It’s not difficult to have sympathy for Emily, the character Aubrey Plaza plays in the great new movie Emily the Criminal. She understands that a person in her circumstances (loaded with debt from student loans for an expensive art school education and a permanent record that includes some legal infractions) has no shot at “the American dream.”
Author: Chris Burlingame
Medusa: A Feminist take on Slasher-flicks that asks WWJD?
By day, best friends Mari and Michele are devout women in a Christian pop group called Michele and the Treasures of the Lord. They sing bubblegum pop songs about Jesus and Michele runs a YouTube channel that tells young, God-fearing women how to take the most holy selfies. By night, they channel their Christian devotion into a girl gang that menaces the streets of Brazil, eager to attack any woman that they perceive to be sinful.
Bodies Bodies Bodies is an Agatha Christie whodunit for Generation Z
Bodies Bodies Bodies involves a group of zoomers who plan on spending a weekend at the home of their rich friend David (Pete Davidson). A hurricane knocks out the cell signal and everything quickly goes to hell.
Mrs. Harris Goes to Paris is a charming fairy tale for adults
The adjective I can’t escape when thinking about the new movie Mrs. Harris Goes to Paris is “delightful.” It’s a charming little mid-century, working-class, romantic comedy led by the wonderful Lesley Manville that is just a joy to watch.
Mel Brooks elevates Paws of Fury: The Legend of Hank into something enjoyable and very funny
The story is predictable with the usual messages about the power of being different and earning trust and all of that usual stuff. It is also consistently silly but has a surprisingly high batting average of jokes that land.
Let Baz Luhrmann razzle and dazzle you with Elvis
There is a lot of razzle dazzle in Elvis and it honestly made me not care about some of the movie’s very large flaws. I had a great time watching this movie even though most of the criticisms I and others have are valid.
Lux Æterna will shock the senses and the mind
Reportedly shot in about five days, it is meant to capture behind-the-scenes drama about the filming of a medieval-era movie about three women being burned at the stake.
In Memory, Liam Neeson is back for even more revenge
When I first saw a poster for the new Liam Neeson revenge movie Memory, I thought that it was the dumbest possible name because all of the negative headlines would write themselves. Multiple chuckleheads on Rotten Tomatoes would say something to the effect of “a movie called Memory sure isn’t very memorable.”
SIFF 2022: I Am D.B. Cooper and The Pez Outlaw
D.B. Cooper could be almost anyone so he could just as easily be an old man with a limp and a Goofy sweatshirt out on bail for an assault charge named Rodney.
In the Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent, Nicolas Cage the actor embraces Nicolas Cage the meme
In the Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent, Nicolas Cage doesn’t merely “break the fourth wall,” but mows it down like it’s a row of faceless henchmen in an action movie. Yes, this movie is about what would happen if Nicolas Cage played Nicolas Cage in a quasi-autobiographical movie that turns into an action movie.