On the evening of Oct. 28, Peterson Hall was filled with warmth, warmed by yellowed lamps inside Critical Media Lab’s bookshelf-lined screening room, warmed by cheerful conversation, and warmed by soup. Attendees had gathered for Soup and Memory, a two-night film series bringing together food and film, screening documentaries by[Read More…]
Film and TV
(Non-scary!) Halloween media
Howl’s Moving Castle In this Studio Ghibli film, young hatmaker Sophie encounters a mysterious wizard named Howl. The Witch of the Waste curses her by turning her into an old woman. Sophie then meets a mysterious anthropomorphic scarecrow who leads her to Howl’s castle. There, she takes up residence as[Read More…]
‘White Bird:’ A heartbreaking tale of courage and kindness in the face of mass destruction
How is it that we can enter a theatre dry-eyed and fresh-faced and emerge several hours later, eyes glistening with tears? It is not simply violence or harm that touches our soul. To elicit such a visceral reaction, something more is required: Injustice. Harm inflicted upon the innocent and kind[Read More…]
What we liked this fall break
Pretty Little Liars – Lily Dodson, Contributor Every fall, there’s little my sister and I enjoy more than sitting on our couch and binging episodes of Pretty Little Liars (PLL). Since discovering it on our parents’ Netflix account at the ages of 10 and 12, we’ve been hooked. The eerie,[Read More…]
Spike Lee inspires at Montreal International Black Film Festival’s Opening Night Gala
The Montreal International Black Film Festival (MIBFF) celebrated its 20th edition from Sept. 25 to 29, shining a powerful spotlight on the richness of Black cinema and emphasizing the importance of diversifying the cinematic landscape. MIBFF is the largest film event dedicated to Black cinema in Canada as well as[Read More…]
‘The Substance’ is difficult to stomach
I’d never been to a movie by myself before, so when I discovered that the Québec premiere of The Substance at Cinéma Du Parc sold out before my friends had bought their tickets, I listened to their encouragement about the “peaceful” nature of solo movie-watching and decided to go alone.[Read More…]
Applause for representation, but can we get an encore?
Criticism rained down on the 76th Primetime Emmy Awards this past weekend. Only six months after the previous Emmys in January, the ceremony felt repetitive. However, the Emmys have increasingly devoted airtime to recognizing marginalized communities; the Sept. 15 ceremony marked historic wins for Shōgun’s Hiroyuki Sanada and Anna Sawai,[Read More…]
TV writer Samantha Shier is on the rise
It is no secret that the entertainment industry is crawling with nepotism babies. For those of us without our parents’ illustrious networks, the path to a career within the industry is unclear and unpredictable, but McGill alumna Samantha Shier (BA ‘14) is climbing the ranks. Starting as an undergraduate at[Read More…]
Misogynistic tropes in ‘Strange Darling’ overshadow its thrills
Content warning for sexual violence and violent content. Contains Spoilers for Strange Darling. With an endorsement from The Haunting of Hill House creator Mike Flanagan on its poster, JT Mollner’s latest film, Strange Darling, is receiving high praise from Stephen King and critics as a shocking and brilliant new thriller.[Read More…]
What we liked this summer break
We Are Who We Are (TV miniseries) By Jordana Curnoe, Contributor The HBO miniseries We Are Who We Are, directed by Luca Guadagnino, follows a headstrong army brat from New York City named Fraser (Jack Dylan Grazer) who moves to a fictional American military base in Chioggia, Italy. There, he[Read More…]
