Queen of China (Hanoi Hanna), based on Ronald Tavel’s scenario, loosely refers to the real-life radio show host who broadcast antiwar propaganda to American soldiers in Vietnam. It is Mary Woronov’s showcase piece, in which she metes out physical and psychological abuse to Susan Bottomly, Angelina “Pepper” Davis, and Ingrid Superstar in a room at the Chelsea Hotel. At first, the cast tries to accurately adhere to Tavel’s scenario, but by reel two it all falls apart—the performers begin to use their real names and exhibit a sort of residual stress disorder that permeates the rest of the film.
Hoppers is a fun ride with a deep message underneath. In true Pixar fashion, Hoppers explores the complexity of emotions and learning to be still in a world that demands fast progress. Through the main character Mabel, we are reminded what it is like to let ourselves feel big emotions. But also how not to be controlled by them.
The tale of the Snyder Cut will undoubtedly go down as one of the most fascinating stories in modern film history. It is one of the rare times that movie fans were able to rally together and champion an issue so much so that it actually came to fruition.
Despite its simple premise, “imagine being a woman,” the horror behind "Men" feels fueled by a hollow understanding of the insidiousness of misogyny.
Disguised as a cosmic highway horror, Alexander Ullom’s It Ends is a beautiful, albeit terrifying, metaphor for learning that if you want to survive adulthood and become your own person, you have to learn to let people go.
I didn’t love Expecting Amy, the mini-series following Amy Schumer’s pregnancy, but it brought up a lot of great unspoken side-effects of working and growing a human in America.
The Gates, John Burr’s new thriller film, is a disturbingly realistic portrayal of three Black twenty-somethings - Derek (Mason Gooding), Kevin (Algee Smith), and Tyon (Keith Powers), as they accidentally take a wrong turn into a gated community that’s more like a modern-day sundown town. The three friends witness a variety of crimes in their new surroundings, including an attempted homicide and an attempted rape. As they attempt to alert the authorities and do the right thing, they are thwarted at every turn by the worst horror stories of American conservatism - racist white suburbanites, reckless gun violence, corrupt police, religious mania, and a megalomaniacal pastor.
