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Horror has always been treated as somewhat of a lesser genre. '90s and 2000’s horror, for example, is famously formulaic. At best, horror movies seemed like a way for the stars of teenybopper television to prove they could "act" with a capital A, and for studios to make a quick buck unfettered by the laws of good or logical cinema. Simply put, they epitomized the term “B–movie”.
Comedian Ricky Gervais has always been a controversial figure. His typical brand of humor is mocking, and can come across as insulting. In hosting the Golden Globes on four separate occasions, he consistently received hotly mixed reviews, seeing as his performance was largely based on the ridicule of many of the celebrities in the audience. However, his routines can also be sharp and hilariously relatable rather than mean—sometimes. Unfortunately, his newest Netflix Original After Life, released on March 8, crystallizes his resentful attitude, but without any of his redeeming wit.
In the morning of Friday, Feb. 22, Claire Sliney (C ’21), a former beat reporter for The Daily Pennsylvanian, went to class until 11 a.m. By 1 p.m., she was headed to the airport for a 3:55 p.m. direct flight home to Los Angeles. But this wasn’t an ordinary visit.
Spring break is over and we are back at Penn once again. If you're still looking for some binge–worthy Netflix to further procrastinate all the work you put off, look no further—Studio 54 is the flick for you. This sultry documentary with vintage vibes adds to Netflix’s expanding repertoire of captivating nonfiction films, and makes it mark as an ode to New York’s vibrant 1970’s nightlife. From its killer disco soundtrack to outstanding collection of images depicting boatloads of celebrities—from Michael Jackson to Andy Warhol to Elton John, dancing, singing, and hanging from the ceiling (often topless)—it’ll make you nostalgic for a time period well before your living memory.
The comic–to–screen phenomenon is in full swing, and the newest example is The Umbrella Academy, a new Netflix series that dropped on Feb. 15th. But in a world filled with the teen series cliches of Riverdale (still love it though), the action–packed saga of Marvel, and the spooky, satanic realm of The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina, the darkness and dysfunction of The Umbrella Academy offers a refreshing take on visual media inspired by comics.
When I walked into the theater last summer to see Incredibles 2 with my friends, I had already heard about Bao, the animated short film that accompanied it. After all, it's hard to ignore when your last name appears as the title of a project by a major film studio.
Survival movies: you get it. Man vs. wild, life vs. death. Setting? Somewhere excessively cold/wet/hot. Arctic is a survival movie with all the typical elements, but the execution of it all pushes it beyond the rest.
Well–acted, thoughtfully constructed, and odd in all the right ways, Netflix’s Maniac was an elegant return to form when it came to the streaming service’s ever–growing body of original content. Rich world–building and tongue–in–cheek dark humor made this 2018 series a bingeable one, while its relevant underlying themes of alienation in contemporary life ultimately made it a meaningful watch. Maniac is centered around two very different individuals, Annie (Emma Stone) and Owen (Jonah Hill), who each experience mental health issues and monetary concerns that, by one way or another, land them in an otherworldly experimental drug trial. After undergoing a series of hallucinogenic therapies, which, due to a glitch, end up overlapping Owen and Annie’s experiences, the two find ways of facing the underlying trauma at the root of their suffering, forming a bond of friendship along the way. Ultimately, Maniac is concerned with the capacity for connection to heal us, and conveys this message through an exceptionally well–made limited series.
The art of adaptation has been put into practice a lot in film, and the trend is not stopping in 2019. Now, some of our favorite classic novels are hitting theaters. Here are ten of them to look out for.
Black screen. Triumphant music. Title crawl. Star Wars, it reads, Episode IX. The newest trilogy by LucasFilm is at the beginning of the end.
The road to the 91st Academy Awards has been a particularly rocky one. This season’s other award shows—the BAFTAs, the SAGs, and even the famously liquor–fueled Golden Globes—went off without a hitch. But the Academy Awards can’t seem to catch a break. In the past few months, the Academy’s every move has faced major backlash, resulting in the Oscars' first host–less show in 30 years, constant retractions, and worst of all, frequent reference to Kevin Hart. And when Kevin Hart’s name becomes an integral part of popular culture, one can’t help but feel a sense of impending doom.
In her senior year of high school, a time when most of us were only beginning to dream up what possibilities the future would hold, Claire Sliney (C ‘21), a former beat reporter for The Daily Pennsylvanian, was in the midst of a project that would eventually land her a win at the 91st Academy Awards.
Based on the 1939 classic film The Wizard of Oz, Broadway's 2003 premiere of Wicked—a revisionist tale exploring the origin stories of Elphaba, the Wicked Witch of the West, and Glinda, the Good Witch of the South—took the world by storm. The musical has claimed an enviable spot as the second highest grossing Broadway show of all time. Now, the beloved and wildly popular musical is finally getting the cinematic makeover it deserves. Universal Pictures recently announced its official release date for the Wicked movie adaptation as Dec. 22, 2021, and let’s just say fans are (understandably) excited.
sFor the past decade, the age–old question that haunts blockbuster moviegoers is, “Marvel or DC?" The entertainment companies have been in staunch competition since they were both founded in the 1930s, but wasn’t until the mid–2000s that comics had a revival through the ever–changing film industry. With this, however, the artistry and creativity of the comics themselves were lost in translation. The superhero film, now solidified as a genre, has deteriorated its source material.
Adapting a film from an already–established bank of source material can be either a blessing or a curse. In Alita: Battle Angel’s case, it’s the latter. Alita tells the story of Alita (Rosa Salazar), a warrior cyborg found nearly demolished in a scrapyard and brought back to life by Dr. Ido (Christoph Waltz). As Alita explores her new home in Iron City, she searches for answers to her forgotten past and falls in love with Hugo (Keean Johnson), a human boy.
It’s time for an African–American film to win the Oscar for Best Picture. The universally coveted award has been facing serious backlash in recent years for its homogeneity, as #OscarsSoWhite so succinctly puts it. Two extraordinarily powerful African–American films have made it to the nominations shortlist this year. BlacKkKlansman and Black Panther sent out shockwaves throughout the country upon their releases. The two are both groundbreaking films, but here’s why BlacKkKlansman should get the Oscar over Black Panther.
February is Black History Month which means there’s no time like now to watch extraordinary film and television that honors black creatives and preserves black narratives and culture. To celebrate, Hulu just released a new collection, Black Stories. Comprised of hundreds of titles, Black Stories features unique artists, histories, and stories across all genres. I’ve rounded up a list of the collection’s best five titles you need to watch ASAP.
The Oscar nominations were met with excitement. Black Panther got a Best Picture nomination, Alfonso Cuarón was nominated for Best Director, and both Rachel Weisz and Emma Stone were nominated for The Favourite. Perennial industry greats were nominated, including Glenn Close for The Wife and the Coen Brothers for The Ballad of Buster Scruggs. However, while the public celebrated these successes, there was a glaring omission in the list of Oscar nominations: Director Paul King’s artistic masterpiece, Paddington 2.
I remember the first time I ever heard the phrase “manic pixie dream girl"—it was as though millions of tiny puzzle pieces clicked together in my head. It was a concept I had been aware of, something that had long frustrated me. It was the phrase that sat at the tip of my tongue for every heroine that fell flat, every female character that managed to strike just the wrong nerve. I knew something wasn’t quite right, but until that moment I was helpless when it came to articulating my grievances.
While most horror movies on Netflix are campy and yawn–inducing (I’m looking at you, The Babysitter), a new subset of the genre is gaining popularity: foreign–language horror. These select viewings are all highly rated by critics and audience members alike, and are guaranteed to make a chill creep down your spine.
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