Movie Reviews and Previews Moana is just delightful I saw Moana Monday night and have not stopped listening to the songs since. All the songs are credited to Mark Mancina, who also composed the score; Opetaia Foa’i, of the Oceanic band Te Vaka; and Broadway star and alleged heartthrob Lin-Manuel Miranda, and as much as I By Sarah • Nov 23, 2016 10:42 am
Movie Reviews and Previews Ang Lee’s Billy Lynn’s Long Halftime Walk Ang Lee’s $40 million camera test, Billy Lynn’s Long Halftime Walk, ate it hardcore at the box office this past weekend, which is maybe unfair because the movie isn’t THAT bad. Based on a novel by Ben Fountain—adapted by Jean-Christophe Castelli—Billy Lynn is a By Sarah • Nov 22, 2016 04:10 pm
Movie Reviews and Previews Justin Timberlake is a terrible voice actor Here’s Justin Timberlake promoting Trolls in Australia this weekend. Here’s my review of Trolls. Reviving the soul-sucking demon-toys, Trolls is set inside an acid flashback at a rave you went to in 1997. It’s bright, it’s BRIGHT, it’s so bright your retinas will By Sarah • Nov 21, 2016 01:30 pm
Harry Potter Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them: let the beasts be free Lainey can’t believe I’m Gryffindor. We had a whole conversation about it—she thinks I should be Ravenclaw-but if you need proof, Lainey is a loud and proud Slytherin, and Gryffindors live to cockblock Slytherins, which will explain my review of Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find By Sarah • Nov 21, 2016 11:31 am
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 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 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 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 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
