French Exit, starring Michelle Pfeiffer and Lucas Hedges, follows a broke socialite and her son in the new film from Azazel Jacobs. Frances Price (Michelle Pfeiffer) had plans “to die before the money ran out.” Alas, this was not to be. Insolvent and widowed at the start of the film, the Manhattan socialite decides to move to Paris. The mere premise has all the makes of a comedy but instead, it’s a drama. Frances could…
"New York FF 2020: French Exit"Tag: Danielle Macdonald
I Am Woman lifts up its subject, Helen Reddy, while at the same time also suffering from the same problems that plague other musical biopics. A comeback major musical performance, some text on screen, and fade out to the credits. Walk Hard was supposed to solve the problem with musical biopics. Instead, filmmakers have not learned their lessons from the cult classic. So, too, is the case here. Another problem comes by the mere fact…
"I Am Woman Tells Helen Reddy’s Story"
Skin, based on a true story, isn’t an easy subject to tackle during an era that takes place following the horrible tragedy in Charlottesville. Filmmaker Guy Nattiv is the descendant of Holocaust survivors. He grew up listening to his grandparents’ stories. It is because of this that Bryon Widner’s (Jamie Bell, who met Widner on the day of the Charlottesville rally) story caught his interest. How often do we learn of neo-Nazi’s learning to undo…
"Skin: Learning to Unlearn the Hate"
There’s no doubt that Paradise Hills has a lot of ambition with a strong feminist story it wishes to tell but manages to miss the mark somewhere along the way. The film starts with Uma (Emma Roberts) getting married to a mysterious man that we hardly know anything about. Almost immediately as any action takes place, the film jumps straight to two months earlier. This allows us to dive into the backstory of how we…
"Sundance 2019: Paradise Hills"
Bird Box paints a bleak dystopian future but there’s something about Sandra Bullock’s performance that makes us care about what’s happening. Where A Quiet Place forced people into silence lest they die, Bird Box forces one to close their eyes while outside. Imagine a world in which you can’t even appreciate the sunlight while inside. This is the world that novelist Josh Malerman creates and screenwriter Eric Heisserer adapts for the big screen. Following Malorie’s (Sandra…
"Bird Box Has Quiet Place-esque vibe"