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(10/16/19 10:39pm)
Interstellar often gets tossed around when people talk about their favorite films or recall the canon of Christopher Nolan. And the score is arguably one of the most distinctive aspects of the movie. The music, colored by frequent organ instrumentation and high levels of intensity, crystallizes each scene in the movie as memorable and breathtaking. This is no surprise, given that it was composed by Hans Zimmer.
(10/14/19 3:33pm)
Ang Lee is a peculiar director. While he perhaps garnered the most acclaim for his 2000 classic Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, he is equally renowned for the touching Brokeback Mountain. In many cases, Lee's films jolt back and forth between fast–paced action to tender drama, like in the critically adored Life of Pi. Lee’s most recent film, Gemini Man, leans in the action direction, but stops short of fully becoming a sci–fi flick, a comedic drama, or even a guns–blazing, nonsensical action, making it feel muddled and half–finished.
(10/16/19 5:52pm)
At the Heart of Gold: Inside the USA Gymnastics Scandal is a heartbreaking, moving, and empowering documentary that exposes the systematic and institutionalized abuse of hundreds of young girls.
(10/18/19 6:03pm)
Trailers are the most unpredictable form of advertising, and likely one of the most important ones. Often, trailers are created by companies that are not associated with the film and are responsible for crafting the 3–minute videos without full knowledge of the film itself. Generally, trailer–making begins before principal photography is completed. This art form is precarious, because it must straddle the line between teasing the film for those who have already been anticipating it, and advertising it to those who have never heard of it. For this balancing act, trailers often fall flat because they fail to accurately represent the source material—take Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind or Batman Begins, whose trailers don't accurately represent their movies.
(10/11/19 10:55pm)
Last week, Netflix hit off their “Netflix and Chills” series with a flawed, but entertaining thriller: In the Shadow of the Moon. This week, Netflix’s grasp on “chills” continues to tighten with its release of In the Tall Grass.
(10/07/19 7:08pm)
You’ve probably heard something about Joker, the 2019 origin story of Batman’s famous arch–nemesis. Before it was even released, it already saw a handful of scandals, including its lead actor, Academy Award–nominated Joaquin Phoenix, reportedly walking out on set and cussing out his cinematographer, its director Todd Phillips insisting that he couldn’t make his Hangover series today because of “woke culture”, and a few audience concerns over a repeat of the Aurora shooting in 2012, which took place at a screening of The Dark Knight Rises. However, all of these stories and the criticisms that have followed them are not based on the actual content of the film—only the media circus surrounding it. What, then, is Joker actually about? Does it warrant all this criticism?
(10/08/19 3:52am)
In the introduction of The Politician, Sufjan Stevens' “Chicago” hums over a montage of a wooden body being constructed. That’s a key word—constructed. The body is wooden and hollowed out, a Trojan horse containing the refuse of a privileged, hyper–ambitious life. There’s a purple heart curdling in a vat of steaming black sludge. There are books—biographies of presidents, “How to Win Friends and Influence People.” And eventually, after the body is sewn into a bespoke, jewel–toned suit, we see our main character.
(10/07/19 4:37am)
Twilight is undeniably a cultural touchstone. It defined the current generation of young adults by exposing them at an impressionable age to the world of softcore porn, dramatic romance, and dreamy bad–boys. It singlehandedly ushered in an era of vampire and werewolf fiction, a genre still seen in popular media today like The Vampire Diaries or Teen Wolf. Twilight not only changed the lives of the girls who ate up hundreds and hundreds of pages of theatrical romantic drama, it also revolutionized the world of YA fiction and film. Perhaps most important are the consequences it had for the careers of its two main stars: Kristen Stewart and Robert Pattinson.
(10/04/19 9:31pm)
Reality television is in a weird place right now. The genre, predicated on the idea of reality, has been exposed as being entirely false. In the time since the original release of shows like The Hills and The Bachelor, stars and producers have come forward admitting to the falseness of what we see onscreen (Lauren Conrad even wrote a YA series detailing how little truth there is to reality TV).
(10/01/19 1:04am)
Judy Garland is undoubtedly one of the most famous American actresses of all time. From her lead role in the groundbreaking film The Wizard of Oz to her enduring status as a gay icon to her tragic death at the age of 47, she is not only a part of film iconography but also an emblem of the American entertainment industry. Unfortunately, despite her compellingly tragic life story, the biopic of her life—plainly titled Judy—falls flat when compared to the legend’s stardom and rawness.
(10/01/19 1:28am)
It may not even be October yet, but Netflix already has Halloween on its mind. Recently, Netflix teased a handful of new thriller originals that are being released every Friday throughout the next month. They’re a part of Netflix’s advertisement for a new genre titled “Netflix and Chills”: a name based on the long–dead euphemism. Netflix is now fully targeting thriller and horror audiences, hoping to lure in both younger and older watchers by offering up originals to be watched alongside beloved classics. In the Shadow of the Moon is the first of the new “Netflix and Chills” originals to be added to the genre. Next Friday, we get In the Tall Grass.
