Tag: cinema
Interviewing Madeline Wise: ‘Crashing,’ Trumpisms and a Troupe of One’s Own
There’s nothing “actorly” about Madeline Wise’s film and TV performances, despite her extensive theatrical training and stage-smart knowhow. In fact, this talented, creative thespian is so natural onscreen in shows such as HBO’s Crashing (2017-present)—for which she most recently did a six-episode arc—and web series such as the Adam Goldman-written-and-directed Whatever This Is. (2013) that…
Child Cinemacology: ‘Won’t You Be My Neighbor?,’ ‘Kingergarten Cop’ and Real Life Lessons
For what it’s worth, I’ve come to the conclusion that America’s historical record vis-à-vis the depiction of children in movies gets a dismaying, Hollywood-sign-size “F.” The uninvolving, horribly scripted Spy Kids (2001) is a dreadful mess that aims to bring to life youth’s heroic fantasies yet ends up feeling cheap in the maudlin, simplistic sentiments…
Women in Film: Are things looking up in 2018?
In the final two months of 2018, here in the States, several intriguing movies centered on women will be released. Diverse genres will be represented, including the star vehicle (Can You Ever Forgive Me?, which is already generating Oscar buzz for Melissa McCarthy), period ensembles (The Favourite, which has already won awards at the Venice…
Laughter in the Pain: When Movie Humor Crosses the Bigotry Border
Allow me to ask you a few potentially offensive cinema-focused questions. Did you giggle at the line in Woody Allen’s 1975 comedy Love and Death in which Diane Keaton’s character Sonja says of her one true love, “Boris is trying to commit suicide—last week he contemplated inhaling next to an Armenian”? How about chuckle at…
2018 At The Movies: The Story So Far
It’s September. Here in the States, that means the school year is starting and the new car models are coming out. The NFL is revving up. Soon the leaves will turn. And soon, the fancy movies will start appearing. You know the movies I mean. The ones where some producer is looking for an award.…