Title: T2 Trainspotting (2017) Genre: Drama/Comedy Director: Danny Boyle Stars (primary actors): Ewan McGregor, Jonny Lee Miller, Robert Carlyle, Ewen Bremmer, Anjela Niedyalkova Bias: I had my doubts about this one, but could not resist as this 20th anniversary sequel to the seminal Trainspotting happened to be playing in the EXACT same theater that I had seen the original in as a youth. The first film had been hypnotic: innovative, stylish, & political, capturing the mischi

In honor of the world premier of Kathryn Bigelow's Detroit, our watchlist this week is going to be focused on films that were either set in or shot in Detroit and the surrounding suburbs. Shelby Cadwell 1) True Romance (1993) - Written by Quentin Tarantino and directed by Tony Scott, this crime drama/romance has a pop culture pedigree that's difficult to top, and an impeccable cast to match it (Christian Slater, Patricia Arquette, Gary Oldman, Dennis Hopper, and Christopher W

Matt Murdock, aka Daredevil, the titular hero of the first of Marvel’s Netflix original series, is a man of complex contradictions. Blinded in an accident as a child, he has enhanced senses, including a sonar-like “radar sense” that allows him 360° awareness of his surroundings. A lawyer specializing in defending the innocent, he wears a mask to confront criminals as “the Devil of Hell’s Kitchen,” acting as an outlaw vigilante. In doing so, he also breaks a promise to his dyi

Whether or not a road trip is included in your summer plans, there is just something about them that is synonymous with the warmest season. What is it about grabbing your closest friends or family, packing up the trunk, and getting out of town that just screams summer? No one can know for sure. Tensions rise in the heat, but so does vulnerability and openness as these movies show us. On screen, road trips are a time for breakthroughs and discoveries (often of a sexual or emot

Title: The Autopsy of Jane Doe (2016) Genre: Horror, Mystery Director: André Øvredal Stars: Brian Cox, Emile Hirsch, Olwen Kelly Bias: After watching Dead Snow (2009), I’m generally skeptical of any Norwegian’s attempt to make a horror movie. Grade: C+ In a Nutshell: The Autopsy of Jane Doe (2016) opens with the aftermath of a triple homicide. A couple was brutally murdered in their own home, yet their house shows no sign of a forced entry. In the basement, the police find a

Shelby Cadwell Rick & Morty (2013-current) - With Season 3 of Rick & Morty premiering on July 30th, now is the perfect time to watch or re-watch the first two seasons on Hulu. This science fiction animated show from creators Justin Roiland and Dan Harmon is one of the best shows on t.v. right now, and season three promises to be just as darkly hilarious as fans have come to expect the show to be. Basically, the show follows the titular characters (loosely based on Doc & Marty

Between the early 1960s and late 1970s, European filmmakers made some 600 Westerns, a great many of them in Italy. Italian takes on the genre were called “Spaghetti Westerns,” and often featured a quiet, drifting gunslinger, two competing gangs, and huge, blood-soaked body counts. The director Sergio Leone pioneered this style of Western, with his Dollars trilogy (A Fistful of Dollars [1964], For a Few Dollars More [1965], and The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly [1966]) and Once

Title: Twin Peaks (2017) Genre: TV Horror/Drama Director: David Lynch Stars (primary actors): Kyle MacLachlan, David Lynch, Miguel Ferrer, Laura Dern, Naomi Watts, Madchin Amick, Sheryl Lee, Dana Ashbrook, & so many more. Bias: Being fond of the original two seasons that aired in the early 1990s, I was thrilled to learn of this continuation. As a die-hard fan of Lynch's work, I must confess that it would be strange were I not to enjoy this series. Dark humor. Americana.

Matt Linton Pretty in Pink (1986) – One of the great things about the recent Spider-Man: Homecoming is that it draws inspiration from the 80's high school films of John Hughes. Hughes wrote, but didn’t direct Pretty in Pink (that was Howard Deutsch, who would also helm another personal favorite John Hughes movie, Some Kind of Wonderful). The cast includes Andrew McCarthy, Jon Cryer, Annie Potts, James Spader, and completed the Molly Ringwald trifecta of Sixteen Candles and Th

The seventh season of Game of Thrones will air Sunday, July 16th on HBO, and with the upcoming premiere, I’d like to take a moment to recap season six. In 2015, Game of Thrones was harshly criticized by many sources for having a “woman problem.” This line of criticism peaked with the Ramsay/Sansa storyline, which, for many viewers and critics, became a figurative line in the sand. It seemed clear to many that Ramsay was the new Joffrey, and far from the prying eyes of any of