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 mischievous, hedonistic nihilism of the slacker generation. And the soundtrack. THAT SOUNDTRACK! T2 had biiiiiiiiiggg shoes to fill. Though, as T2 sells itself as a meditation on aging and the changing world, it had the potent
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 Walken are top billed, but I'd be remiss to not mention Brad Pitt, whose cameo as a stoner roommate is hilarious). This movie has action, suspense, comedy, and as the title implies, plenty of romance. Although the film's
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 dying father – a boxer killed by a crime boss for refusing to throw a fight – to use his brains, rather than his fists to solve problems. Matt’s rationalization is that he is following the letter of the promise by way of hi
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 emotional nature). This subgenre is unsurprisingly robust, accounting for the idealization of the road trip. Road films aren’t always critical successes (anyone remember the odd pairing of Seth Rogen and Barbra Streisand in
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 third corpse, a half-buried Jane Doe (Olwen Kelly) whose naked body is perfectly intact and seemingly free of any wounds. The mysterious Jane Doe is handed off to a father-and-son team of coroners, Tommy (Brian Cox) and
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 from Back to the Future) as they have sci-fi adventures across multiple dimensions. The premise may sound simple enough, but the show is really an existential crisis doled out in 22 minute chunks. Home Movies (1999-2004
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 Upon a Time in the West movies, which are still popular to this day. While Leone’s work is the top of the top, there are still plenty of other Spaghetti Westerns worth checking out. Here are five classics in the genre th
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. Weirdo supernatural stuff. Murder. What’s not to love? Grade: A- In a Nutshell: The story picks up approximately 25 years after the ending of Season 2, in line with Laura Palmer's statement that she would see Agent C
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 The Breakfast Club. The movie is funny and sweet and about as 80's as you can get. A Simple Plan (1998) – I recently watched the first season of Fargo and it reminded me of how great Billy Bob Thornton is. This Sam Raimi-d
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 Sansa’s possible allies, Ramsay was able to make manifest all of the acts that we had previously held our breath about—sighing in relief when someone, Hound or Imp, swooped in to save her. Despite the fact that the showr
Title: Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017) Genre: Superhero Film/High School Comedy Director: Jon Watts Stars (primary actors): Tom Holland, Michael Keaton, Marisa Tomei, Robert Downey Jr. Bias: Aside from the normal “comic nerd” disclaimer, it’s worth noting that Spider-Man is probably my favorite comic book character. Grade: A- In A Nutshell: Peter Parker (Holland), aka Spider-Man, fresh off of his introduction to the superhero world in Captain America: Civil War, struggles to find his place in a larger world of superheroes. After being sidelined by Tony Stark (Downey Jr.), he discovers a criminal gang – led by the Vulture (Keaton) - stealing alien technology and selling it as massively destruct
Emma Greenleaf 1) XX (2017) - I’m so glad this film is finally available to everyone. I first watched it on a “less than legal” website because I had heard hype about it from the film festivals it showed at. It is a four part horror anthology told by women, and from women’s points of view. Something that’s more revolutionary than it should be makes this film a real standout. Some are hits, some are misses, but if you don’t stay until the end, you’ll be missing out. Featuring a film by indie music darling St. Vincent, this film is definitely worth your time. 2) It’s Only the End of the World (2016) - Melodrama’s modern day prince, Xavier Dolan, has a new movie out and it’s one of his most amb
There’s not a lot we know about Spider-Man: Homecoming, the first solo Spider-Man film set squarely in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (picking up from his debut in 2016’s Captain America: Civil War). And, let’s be honest, there’s not a lot you need to know going in. Marvel does a great job of translating the often-confusing half-century of backstory for their characters into an entertaining movie-going experience that draws from that continuity without requiring an encyclopedic knowledge of it. If, however, you’re interested in diving into some of the source material beforehand (and it’s pretty awesome, so you should) this is a handy guide to some of the stories that writers Jonathan Goldstei
Title: Personal Shopper (2017) Genre: The genre of this film is hard to pin down. IMDB classifies it as a drama, mystery, and thriller. However, I would more specifically classify it as a ghost story melodrama. Director: Olivier Assayas Stars (Primary Actors): Kristen Stewart Bias: Just to get this out of the way, I may be the biggest Kristen Stewart fan in existence. I make it a point to see every film she is involved in. But, with this in mind, I definitely do not like every film she has done. Twilight was a part of my childhood, so I like it mostly for the nostalgia factor. I personally feel that she is one of the best actresses working today and has finally gotten over being seen only as
