By Valerie Kalfrin A Polaroid tends to fade over time. The one that Thelma and Louise took before their fateful road trip certainly didn’t survive, blown away in the wind. Yet that Polaroid selfie — indeed, their whole adventure — only grows richer and sharper after 30 years. It’s a snapshot in time that captures not just the way things are but how we’d like … Continue reading “Thelma & Louise” and the long road still ahead
Year: 2021 Runtime: 1 hour 52 minutes Director: Simon Stone Writers: Moira Buffini, John Preston Stars: Carey Mulligan, Ralph Fiennes, Lily James By Valerie Kalfrin Years from now, what would someone make of the things we touched and used during our time here? It’s hard not to watch the quiet, contemplative drama “The Dig” and not think of such questions. Framed around the real-life excavation … Continue reading Review: The Dig
By Mique Watson **This piece contains spoilers for the end of “Promising Young Woman.” If you have not seen the film, you may want to check out this piece afterwards.** “Promising Young Woman” (2020) premiered last year at the Sundance film festival. It debuted with a whopping 99% approval rating on the Tomatometer, and was associated with much anticipation. In reality, this was one of … Continue reading Why the Ending of Promising Young Woman Works
By James Cain [Content warning: The following article discusses themes of sexual assault] There’s a scene in Emerald Fennell’s jet-black comedy “Promising Young Woman” that mines terror from the idea of an underage girl hanging out with a group of boys she doesn’t know in a university dorm room. We’re given no particular to doubt these young men, but we do know that boys will … Continue reading Why every growing boy needs a “Promising Young Woman”
By Morgan Roberts Wow. 2020 was a giant dumpster fire, wasn’t it? But here’s the thing: television and films saved us. The arts are always the first thing to go with budget cuts, but without art this year, how many of us would have the respite we so desperately needed during this time? So, thank you to everyone who puts their all into their craft, … Continue reading Morgan’s Top 10 Films of 2020
Year: 2020 Runtime: 113 minutes Writer/Director: Emerald Fennell Stars: Carey Mulligan, Bo Burnham, Laverne Cox, Alison Brie, Jennifer Coolidge, Clancy Brown, Alfred Molina, Connie Britton, Chris Lowell, Max Greenfield By Morgan Roberts The review contains references to assault and suicide. Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned. “Promising Young Woman” follows Cassie, (Carey Mulligan), a young woman seeking vengeance against those who wronged her … Continue reading Review: “Promising Young Woman”
“Promising Young Woman” is one of those films that begins with a very good idea. Ideas that involve the camera lasciviously objectifying men on a dance floor the way women typically are. Granted, it’s played for laughs rather than sex appeal, since there’s nothing resembling eye candy, but you can’t have everything. Or maybe it’s an early indicator of what the movie’s real agenda is, which is condemning anyone who violates its ideas of what good behaviour should be, rather than people who suffer from such expectations.
Not that it’s a bad idea to condemn violence, which is the real villain in “Promising Young Woman.” In case the marketing left any doubt, the movie addresses a very specific kind of violence that dares not speak its name here. Continue reading Sundance Exclusive Review: Promising Young Woman
To celebrate the last decade 2010-2019 we are counting down the best actresses and discussing some of their most notable and memorable performances of the last decade. With the help of Film Twitter, the ITOL team have selected 30 actresses. Entry No. 15 is Carey Mulligan, and writer Tom Moore discusses Mulligan’s career over the last decade. Continue reading Best Actress of the Decade, Entry No. 15: Carey Mulligan
Last year was probably one of the best years for film in quite some time. Throughout the entire fall, week after week, it felt like the phrase “oh, this is going to be in my top ten for sure” became incredibly common. From Bong-Ho Joon’s enthralling and mind-blowing depiction of class with “Parasite” to the box-office smashing end of the Infinity Saga with the Russo Brothers’ “Avengers: Endgame”, there were so many new kinds of stories and visions that constantly pushed genre boundaries. 2019 was especially a great year for female filmmakers as there was an onslaught of incredible films from both new and already established women in film. Continue reading The Most Anticipated Movies of 2020
The greatest achievement of Netflix is giving creators a place to put their work. From Martin Scorsese to Ava DeVernay, Netflix has become a creative landing for directors and writers to display their work without the hassle of going through the tired Hollywood process. Dee Rees got to do just that with her second feature “Mudbound” as a Netflix original movie. After her debut “Pariah”, which also earned a spot on our Top 50 List, Rees proved her worth and had a much larger market to sell her idea in. It premiered at the 2017 Sundance Film Festival and was released in November of 2017, which put it squarely in the Oscars award season. Not that it needed help being premiered at the end of the year, but it helped to gain it four nominations, including two for Mary J. Blige who created an original song for the film. Continue reading ITOL Top 50 Films of the Decade, Entry No. 13: Mudbound
In Their Own League 