(10/04/19 6:18pm)
There’s a girl—a main character in this Netflix Original. She’s not like other girls, though. Other girls wear makeup and dress nice. This girl? She wears sweatshirts, and, even more scandalous, sweatpants. She faces constant ridicule from her classmates. Her family tries their best to make her feel normal, but instead, they make her feel even more ostracized.
(10/01/19 8:32pm)
Ring the service bells, polish the silver, and clean every surface until it “gleams and sparkles,” as Mrs. Carson would say—the Grantham family is back and the same as ever. And the same is completely fine. More than fine, in fact—it’s just right. Downton Abbey, the film, acts as the official conclusion to the identically–titled series that aired its sixth and final season on PBS in 2016. The transition from TV to the big screen is seamless, largely due to the fact that Julian Fellowes, the creator of the Emmy Award–winning series, is the film’s writer, and Michael Engler, who directed much of the series, serves as the film’s director.
(09/30/19 1:35am)
Philly is home to countless movie landmarks. There are plenty of locations around the city where you can recreate some classic cinema moments, and many of them are just a short walk away. So hit up some movie–watching buddies or your friends from out of town who are dying to see Philly, and head to these sites from your favorite films. After all, with awards season coming up, there's no time like the present to make some movie magic.
(09/25/19 2:07am)
The Emmys didn’t create much buzz this year. Perhaps it’s because they were competing with Sunday Night Football, or perhaps because everyone simply forgot they were happening—I know I did. Fewer than seven million people tuned in for the broadcast—the lowest in the award show's history. Despite this, Twitter was still abuzz with fashion judgments, commentary on presenters, and delighted cheers for winners all around. Yet the most shocking thing about the 2019 Emmys is that they weren’t that shocking at all.
(09/22/19 10:02pm)
I was initially hesitant about Fleabag. It appeared to be riding the same wave of shows that focus on the lives of messy, awkward, sometimes cruel women going about their daily lives in some hip, up–and–coming city; often, they face money issues but never seem to be actually poor, and antagonize those around them, but in a charming way. Think Girls or Love or You’re The Worst, all media which isn’t necessarily bad, but not necessarily new or interesting. Why do we need another show like this when we already had Crazy Ex–Girlfriend? Yet, Fleabag is its own wonderful, perfect beast, and its second season is nominated for 11 Emmys—including Best Comedy Series, Best Lead Actress, and Best Supporting Actress. And frankly, it deserves them all.
(09/18/19 1:57am)
Last week, The Goldfinch made headlines for making headlines. The film, which premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF), has been anticipated for months—it's based on the Pulitzer–winning novel of the same name by Donna Tartt, stars greats such as Ansel Elgort and Nicole Kidman, and had a fantastic trailer released in July. Director John Crowley was launched to fame with the Oscar–nominated film Brooklyn in 2015, and with such a star–studded cast and reliable source material, The Goldfinch seemed to be set up as an awards season juggernaut. Unfortunately, it's not living up to expectations.
(09/18/19 12:23am)
Two weeks ago, Kristen Stewart of Twilight fame said that she was told to hide her sexuality if she wanted to get a role in a blockbuster superhero movie. To quote her: “I have fully been told, 'If you just like do yourself a favor, and don’t go out holding your girlfriend’s hand in public, you might get a Marvel movie.'" This comes on the distant heels of publicity about Avengers: Endgame, which made headlines for its alleged monumental step in the Marvel Cinematic Universe: its first gay character. This character is portrayed by the film’s director, Joe Russo, in a two–minute cameo where the unnamed “grieving man” mourns the loss of his (male) partner and discusses how he’s moved on after the life–changing snap of Infinity War.
(09/17/19 1:34am)
The Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) has, for better or worse, transformed the landscape of the entire film industry. Phases One through Three of the MCU's timeline, which chronicled the stories of the Avengers and other side characters over the past ten years, consisted of dozens of movies, all of which were commercial successes. With its frequent, episodic releases and large quantity of beloved characters, Marvel had, for the most part, cornered the industry. Viewers couldn’t help but consume it; if you watched one movie, you would get sucked in and go to see them all. Then, this past April, Phase Three of the MCU timeline ended with a massive, booming box-office bang: Avengers: Endgame. It became the highest grossing movie of all time and left studios wondering how they could recreate even a fraction of that success.
(09/10/19 10:41pm)
Falling Inn Love is as unwatchable as it is cliché. Now, there’s nothing wrong with cliché—when done properly, it gives us exciting superhero movies and classic romantic comedies. Falling Inn Love, however, takes every unoriginal platitude and ruins it. At best, this is frustrating. At worst, it enforces toxic gender roles in the workspace and in romantic relationships.
