After the nomination committee of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences once again selected a group of all-white actors for nomination at the Oscars, multiple high-profile stars of colour are preparing to boycott the awards ceremony. But should viewers boycott it too? For more, check out our new podcast,[Read More…]
Film and TV
Sisterly love: Mustang gives nuanced portrayal of female coming-of-age stories in patriarchal societies
Content warning: This film features elements of sexual abuse. The coming-of-age stories that frequently grace movie screens are those of teen rebellion, unrequited love, and summer adventures. Deniz Ergüven’s Oscar-nominated film Mustang contains qualities of all of these aspects, but adds nuanced maturity and an overwhelmingly poignant storyline. At the[Read More…]
Religiosity of a new ilk: The Coen brothers praise 1950s Hollywood in Hail, Caesar!
It makes sense for directors to pay homage to their industry as a whole. An entertaining romp through the Hollywood of the 1950s, Hail, Caesar! is the Coen brothers’ latest triumph, an in depth study of a single man, Eddie Mannix (Josh Brolin), a studio fixer, who works tirelessly to[Read More…]
Pop Rhetoric: Respectability politics in “Fresh Off the Boat”
A year in, Fresh Off the Boat (FOTB) is still much of the same: An occasionally poignant portrayal of the immigrant experience tempered by whitewashed sinophilia. Take last week’s episode for example. Right before Chinese New Year, FOTB aired the first depiction of Mandarin Chinese New Year on American primetime[Read More…]
Survival, grief, revenge: Leonardo DiCaprio suffers with skill in The Revenant
Based on the true story of 19th century frontiersman Hugh Glass who, after being mauled by a bear, was left by his hunting companion to die in the wilderness, Alejandra Gonzalez Iñárritu’s The Revenant is a haunting story of survival, grief and revenge. The hero of The Revenant, portrayed by Leonardo[Read More…]
From the viewpoint: Ann Arbor Film Festival
As a newcomer to art house cinema, I wasn’t sure what to expect from the 53rd Ann Arbor Film Festival’s screening of 13 short films by independent filmmakers at Cinémathèque Québécois on Saturday night. It could have been the hushed atmosphere of a dimly lit room, or maybe the fact[Read More…]
Making a Docudrama: Is Making a Murderer really the ‘true story’ it’s cracked up to be?
Warning: This piece contains spoilers. Making a Murderer has become an omnipresent subject of discussion in the media since its release in late December. Creators Laura Ricciardi and Moira Demos initially started working on the project in 2005, following the arrest of Steven Avery for the murder of photographer Teresa Halbach.[Read More…]
Flashback: Belle de Jour (1967)
Belle de Jour is Luis Bunuel’s most recognizable and commercially successful film, praised for its status as an erotic masterpiece despite demonstrating virtually no sexual explicitness. Friends with both Salvador Dali and André Breton, Bunuel was a pioneer of surrealist cinema and enjoyed using the medium of film over his[Read More…]
The 5th Wave more one singular wave of disappointment
Stop me if this sounds familiar: In a post-apocalyptic nation, one spunky hero sparks a trilogy-long revolution against a corrupt government, as the fate of the world rests upon their shoulders. The 5th Wave proves to be a lacklustre addition to the current trend of young-adult (YA), dystopian thrillers, which includes[Read More…]
Tarantino adds some sauce to the classic spaghetti western in “The Hateful Eight”
When you walk into a Quentin Tarantino film, you can expect three things: Lots of blood, an intricately layered storyline, and Samuel L. Jackson. If you’ve seen The Hateful Eight, you’ll recognize that Tarantino meets those expectations, and then quickly surpasses them. Granted, this movie is not for everyone. It[Read More…]
