7 posts tagged with film by mediareport.
Displaying 1 through 7 of 7.
Movie: Viking
A sly, deadpan Canadian comedy about a team of non-astronauts sent into isolation in a desert on Earth because their personalities match the members of an actual ongoing Mars mission that's having interpersonal conflicts. The earthbound team is tasked with mirroring the real astronauts' behavior and coming up with solutions to the Martian team's psychological problems. 100% on RT with 9 reviews, free on Tubi and other options, mostly in French with English subtitles.
Movie: Dangerous Liaisons
Stephen Frears' 1988 adaptation of Laclos' 1782 French novel stars Glenn Close and John Malkovich as two awful aristocrats scheming to destroy morally upright Michelle Pfeiffer, with young innocents Uma Thurman and Keanu Reeves as collateral damage. Nominated for Best Picture, it won 3 Oscars, including the costume and production design awards. 94/83 on RT. Includes rape and sexual manipulation. Also includes a Keanu/Malkovich swordfight. [more inside]
Movie: Adam
Moroccan filmmaker Maryam Touzani's 2019 debut is a quiet, understated exploration of the evolving relationship between 2 women in a poor neighborhood in Casablanca: the unwed, pregnant Samia, who's looking for work and a place to stay, and Abla, a widowed baker with a young daughter. Beautifully and sensually filmed, with excellent performances, a sharp sense of place and a neat thread about baking running through. Trailer. 87% at Rotten Tomatoes. [more inside]
Movie: The Day After Trinity
This Oscar-nominated documentary interviews the men and women who were at Los Alamos during work on the first atomic bomb. Includes the secrecy, lab alcohol-fueled social scene ("their average age was 29"), footage of the bomb, the tense final preparations in a lightning storm, scientists talking about the pride, horror and/or regret they felt in both 1945 and 1981, and more. At Criterion Channel and free on YouTube. [more inside]
Movie: Victim
Basil Dearden's landmark 1961 noir about gay men in London victimized by a blackmail ring is credited with helping shift British attitudes about homosexuality. Closeted actor Dirk Bogarde plays the guilt-ridden lawyer who decides to fight back. Surprisingly thrilling, and sympathetic to a range of gay characters who are presented with minimal stereotyping (for the time). Banned from wide release in the US because Dearden refused to make concessions. 100/87 at Rotten Tomatoes, on HBO and the Criterion Channel. [more inside]
Movie: Butcher, Baker, Nightmare Maker
This psychological slasher and queer cult classic from 1982 tells the story of orphaned teen Billy (Jimmy McNichol) who becomes caught up in the twisted mind of his increasingly unhinged Aunt Cheryl (Susan Tyrrell, really going for it). It's driven by a surprisingly upfront queer subplot involving a bigoted detective who suspects Billy is part of a gay love triangle that ended in murder, and features a positive portrayal of a gay high school basketball coach along with some campy, gorey thrills. (It also lingers an awful lot on Jimmy McNichol's topless chest and butt, and includes a young Bill Paxton as a homophobic teammate.) Available on Shudder. [more inside]
Movie: The Irishman
Martin Scorsese's 3.5-hour long gangster film, released on Netflix this week and in a small number of theaters across the USA earlier this month, uses digital "de-aging" to follow the life of Frank Sheeran (Robert De Niro), who claimed on his deathbed to have been a mob hitman responsible for many murders, including that of labor boss Jimmy Hoffa (Al Pacino). [more inside]
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