Even as someone who tries to follow as many of the big film festivals, it’s hard to keep track of every film that comes out. Between the mainstream and all the indies, films slip through my fingertips. It wasn’t until a month ago or so that all the hype of The Art of Self Defense reached my Twitter feed. That was just in time for me to realize I can not miss out on this film, and I am truly glad I didn’t let it slip. I’m also glad I opted for a second viewing, this time with an audience. This deserves to be watched in a theatre, and not at home.
Comedies can be a hit or miss. Sometimes jokes will land while others just fall flat on their faces. But the thing about comedies is that it’s subjective to everyone. For me, dark and absurd comedies are one of the many facets of the genre that I just connect to so much. And then you add an aspect like toxic masculinity and misogyny and you have me. That is exactly what The Art of Self-Defense accomplishes.
Ah, trailer time is always a good time. And with San Diego Comic-Con this weekend, you know it will just keep coming. And for the third time today, a new trailer has arrived at our door. This time for the adaptation of The Kitchen starring Melissa McCarthy (Bridesmaids), Tiffany Haddish (Girl’s Trip) and Elizabeth Moss (The Handmaids Tale).
When I turned on my laptop yesterday morning, I didn’t think that it was going to be another case of Trailer Week ™. We didn’t get around to writing about The King’s Man but our brief thoughts are that while Golden Circle didn’t meet expectations, the prequel looks like it’ll correct its wrongs. That’s why we didn’t do a write-up, we didn’t have more to say.
Recently, Arianne and I were having a conversation and we came to a realization. As if it really makes that much of a difference, but, some of her favourite films of the years always come out of SXSW. And for myself, it’s always Sundance. There’s obviously over-lap but this marks to be true. And this marks another movie that came out of Sundance that is now on my list.
Friends, it’s time.
We’ve been discussing this for some time now behind the scenes. In fact, before we launched we knew we wanted to try this out.
I will be honest, yes I have watched most of the James Bond movies but I never was a true fan. I liked the films but the sexism and misogyny of it all always rubbed me the wrong way. Hell, one of my final essay in University was about just that. But never the less, I was always planning to keep going with the series, because they actually happened to be good. I enjoyed the action and Daniel Craig was a good Bond, he wasn’t your typical Bond but he still was entertaining.
This is where the controversy might begin.
The Last Jedi is the best Star Wars film. You can have your own favourite, but on a technical level, it is the best. Both my opinion and probably as close to fact as possible.
Frankly, I have no idea where this review is going to go until I just dive right in, which to be fair, is exactly how everyone should go into Midsommar.
I can not be alone, but Ari Aster made a hell of a name for themselves last year with Hereditary. I gladly caught it in the theatres three times and have been anxiously anticipating for Midsommar (or a follow-up in general) ever since. He has a clear voice about these bonds that are astonishing to witness.
Sometimes a movie has a better premise then the final product. I went in for Yesterday, I had expectations. Not only was this a script from Richard Curtis but it was a Danny Boyle film. It was tailor-made for me. And yet, when everything was done, I couldn’t help but feel like something was missing. Yesterday isn’t a bad movie, it’s actually pretty good but with that premise and team, I was expecting to be blown away. And that just didn’t happen.
