War movies are of men. Historical war movies, more so. Which is why Testament of Youth, the first feature film dramatization of the famed World War I memoir by Vera Brittain, an auxiliary nurse, bestselling author, and lifelong pacifist, comes as a fresh perspective even in 2015. With an elegant and gritty performance by Alicia Vikander (Ex Machina) as Vera and what can only be described as poetic direction by James Kent, Testament of Youth is a haunting and unsparing elegy to a war that, a century later, still has much to teach us about love, loss, and—believe it or not—feminism.
Category Archives: Reviews
How to Get Away with Melodrama? Hire Viola Davis
After spending the equivalent of a semester under the brilliant—if somewhat terrifying—tutelage of Professor Annalise Keating (Viola Davis), you might think it was about time you graduated to How To Get Away With Murder 201, or at least 102. You’d be mistaken. The Season 2 premiere of Shonda Rhimes’ latest hit brings us right into the thick of the mess we left behind in the Season 1 finale. Continue reading How to Get Away with Melodrama? Hire Viola Davis
“THE FRIEND INSIDE THE ENEMY, THE ENEMY INSIDE THE FRIEND”: DOCTOR WHO SEASON 9 OPENER
“Listen, if someone who knew the future pointed out a child to you and told you that that child would grow up totally evil, to be a ruthless dictator who would destroy millions of lives, could you then kill that child?” This question drives the two-part opening of “Doctor Who” season 9. In a manner perfectly suited to the show’s timey-wimey nature, these episodes provide a splendid example of how sci-fi can explore deep questions rather than just showcase explosions and mayhem (cough, Star Trek: Into Darkness, cough).
Sicario Means ‘Hitman’ in Mexico; ‘Hit’ in America
Sicario is a shoot ‘em up. A run ‘n gun. I was ready for good ole’ God-fearing American law enforcement versus the barbaric Mexican cartels and corrupt Mexican cops. But Denis Villenueve, Sicario’s director, understands how badly this could go. How America-centric, clumsy, or downright racist this could be. Yet the only misstep in this movie is the sometimes brooding, Nolan-esque score. Otherwise it’s decidedly something worth seeing, an action-thriller with a social conscience. To top it off, Villenueve has a killer aesthetic, throwing thermal-sight drone shots and desert dusk together without making you think twice about it.
Continue reading Sicario Means ‘Hitman’ in Mexico; ‘Hit’ in America
Yay / Ugh: 2015 Emmy Nominations!
The Emmy nominations are here, and as always I’ve forgotten not to care about them. Every year I am annoyed by every awards show, but I still follow them faithfully like a sad, hungry dog that will never be properly fed. If you are in the same position, enjoy this guide to the major categories!
Fresh Starts: Great Pilot Episodes
The first episode of a TV show is a welcome, a please come in, a sit down and make yourself at home. It’s a new start, a fresh group of people to know. These characters have a lot more to tell you about themselves and you should probably listen because this relationship might last for years.
Why I Couldn’t Even Make It Through the First Commercial Break of The Bachelor Pre-Show
Buzzfeed listicle with puppies. Buzzfeed listicle with gifs. #PrinceFarming. Engagement. Engagement. Thoughtcatalog article on relationships. #PrinceFarming. Thoughtcatalog article on being in your twenties. Thoughtcatalog article on having the best twenties EVER. Thoughtcatalog article on not worrying if you suck at your twenties and eat ramen for every meal because it will get better. Bill Cosby article. New Baby. #PrinceFarming… The rest I had seen a million times, but who was this “Prince Farming” plaguing my newsfeed? Continue reading Why I Couldn’t Even Make It Through the First Commercial Break of The Bachelor Pre-Show
It’s Such a Beautiful Day: An Artist at Work
There are many different ways to tell a story. Novels, songs, plays, movies: they all have their own strengths and weaknesses. Why one storyteller chooses their particular medium is always an interesting question to ask, to see what it is about the form that lends itself to the story in question. Given all of the other possible ways to tell a story, why anyone would choose animation, the most difficult, tedious, time-consuming subset of film, is a mystery in and of itself. It’s Such a Beautiful Day is the answer to that question. Continue reading It’s Such a Beautiful Day: An Artist at Work
Top Five: Shake Well. Serve Immediately
Back in November, the New Yorker ran a profile of star stand-up and sometime auteur Chris Rock. The article framed the then-pending release of Top Five–Rock’s latest in an erratic series of bids for crossover film-stardom–as the comedian’s last chance to “crack” Hollywood and package himself as a leading man. The bulk of Rock’s quotes in the piece are characterized by what sounds like a consciously curtailed optimism: “Even if the movie doesn’t make a dime,” he says, “I’ve figured out the tone of movie I should be in.” Continue reading Top Five: Shake Well. Serve Immediately
Science Fiction Done Right
A man walks into a bar. At some point, he asks the bartender for a joke. “A man walks into a bar,” the bartender says, and stops there. The butt of the joke sarcastically but good-humoredly retorts “Very funny,” and demands a better one. The bartender (Ethan Hawke) insists that he knows no good jokes, but tries a chicken road-crossing one. It fails miserably, but he recovers by getting philosophical: “Do you ever wonder about that? The chicken and egg, which one came first?” Humoring the bartender, the man confidently declares “The rooster!” Continue reading Science Fiction Done Right
The Hobbit: The Journey That Ends with Beginnings
In total: 3 movie tickets. 474 minutes. And all I can say is finally, I finally have an ending.
Granted, this ending is in the form of a three-hour action sequence, and you certainly have to want the ending to power through to the end. Continue reading The Hobbit: The Journey That Ends with Beginnings
An Affair to Forget
The Affair knows that it is retreading well-worn ground. Adultery has been covered so extensively across all forms of media that it’s hard to imagine a new TV drama adding much to the conversation. For the first few episodes, though, it seemed like Sarah Treem and Hagai Levi had achieved the massively unlikely. The show actually felt original, with a fresh angle on its main characters and an innovative storytelling style. It’s unfortunate that by the tenth and final episode of the season, that freshness had all but disappeared into the many clichés of infidelity fiction. Continue reading An Affair to Forget