We are drawn to new films for a variety of reasons. Many times, the pull is a particular actor or director whose work we idolize and anticipate. For others, it is the subject matter that is appealing, dramatized insight into politics, stories, and viewpoints. For others, it is simply the similarities to old films that…
Double Take is a series in which Anna Swanson and Meg Shields sit down and yell at each other about the controversial, uncomfortable, and contentious corners of cinema. And when it comes to controversial, uncomfortable, and contentious, there is only one holy grail, and it’s covered in glitter, champagne, and [redacted]. Joined by fellow trash…
In the No Time To Die Countdown, Jake Tropila takes a look back at every Bond film – official and unofficial – in anticipation of the release of the latest entry. With Connery officially bidding the franchise adieu for a second time, Broccoli and Saltzman had no choice but to recast 007 yet again. Many…
It’s hard to think of a more fitting title for Chinese filmmaker Song Fang’s sophomore feature than The Calming. A spiritual sister to Chantal Akerman’s classic portrait of female solitude, Les Rendez-vous d’Anna, The Calming follows a recently single woman filmmaker as she travels around China, Hong Kong, and Japan, showing her work and stopping…
Queerly Ever After is a bi-monthly column where I take a look at LGBT+ films that gave their characters a romantic happily-ever-after. There will be spoilers. Also, don’t forget to buy your Queerly Ever After merch right here. In Say Yes, a woman, Lily (Leah McKendrick), dying of cancer decides that she wants her husband…
Even from the very first scene, 180° Rule is lathered with a sense of dread and unease, setting the stage for a divisive exploration of both grief and atonement on the background of customary Iranian traditions. Farnoosh Samadi’s first feature is a technically impressive debut but unfortunately falls short of being an accomplished piece of dramatic…
For a film that takes place mostly within the confines of a warplane cockpit, Shadow In The Cloud plays out as a ferociously entertaining thrill ride. Anchored by a strong performance from Chloë Grace Moretz, director Roseanne Liang takes an interesting concept and transforms it into something that feels grander and more nuanced than what…
It’s time to spice up your life with Dune, the latest from co-writer and director Denis Villeneuve. Yes, this has been tried before. David Lynch took a stab at the dense book of the same name in the ’80s to divisive results. Fitting, then, that another cerebral filmmaker with devoted followers is giving it another…
This product began two years ago while I was working as Creative Director for a startup company who developed an A.I. mobile video editing software. I immedietely saw the potential of the technology and came up with ways of how to utilize it to help progress the film industry forward. AuditionMe.LA is the first product…
Tony Scott’s American Crime Thriller True Romance was released to strong critical acclaim in 1993. Despite an underwhelming box office performance, the film has since become recognised as one of the greatest Hollywood films of the 1990s. True Romance consists of the fusion of Tony Scott’s direction, and the screenwriting of Quentin Tarantino. This was…
Alcohol takes on different shapes throughout our lives. When you’re a child, it’s a mystic and forbidden signifier of adulthood. When you’re coming of age, it’s a bitterly effective inlet to your best and worst moments. But somewhere along these lines, as we amass boozy, immodest, and irrevocably honest souvenirs of our former selves, our…
The Toronto International Film Festival has always been a champion of emerging filmmakers, and the 2020 edition of the festival proves to be no exception. With Violation and Beans, coming from Canadian filmmakers Madeleine Sims-Fewer/Dusty Mancinelli and Tracey Deer, respectively, the festival has programmed two films that examine traumatic experiences in vastly different ways. Both…
Director Ayumu Watanabe’s adaptation of a manga by Daisuke Igarashi, who also wrote the film’s screenplay, Children of the Sea is a stunningly beautiful and deeply philosophical story chronicling one young girl’s saltwater-soaked summer. Featuring comets crashing into the sea, boys raised by dugongs, and enough kaleidoscopic imagery to power your next drug trip, Children…
There are few things more powerful to a cause than a symbol. Think of any movement, any product, any company, and you will likely be able to conjure an image associated with it. The reason these symbols are so powerful is because they can convey a multitude of things in one succinct image that can…
The name’s Bond. Bondathon. With 24 official James Bond films to conquer before No Time To Die hits theaters (someday!), Bond fan Anna Swanson and Bond newbie Meg Shields are diving deep on 007. With shaken martinis and beluga caviar in hand, the Double Take duo is making their way through the Bond corpus by…
We sat down with Italo-Slovenian director Martin Turk following the screening of his latest Don’t Forget to Breathe at this year’s online edition of the Sarajevo Film Festival. In this interview, he discusses the sanguine aftertaste of young love, his complex identity, and the challenges of cinema in the COVID-era. Don’t Forget to Breathe, his second feature is a…
Jim Carrey is a performer who can capture vastly different audiences through his performances, be them on more dramatic or comedic fronts. His work as an actor has always shown a wonderful level of range. Since his early roles leading to working on In Living Color, Jim Carrey has been a great comedic voice, and…
Malaise is a hard rut to get out of. We all slide too far into the numbing sameness of life sometimes, perhaps because we’ve been overloaded and are trying to pare things down or we’re simply confused about where to go next. It’s a disconcerting feeling that can make life seem slightly out of reach,…
With COVID-19 delaying practically ever film and TV premiere – much of which has only just begun filming or has been moved to 2021 altogether – many have been left without their most anticipated and their most ritualistic. American Horror Story is one of those series that was unable to escape the pandemic’s effects, its…
“Cultural Awareness 101,” says the scrappy chalkboard as two eccentric figures dance their way through a sex lesson that widely resembles a Discovery Channel documentary on wild animal mating rituals. Their audience is a group of bewildered foreigners who have been bundled together into a classroom in the middle of the Scottish Outer Hebrides, the…
Commencing it’s North American festival run at the forty-fifth edition of the Toronto International Film Festival, One Night In Miami represents Academy-Award winning actress Regina King’s feature-length directorial debut, and is based on the titular play by Kemp Powers. Set primarily in a single motel room the night after Cassius Clay’s world championship win, the…