huge humor. Here he just embraces them — and his sullen, unengaging hero — unironically.
The House movie review: burn it down
The hint of a seed of a bitter satire is buried under inept, momentum-free comedy. They should have developed the script’s rough first draft instead of shooting it.
The Beguiled movie review: horror of manners
If Jane Austen wrote a horror movie. An almost serene sinisterness infuses female-gazey carnal intrigue… but it could be even more feminist than it is.
curated: be vewy vewy quiet: Elmer Fudd is hunting Batman
Um…
curated: is this the tale behind Andy’s absent dad in ‘Toy Story’?
I might have something in my eye.
curated: everything that’s wrong with Hollywood today.
This is ridiculous.
Megan Leavey movie review: a soldier and her dog
This deeply satisfying military drama demonstrates that a simple, even familiar story can be powerfully effective when told with big heart and solid craft.
The Bad Batch movie review: a girl walks into dystopia alone
Filmmaker-to-watch Ana Lily Amirpour again shakes up a familiar genre — here, the postapocalyptic adventure — in unexpected ways, but stumbles a bit in the process.
Lost in Paris (Paris pieds nus) movie review: French kicks
An exquisite miniature puzzle-box pop-up-book of a movie. All is color and light and exhilaration here, a fantastical lark that is sheer mischievous joy.
a running tally of all the artists and intellectuals hassled by border agents or actually kept out of America under Trump
You don’t make a nation “great” by making it difficult or impossible for writers, historians, scientists, artists, and other intellectuals to enter the country to give lectures, perform, do research, teach, or promote their work.
curated: a bat signal for Adam West
*bang* *pow* *sob*
curated: Joss Whedon’s leaked Wonder Women script is sexist as hell
Assuming it’s the real thing, of course.
47 Meters Down movie review: jumping the shark
Originally slated for a VOD release, and it feels like it: the few moments of simple tension quickly dissipate in the murky and not very shark-infested depths.
The Journey movie review: a civil end to war
This fictional dialogue inspired by a private meeting between real-life enemies can’t muster up more than the usual banalities about the ethics of politics and war.
The Wedding Invitation movie review: regrets only
This strained comedy might have been progressive in the 1960s, but today it reeks of an infantilization of women that warrants squashing, not celebrating.
curated: is Melania Trump taking fashion advice from Claire Underwood?
Um…
Wonder Woman movie review: women’s work
Everything about this joyful, sincere origin story feels like a retort — a very welcome and much needed one — to traditional male-centered superhero stories.
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