Movie Reviews and Previews Miles Teller in Bleed For This Have you ever seen a boxing movie? Then congratulations, you’ve seen Miles Teller’s new movie, Bleed For This. Based on real events surrounding boxer Vinny Pazienza, Bleed For This is one of those biopics that, despite being essentially true, seems too cliché to be anything but a Hollywood By Sarah • Nov 18, 2016 11:28 am
Movie Reviews and Previews Jessica Chastain keeps wearing them down The first trailer for The Zookeeper’s Wife, Jessica Chastain’s next movie—after Miss Sloane, which comes out in December—has just been released and it’s given me a whole new anxiety. And that is: What happens to zoo animals during war?! This is not the point of By Sarah • Nov 17, 2016 02:39 pm
Movie Reviews and Previews Tom Hiddleston in a gorilla suit Tom Hiddleston made his appearance on Jimmy Kimmel Live last night, to promote the new trailer for Kong: Skull Island, and he did it in a gorilla suit. So the new Tom Hiddleston formula is Dancing = Bad, Gorilla Suit = Good. Okay. Obviously, this is the kind of any-means-necessary capital-T Try By Sarah • Nov 17, 2016 01:32 pm
TV Updates Weird Science TV Over the course of his career RDJ has done just about everything, but one thing he hasn’t done is direct. Well that’s about to change as yesterday it was announced that he is going to make his directorial debut, and no, he’s not directing himself in a By Sarah • Nov 17, 2016 12:34 pm
Movie Reviews and Previews The Handmaiden is weird heist erotica After sojourning into making English-language films with (the highly underrated) Stoker, South Korean filmmaker Park Chan-wook returns to Korea, the place and the language, for his new feature film, The Handmaiden. Adapted by Park and Chung Seo-kyung (also co-writer of Lady Vengeance) from Sarah Waters’ novel Fingersmith, The Handmaiden reimagines By Sarah • Nov 15, 2016 02:53 pm
Movie Reviews and Previews Natalie Portman’s second Oscar Joanna, our resident Natalie Portman apologist, is backing Portman in the Best Actress Oscar race, which is actually competitive this year. Portman is campaigning for Jackie—the last time Portman campaigned, for Black Swan, I was so turned off I started calling her “Natalie Never”— Pablo Larrain’s biopic of By Sarah • Nov 15, 2016 12:07 pm
Movie Reviews and Previews Patriot’s Day and the escapism bounce I’ve said it since the night of the US election—movies are about to get a big escapism bounce. It’s already started, with the first post-election weekend posting box office numbers almost 50% higher than the same frame last year, and it will continue to affect movie turnout By Sarah • Nov 15, 2016 11:22 am
Movie Reviews and Previews Beauty and the CATFACE MCHORNSWAGGLER After the last week, the live-action Beauty and the Beast is looking like more and more of a sure thing. People are going to be desperate for this kind of escape—indeed, already are— and fantasy films will benefit most of all. It’s into this atmosphere of conflict and By Sarah • Nov 14, 2016 12:13 pm
Movie Reviews and Previews Ghost in the Shell is trying to erase its roots The first trailer for Ghost in the Shell starring Scarlett Johansson has been released, and it checks all the boxes for a potential blockbuster: great visuals, slick action beats, electronic/rock cover of a classic song, Scarlett Johansson’s nearly naked body. The movie certainly looks cool enough, with some By Sarah • Nov 14, 2016 10:41 am
Movie Reviews and Previews Well this looks crazy The teaser trailer for Valerian: City of a Thousand Planets was just released and it looks insane, in both the “cool” sense and the “divorced from reality” sense. This movie comes from Fifth Element director Luc Besson, and it looks of a piece with The Fifth Element—totally bonkers but By Sarah • Nov 10, 2016 03:18 pm
Movie Reviews and Previews Andrew Garfield in Hacksaw Ridge Desmond Doss, played by Andrew Garfield with earnest sincerity and a ludicrous Southern accent, was the first conscientious objector—or “collaborator”, in his words—to win the Medal of Honor. He did so by saving dozens of lives at the Battle of Okinawa, despite carrying no weapons or even touching By Sarah • Nov 10, 2016 12:27 pm
Movie Reviews and Previews Fox is having an X-Man problem So let’s just get this out of the way: That happened. I don’t know what to say. Except—I’m sorry. For all of us, but mostly for those who now legitimately fear for their rights, and even their lives. We’ll get through this, but it’s By Sarah • Nov 09, 2016 12:39 pm
Movie Reviews and Previews Nicolas Cage in USS Indianapolis: Men of Courage Let’s be very clear—the story of the sinking of the USS Indianapolis and the survivors’ subsequent four day nightmare in shark-infested waters is one of the most compelling survival stories from World War II. It’s the kind of story that begs for cinematic treatment, and it would By Sarah • Nov 09, 2016 10:59 am
Movie Reviews and Previews But can Rami Malek sing? The Queen movie/Freddie Mercury biopic has not had a swell time in development. First Sacha Baron Cohen was going to star as Queen frontman Mercury, then he wasn’t, then Ben Whishaw was going to do it, then he wasn’t, and now Deadline is reporting that the latest By Sarah • Nov 08, 2016 01:30 pm
Movie Reviews and Previews Gael Garcia Bernal in Desierto The last time I struggled to see a movie my patience paid off and I saw Hell or High Water, one of the year’s best films (watch it be a surprise Best Picture nominee). So I was hoping, after some difficulty getting to Desierto, that it might pay off By Sarah • Nov 07, 2016 02:18 pm
TV Updates TV Review: Netflix’s The Crown The Crown is allegedly the most expensive TV show ever made— definitely the most expensive for Netflix to date—and its hefty price tag is obvious from the opening moments of the first episode. Every cent is up there on screen, with locations that take in the plains of South By Sarah • Nov 07, 2016 11:23 am
