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(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.
(10/07/19 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?
(10/07/19 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.
(10/01/19 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.
(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.
(09/05/19 11:56pm)
Last week, the trailer for The King was released. Unsurprisingly, Twitter was ablaze—screen–caps of the trailer, memes, and excited chatter about the upcoming movie filled everyone’s feed in unrelenting waves. However, none of the discussion was about the plot, characters, or setting of the film. It was about one thing: Timothée Chalamet.
(09/04/19 2:27am)
The story of Peter Parker has been told for decades. A young man living with his aunt and uncle is bitten by a radioactive spider; his uncle dies, he is catapulted to superhero–dom, and he has to balance being a teenage hero, a good boyfriend, and a high school student. For his simple yet moving story, Spider–Man has become a piece of American iconography and is particularly vital to how the general public views Marvel comics. However, the Spider–Man franchise has sparked a media firestorm recently after news that the character would be leaving the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU). Fans are shocked after becoming attached to Tom Holland's portrayal of the character over the past couple of years—so what exactly has lead us to this point?
(09/03/19 4:39am)
Quentin Tarantino is most famous for his women. It is the picture of Uma Thurman on the poster of Pulp Fiction which is so well–known that it borders on generic; it is also her boasting the iconic yellow jumpsuit of Kill Bill that is associated prominently with Tarantino’s name. Maybe when you think of Tarantino you think of Melanie Laurent as Shoshanna escaping from her destroyed family or burning down her movie theater in Inglourious Basterds.
(08/27/19 1:00am)
The word “camp” has two distinct meanings: one, the recreational institution in which young American children are forced to spend two to eight weeks under the sun, and two, a piece of media created in a theatrical, ironic style for humorous effect. Where do these two collide, you may ask? Look no further than David Wain’s 2001 summer hit, Wet Hot American Summer.
(05/20/19 7:00am)
The subject has an age–worn quality about him, as if he has seen more than he lets on, though at his age he has already seen quite a bit. His eyes are creased around the edges, his lips held tight even as he speaks. A lilt of Polish and French tinges his voice; he says that he is “French in [his] heart,” though he speaks passionately about his childhood in Poland—still, he never raises his tone too much, never lets it waver. He is a composed man, a careful one, and clearly an artist.
(04/22/19 4:43pm)
On April 20, the majority of the cast of Lin–Manuel Miranda's upcoming In the Heights film released. Miranda, famous for his blockbuster musical Hamilton, wrote In The Heights in 1999 to critical acclaim, and after the success of Hamilton, translating his only other full–length musical becomes a clearly beneficial move. However, the adaptation of his second most famous work raises the question of the movie musical and the translation of stage musical onto the screen.
(04/19/19 5:31pm)
It comes as no shock that the final leg of the third trilogy of the Star Wars revival will be the most anticipated release this Christmas. Though the franchise has had a rocky road to its ninth film, the end of principal photography garnered a positive response from fans and built excitement for the film. Just last week, at an extensive panel with director J.J. Abrams and the cast, the teaser trailer for the finale of the trilogy dropped. With it, there is much to unpack, and I will break it down by section.
(04/22/19 12:05am)
The sitcom is one of the most treasured forms of American media, often defining a generation with a specific sense of humor and creating a common language among its viewers. The “situational comedy” centers on a set of characters in the same setting as they go about their lives—they enter new relationships, lose others, and have to make grand life choices before our very eyes. Perhaps one of the most influential shows for the current generation has been Friends, which, while premiering in the 1990s, has enjoyed a revival among an audience of young adults with time to kill.
(04/13/19 6:25am)
Of all villains in comic book history, the most famous is certainly The Joker. His green hair, red lips, purple suit, and too–wide grin are lodged into the collective cultural knowledge of not just comic book villains, but villains in general. He is not only the most recognizable villain, but perhaps the most interesting to follow when it comes to his film adaptations, with the tragic story of Heath Ledger’s run followed by the disappointing revival by Jared Leto. After the cancellation of Leto’s Joker film following the painfully embarrassing Suicide Squad, the fate of DC’s most iconic villain remained up in the air—until now.
(03/14/19 3:05am)
Netflix is more than just a streaming service. Conceived initially as a DVD rental business, the company has grown far past its initial model and is now best known for producing and streaming its own original series and movies. The business model raises questions around the nature of film production, movie theaters, and how we view the medium as a whole. Steven Spielberg thinks that Netflix’s artistry is nonsense.
(02/25/19 6:59am)
Black screen. Triumphant music. Title crawl. Star Wars, it reads, Episode IX. The newest trilogy by LucasFilm is at the beginning of the end.
(02/19/19 5:09am)
sFor the past decade, the age–old question that haunts blockbuster moviegoers is, “Marvel or DC?" The entertainment companies have been in staunch competition since they were both founded in the 1930s, but wasn’t until the mid–2000s that comics had a revival through the ever–changing film industry. With this, however, the artistry and creativity of the comics themselves were lost in translation. The superhero film, now solidified as a genre, has deteriorated its source material.