Tallulah Directed and written by Sian Heder USA, 2016 Sian Heder (writer and producer on Netflix’s Orange is the New Black) fleshes out the intersecting lives of three different women in her intricate debut feature. Tallulah follows a rambling young woman (Ellen Page of Juno, Inception, and The East) who bucks tradition and lives in …
Video game adaptations are not only uninteresting, but they can’t possibly be anything close to their source material given that the mechanics and visceral nature of video games aren’t easily recreated on film.
It’s been a tough year for Hannah. After her disheartening experience in Iowa, she returns home to a boyfriend who’s moved on and now, her father comes out of the closet, throwing doubt on her childhood and the one stable relationship in her life, that of her parents. While it’s likely Hannah doth protest too much, her repeated claims that she’s fine and her assertion that her father’s sexuality has nothing to do with her are pleasant surprises. Her therapist (Bob Balaban) was right- Hannah’s handling the changes in her life with shocking maturity.
After the intense and draining “Sit-In”, in “Close-Up”, Girls chooses to continue the narrative not with Hannah, but Adam, following him and Mimi-Rose through their typical morning routine. It’s a good move—viewers already know what Hannah looks like post-breakup, but Mimi-Rose and the person Adam’s become with her are new entities and it’s exciting to see their dynamic explored. As Jessa has said, Adam is lighter here than he has been recently, energetic and optimistic in a way he hasn’t consistently been with Hannah since getting his Broadway break in season three. It’s nice to see, despite how short-lived it is. Gillian Jacobs is a strong addition to the cast as Mimi-Rose, making her entertainingly similar to Hannah in her self-centeredness while diametrically opposed in the way that manifests itself. Mimi-Rose’s revelation that she’s had an abortion without consulting Adam is harsh, making her feel utterly cold and lacking in empathy, but this is countered by her lovely sentiment that she may not need Adam, but she wants him, and to her, that’s far more meaningful. Adam has ricocheted from one end of the spectrum to the other and it will be interesting to see how he handles the emotional whiplash.
In almost everything, there is subtext, intentional or not. In the ‘not’ category is the significant black cloud coming with the silver lining of three massive developments in movieland this year. Firstly, after months of feverish speculation, J.J. Abrams was chosen as the man to helm the return of Star Wars to the big screen; he confirmed his worthiness for the role with the release of Star Trek Into Darkness, a mega-hit blockbuster action adventure putting the highly rated Star Trek 2009 into the shadows; almost in an attempt to draw attention away from Disney and Spielberg’s protégé, James Cameron announced that the most successful film of all time, his film Avatar, would indeed have the three sequels he had long discussed, thankfully with different screen writers covering the wordy bits. Cue much jubilation from fandom; the silver lining. The malignant black cloud, the subtext, was the continued throes of the science-fiction genre as it is starved to death.
The closing moments of the 2009 reboot of Star Trek saw a revival of its source material’s famous slogan regarding the ongoing mission of the Enterprise:
Despite mixed reviews, I’m sure everyone is excited to see Star Trek Into Darkness, and just this morning it was announced that we get to see the movie released a day earlier. In anticipation of the J.J. Abrams-directed sequel, Audi has produced a new commercial that features both Zachary Quinto and Leonard Nimoy. Hit the …
American Horror Story Review, Season 1, Episode 8, “Rubber Man” Written by Ryan Murphy Directed by Miguel Arteta Airs Wednesdays at 10:00 pm ET on FX Last week’s “Open House” wasn’t an episode as much as a poor transition to the excellent “Rubber Man,” an episode that thoroughly delivers on several levels. This week, viewers …
American Horror Story Review, Season 1, Episode 4, “Halloween, Part 1” Written by James Wong Directed by David Semel Airs Wednesdays at 10:00pm ET on FX Four episodes in, it’s clear that American Horror Story won’t be taking its time for the remainder of the season. Every character and every subplot is a spinning plate …