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…]
Film and TV
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…]
The surrealism of ‘Problemista’ elevates its poignancy
Scored with futuristically unsettling synth melodies and interjecting choral staccatos, narrator and famed arthouse actress Isabella Rosellini relays the complicated and costly process of acquiring a sponsored visa in the United States in Problemista. What begins visually as a cramped, two-room equation expands into a maze-like structure of trapdoors, fluorescent[Read More…]
Let’s go lesbians…to the movies!
From boxers to bodybuilders to road trippers and beyond, the past six months have given us an unprecedented number of movies about queer women. As slow, candlelit period pieces fueled by stolen glances, often the sole lesbian representation in media, feel increasingly outdated, this new “golden age” presents an exciting[Read More…]
It’s time to give complex women characters leading roles
In a recent interview with The New Yorker, acclaimed director Sofia Coppola argued that Apple TV+ executives slashed her latest project after finding the woman lead “unlikeable.” Known for her work on films such as The Virgin Suicides, Marie Antoinette, and most recently Priscilla, Coppola was set to partner with[Read More…]
2D or not 2D (animation)
In a streaming era saturated with live-action, CGI, and 3D animated films, lately, all I’ve wanted to do is curl up under a blanket and watch a 2D animated movie. The other day, while scrolling through Letterboxd lists, I stumbled upon a movie I had never heard of before: Wolfwalkers.[Read More…]
The 2024 Oscars were surprisingly well done
A general sense of nervous anticipation filled the air as the red carpet unfurled for the 96th annual Academy Awards. After a few years of less-than-stellar ceremonies, many worried that this was the beginning of the end for the Oscars. Much to the delight of movie lovers around the world,[Read More…]
The poison drips through in ‘The Zone of Interest’
Minor spoilers for The Zone of Interest How would you depict an atrocity onscreen? What would you show, and perhaps more importantly, what wouldn’t you? In Jonathan Glazer’s new five-time Oscar-nominated film, The Zone of Interest, these choices are put at the forefront of the narrative. The result? Nothing short[Read More…]
