Award Season Campaigning Regina King’s potential Oscar year Regina King’s engaging, resonant historical biopic, One Night in Miami, is one of the early standouts of the Oscar race this year. It debuted at the Venice Film Festival, then played TIFF, kicking off a traditional Oscar campaign in a very non-traditional year (it will premiere on Christmas day By Sarah • Nov 20, 2020 12:41 pm
Business of Hollywood Wonder Woman gives up, will drop on HBO Max The last great question mark for the theatrical release calendar of 2020 was Wonder Woman 1984, and whether or not Warner Brothers would move back its release again. The COVID situation in the US has reached a new critical mass, with 250,000 dead and new cases and hospitalizations rising By Sarah • Nov 19, 2020 09:53 am
Equality Issues Marvel’s Indigenous Makeover It’s National Native American Heritage Month in the US, and to honor Native America, Marvel is fixing its face by issuing a special edition anthology written and illustrated by Indigenous artists, giving (a few of) their Native characters an Indigenous update. The book is called Marvel Voices: Indigenous Voices, By Sarah • Nov 18, 2020 12:52 pm
TV Updates The Five Filthiest Reads in The Crown The Crown season four introduces Princess Diana and brings the drama, giving the show a new lease on life, but it also delivers some sick burns on the royal family. More than any of the previous seasons, The Crown season four is the least interested in the myth of the By Sarah • Nov 18, 2020 09:47 am
Movie Reviews and Previews The LEGO Star Wars Holiday Special is for kids In the grand tradition of all two (2) Star Wars holiday specials, The LEGO Star Wars Holiday Special is not great. But unlike the original holiday special, which is unwatchable garbage, The LEGO Star Wars Holiday Special is at least a coherent story. And, at only forty-five minutes long, it By Sarah • Nov 17, 2020 12:40 pm
TV Updates The Crown is better than ever, thanks to Diana In season three, The Crown began to show some wear, being not as engaging as the first two seasons—especially season one—and not as well-balanced in its storylines. But in season four, The Crown comes roaring back, reenergized by the arrival of Princess Diana, much as the real Diana By Sarah • Nov 17, 2020 10:31 am
TV Updates WandaVision bounces WandaVision is the latest entity to give up on 2020, as anyone would. The Marvel series was expected to debut on Disney+ “this year”, but they’re still completing filming of the last couple episodes of the series (not to mention ongoing post-production on the rest of it). I said By Sarah • Nov 13, 2020 11:23 am
Movie Reviews and Previews Grindelwald upgrade Days after Johnny Depp stepped down from playing Grindelwald in Fantastic Beasts 3, Mads Mikkelsen is in talks to take over the role. I say this as a one-time hardcore Depp fan: Mads Mikkelsen is a better actor and this is an upgrade. Casting him as a villain is a By Sarah • Nov 12, 2020 11:04 am
Movie Reviews and Previews Glenn Close and Amy Adams in Hillbilly Elegy J.D. Vance’s memoir, Hillbilly Elegy, was a 2016 bestseller and was held up as an explainer for the newly minted Trump’s America and the “economic anxiety” that precipitated it, downplaying white resentment of a Black president and instead emphasizing the blue-red swing of rural central America as By Sarah • Nov 10, 2020 02:58 pm
TV Updates WandaVision gets its close up In anticipation of its premiere on Disney+ later this winter, WandaVision covers Entertainment Weekly. Even though the profile bills EW’s access as “unprecedented”—there have been Marvel set visits before—this is a pretty standard cover feature for Marvel. They give away tidbits but hardly illuminate the whole project By Sarah • Nov 10, 2020 12:47 pm
Movie Reviews and Previews Happiest Season has a SPECTACULAR house One thing we still have to look forward to this year is the holiday rom-com Happiest Season, starring Mackenzie Davis and Superior Hollywood (K)ris, Kristen Stewart. I was already looking forward to this film as an escapist delight this holiday season, and now that I am (mostly) unclenched, I By Sarah • Nov 10, 2020 12:06 pm
Top Reads Johnny Depp leaves Fantastic Beasts The election dominated the news last week—as it should—but one thing did manage to crack the all-encompassing vote watch on Friday, and no, it was not chartthrob Steve Kornacki and his big board. It was a statement issued by Johnny Depp, that he has been asked to step By Sarah • Nov 09, 2020 11:00 am
Kamala Harris Election weekend in America (one perfect day) Last week, I wrote about the rather dismal mood in America on election night. On Saturday, though, we got a break, or, those of us who voted for Joe Biden and Kamala Harris got a break, anyway. The election was called for Joe Biden on Saturday, and it turned into By Sarah • Nov 09, 2020 09:18 am
Movie Reviews and Previews Tenet goes home In the US, Tenet was released on September 3. Yesterday, Warner Brothers announced it will be available for home video and on demand on December 15. That is 15 weeks of theatrically exclusive play. All the niceties have been observed, Warner Brothers flushed one of their most valuable 2020 titles By Sarah • Nov 06, 2020 11:04 am
Movie Reviews and Previews Star Wars Holiday Special Redux The 1978 Star Wars Holiday Special is one of the most notoriously bad things to ever exist. It’s so terrible George Lucas attempted to wipe it off the face of the earth, but copies remained in the wild, circulating through garage sales (which is where I first found it) By Sarah • Nov 06, 2020 10:47 am
Election night in America (everything sucks) It’s the morning after election night in America, and the race is too close to call. Everyone said to expect that, but there is still something particularly demoralizing about it. I guess I just hoped more people would outright reject the cruelty of the last four years, but then, By Sarah • Nov 04, 2020 09:17 am
