It's the winter of 1937, in Memphis, Tennessee. A dispute unfolds between the Delivery family and the Antonioni family. The boss of the Delivery family, Dave, is shot and killed, and secretly sunk into a water fountain. At about that time, a Christmas show is being rehearsed at St. Michaels Church. The leader is Frank Fellow, a devout Christian. He is a steady elementary school teacher, but along with his friend Alfat, has always dreamed of standing on a Broadway stage. At that moment, a large earthquake strikes unexpectedly. When he regains consciousness, Frank is riding the train bound for heaven, with only his harmonica in his hand.
The Slumber Party Massacre wonderfully combines the suspense of its horror with its commentary on gender, creating a memorable slasher classic that began a horror trilogy entirely written and directed by women.
Two Distant Strangers (2020) centers around Carter James (Joey Bada$$) as he tries to get back home to his pitbull, Jeter, after spending a night at the apartment of his date Perri (Zaria Simone). What gets in the way of Carter reuniting with his dog is that every time he tries to leave Perri’s apartment, he is killed by police and wakes up back in her bed in a never-ending cycle. It addresses the issue of police brutality which rightly has been in the public eye more and more with the unjust deaths caused at the hands of law enforcement.
For the most part, 'Sweet Girl' recycles tired hyper masculine revenge tropes, but a surprise twist in the end turns it into a female-centric revenge film.
In a post-Gamergate media landscape, it's ambitious to have a film confront the harsh reactions to women in gaming from a comedic lens.
Barry Jenkins' masterpiece holds up as the story of a lifetime centered on the intersection of Blackness and gay identity.
Netflix's new thriller Apex, starring Charlize Theron, puts a twist on survival horror. Despite its setting in the beautiful- yet-dangerous Australian wilderness, Apex is not a movie about man vs. nature. Instead, it’s woman vs. man. While checking out the title card and its unpretentious Netflix release might lead viewers to believe Apex is just another celebrity project churned out of the streaming machine, Apex - whether by luck or by intention - is a consistently harrowing film about the reality of being a woman in a public space.
