Where Are the Women? Dope
All of the women here function solely as support for the male protagonist: as a happily helpful friend, as an object of lust, as an understanding mother.
Dope movie review: not your typical high-school comedy
Not without its problems, but mostly a smart, engaging, bigotry-busting escapade with a hugely appealing young cast and an unflaggingly cheerful optimism.
The Mermaid (Mei ren yu) movie review: the biggest movie on the planet you haven’t heard of
A wacky fantasy lark, half screwball comedy, half Looney Tunes. Chinese audiences have thrown half a billion dollars at it. Prepare for Hollywood imitators.
The Here After (Efterskalv) movie review: what price forgiveness?
Brutally chilling in the banality of its examination of justice and forgiveness. A deeply unsettling film that challenges the empathy it carefully constructs.
The Divergent Series: Allegiant movie review: walled in by reality
A disappointing downfall from the previous films, the appealing metaphor for nonconformity giving way to dull good-vs-evil battle and dumb plot conundrums.
Where Are the Women? Aloha
As is all too typical in cinematic depictions of men and women, women come fully formed, and only men have room to grow and change.
Aloha movie review: hello, and good-bye
A mess of a romantic dramedy full of colonialistic offensiveness, forced quirkiness, implausible emotion, and oblivious masculine self-centeredness.
Where Are the Women? Little Boy
The only female character with any presence is the mother of the young male protagonist… and she barely even does any mothering.
Little Boy movie review: faith-based bomb
A shamefully miscalculated tale of whimsy and come-to-Jesus inspiration with a bizarrely inappropriate haze of Norman Rockwell-esque nostalgia.
a few thoughts on House of Cards S4 (and open thread)
I adore this show, but it’s hugely depressing. I would love to call it cynical, but I suspect it’s all too realistic. [This post is not behind the paywall.]
