Sorry to Bother You (directed by Boots Riley, writer of Superbad) was a movie Ray Bradbury would love. I was such a huge Fahrenheit 451 fan having taught it for years and Sorry to Bother You certainly had the dystopian society function on high. In Fahrenheit 451, Midlred is addicted to violent tv shows that… Continue reading Sorry to Bother You: A Movie Ray Bradbury Would Dig
Category: dark comedy independent film
First Post Oscars Film: “The Party”, New Term ‘Bittershort’
Has anyone else taken stock of the people around them, people you encounter in a store or on a street, and realized they’re tense and sour? I’m not saying everyone, but I can confidently say, MANY. My arm chair psychologist theory is that we’ve entered a period where well off people have lost meaningful purpose… Continue reading First Post Oscars Film: “The Party”, New Term ‘Bittershort’
Ghost World and the Mysteries It Created
The movie Ghost World used to come up in conversation with the last man I dated in New York, who from this day forward will be nicknamed my Saturday Night Boyfriend. My SNB was (actually ‘is’, he’s still alive and well and needed a job recommendation to a water park from me this past spring)… Continue reading Ghost World and the Mysteries It Created
You’ve earned the right…Moscow, Belgium
In an attempt to preserve my budget, I talked myself out of seeing Toni Erdmann a second time and instead did a library borrow of a foreign film called Moscow, Belgium. I know, I know, it’s old, from 2008, but the familial conflicts so timeless and universal, that it could have been made yesterday. I… Continue reading You’ve earned the right…Moscow, Belgium
20th Century Women: At least one Goddess
Please listen to one of my favorite Jazz singer’s Gregory Porter as you read this blog: https://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=gregroy+porter+time+is+ticking&view=detail&mid=C79BF22AB3363629ABC9C79BF22AB3363629ABC9&FORM=VIRE The best thing a movie can do to you is make you realize, as Gregory Porter sings, that time is ticking. And 20th Century Women does just that, quietly sneaking up on you to say, “Pssst, what are… Continue reading 20th Century Women: At least one Goddess
Youth surpasses Joy (Not an adage for real life!)
I snuck in two more films before the ball dropped and only one is squeezing into my top ten. While “Joy” had all the ingredients of a master class film-O’Russell and his wrecking crew of actors and actresses, a few clunky scenes took the charge out of the true story of a poor housewife makes… Continue reading Youth surpasses Joy (Not an adage for real life!)
The Big Short Lands a Top Ten Spot
Steve Carell The Big Short is worth seeing foremost due to Steve Carell’s evolution as a serious actor which is an absolute thrill to observe. Christian Bale’s chameleon expertise commands the entire screen with Popeye arms and a penchant for hard rock. Ryan Gosling’s solid as a smarmy dude, his only misstep ever being the… Continue reading The Big Short Lands a Top Ten Spot
A Rare Hamletesque Command: Get Thee to a ‘Tangerine’ry
Tangerine Ok, forgive the bad analogy, but since my commandments are rare outside of my workplace (evidence based essays), I had to make that announcement. Forget the nunnery baby, the world is wide wide open with Tangerine on the screen. With Tangerine, think “Clerks” run by the Santa Monica transgendered. Think “Dope” with an equally… Continue reading A Rare Hamletesque Command: Get Thee to a ‘Tangerine’ry
‘All the better to see you with’; Lily T’s Grandma has teeth, the wisdom type
Can I say that much like Fleetwood Mac, I was semi annoyed by and ignorant of the talent of Lily Tomlin throughout the 70’s and 80’s, UNTIL, I saw her incredibly nuanced portrait in Paul Weitz’s “Grandma”. Next, let me rail on the ageism that is America. I asked two friends to go to this… Continue reading ‘All the better to see you with’; Lily T’s Grandma has teeth, the wisdom type
AntiDope for the Last Harried Week of School
There’s only one thing worse than the stress of educating and entertaining kids during the last week of school (picture a manic blonde in pigtails tap dancing, “I’m dancing as fast as I can!”) and that’s being alone in an eerily quiet building with just adults for the week after, some you’ll never see again… Continue reading AntiDope for the Last Harried Week of School