Upon my latest review of the award-winning 2017 gothic psychological coming-of-age drama The Book of Birdie, I had the wonderful opportunity of having a chat with Elizabeth E. Schuch (pronounced shook, or “like a sneeze”, as she hilariously put it). Let me just say this was certainly a shining experience in my job as a critic and film lover.
Category: Features
Title: Ordinary People
Year: 1981
Starring: Timothy Hutton, Donald Sutherland, Mary Tyler Moore,
Director: Robert Redford
Runtime: 2 hrs 4 mins
I’ll give you a hint: the key is in the title.
Major Spoilers ahead.
In this reviewer’s opinion, You Were Never Really Here is undoubtedly the masterpiece of 2018 so far, so much so that it’s hard to imagine any film surpassing it. Crafted with a sense of immaculate style that assaults your every sense, it tells the story of Joe, a veteran suffering severe PTSD that stretches all the way back to a scarring and abusive childhood, as he is tasked with saving an underage girl from the sex trade. But when things go wrong, he uncovers a conspiracy that, as some plot descriptions have said, could lead either to his death or his awakening.
For a simple review of the film, I refer to my earlier review. What I want to do here is dissect the film, to some degree, in order to aid others in seeing the deeper meanings that unfold as the plot of the film moves along.
Past roles from 2017’s potential Oscar nominees shine on Tubi in November. Jessica Chastain (Molly’s Game) and Gary Oldman (Darkest Hour) star in John Hillcoat’s Lawless (2012), alongside Tom Hardy and Shia LaBeouf. A trio films starring Willem Dafoe (The Florida Project) arrive with Shadow of the Vampire (2000), Tom and Viv (1993) and Mississippi Burning (1988).
Also new this month are Werner Herzog’s celebrated documentary Grizzly Man (2005), Mark Neveldine and Brian Taylor’s energetic action movie Gamer (2009) and unsettling thriller Hard Candy (2005).
Fans of off-kilter comedies have new options to watch. 50/50 (2011) combines laughter with grief and features Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Seth Rogen and Anna Kendrick. David Wain’s They Came Together has Paul Rudd and Amy Poehler sparring in a rom-com spoof. Danny DeVito directs and stars in the blackly comic Throw Momma from the Train (1987).
Classic movies may be disappearing from other streaming services, but Tubi is growing their collection from Hollywood’s golden age. Screwball comedy fans rejoice: Carole Lombard and William Powell spark in Gregory La Cava’s My Man Godfrey (1936), and Gary Cooper and Barbara Stanwyck ignite in Ball of Fire (1941). A duo of William Wyler films arrives with the drama The Little Foxes starring Bette Davis and noir Dead End (1937) with Humphrey Bogart, Sylvia Sydney and Joel McCrea. Orson Welles has roles in front of and behind the camera for another essential noir The Stranger (1946).
Here’s the rundown of the arrivals and departures specifically:
With the third season of Twin Peaks coming to a spectacular, head-scratching close, we thought we’d look back at the journey that the show has taken us on, as well as its own awe-inspiring transformation from a simple yet compelling murder mystery, into realms beyond life and death, beyond space and time… that is to say, whatever it can be called now.
We had the distinct pleasure of going to the LVLUP Expo this past weekend there we were able to speak with three distinct and very different artists. One, a talented illustrator who goes by the guise of niapuddi. A body pillow and crafter of customer stickers and jewelry who calls herself LilyPop. And lastly, a magnificent cosplayer who’s known all around those circles as Steff Von Schweetz. Below is our transcription of the interviews I conducted where I ask about some of their inspiration and their favorite films.
Since it’s inception in 2012 A24 has been the model for critical consistency in terms of quality. I’m here to tell you why this makes them perhaps the best studio currently going. To understand this we must first understand the studio’s release history and where it all started. So let’s do just that?