Pyre (2023)

Crazy Rich Asians. The title is tacky, but the actual movie is both heartwarming and cosmopolitan. After all, it takes place in Singapore!

The Chronology of Water is a raw, honest, and unforgiving portrayal of how an abusive childhood ripples throughout one’s life. It is definitely the best movie I’ve seen Imogen Poots in. And even though Kristen Stewart has a long acting career for her young age, her directorial skills in this film show a lot of promise. Her feature debut as a director, an adaptation of Lidia Yuknavitch's critically acclaimed 2011 autobiographical memoir, is fully immersive, mesmerizing, and impressive.

Stranger Things season 4 ups the ante to the max! The show’s scope has been expanding for the past three seasons, and boy do they give us a spectacle to behold. As much as I love spectacle, this season occasionally buckles under the weight of its own ambition.

A throwback to the last months of the 20th century in this comedy film.

The height of subversive horror cinema is Jennifer’s Body. No, I will never budge on that. Yes, Cabin in The Woods is funny, Scream is very well made, and the Scary Movie franchise is …. there. But nothing is quite as satisfying as watching the teenage succubus that is Jennifer Check rip apart boys. In the post #metoo era where the industry is far from changed, watching revenge flicks like these is probably one of the most cathartic experiences due to the slow-moving progress being made.

Striving for validation. Let’s be frank….we ALL want to be successful. Whatever we put our efforts into, ideally it is to make it culminate in the best possible results across the board, especially when it comes to what career path we are pursuing. We WANT to excel, to shine, to advance, to be acknowledged. AND…let’s hope that we also wish to better everyone around us to boot. However, what occurs when those whom we initially put our trust in suddenly become a burden instead of a boon? Do we falter under the weight of rejection? Or STAND UP for WHO WE ARE?