Hilary Mantel’s posthumous ‘A memoir of my former self’ is of course of great interest to fans of her fiction, but every one of the disparate, beautifully written pieces in this book is worth reading on its own merits.
Calamities in Pagan Cinema: “The Covenant” seemed like it was made to be the boys’ own answer to “The Craft.” But the film is too caught up in its own broken masculinity to begin to offer a coherent vision of magic – much less a coherent film.
It’s Friday the 13th and even though I slept all day, we still managed to watch a horror movie. This one was Lorcan Finnegan’s 2019 film “Vivarium”, starring Imogen Poots and Jesse Eisenberg.
‘Vivarium’ follows a young, happily-unmarried couple who one day find themselves in a strange real estate office, with an even stranger real estate agent. The two decide to follow him to a model home, located in the suburb of Yonder. Here, all of the houses are cookie-cutter, and the young couple quickly become separated from their agent, who seems to have abandoned them inside this suburban labyrinth. Soon, a box is delivered to the couple, which contains their only hope of “release”…
‘Vivarium’ is surprisingly good, and properly spooky. It explores themes of complacency, routine, parenthood, blasé adherence to social contracts, and parasitism. This film is reminiscent of films like ‘Body Snatchers’ and ‘Into the Tall Grass’; it’s not particularly cheesy, but it does have a bit of camp. I do wish the film had spent a bit more time exploring the world within, though it does give a tantalizing glimpse. Fun film that will give me plenty to think about before bed tonight; 4/5 ⭐️.
There's a report out that some film firms in the past have bribed reviewers for favorable Rotten Tomatoes scores... also interesting that one of the films that employed this tactic was Ophelia (2018) which starred Daisy Ridley
#Barbie was so so good. It’s a vision in hot pink that very explicitly hands you a message. The cast is incredible; the energy they bring is superb and the body-ody-odies are beautiful. The obligatory romantic subplot is nicely handled and I thought the ending was spot-on. It’s a strong film, an instant classic, and even worth a rewatch once it comes to streaming (I’m not Moneybags Barbie so I don’t usually see movies in theater twice lol.) Barbie is what I would call an “aesthetic comedy” and could definitely be considered “elevated” without being overly pretentious. It’s an inclusive, fun, and highly accessible film that I wholeheartedly recommend. I don’t know if I’d like to see a sequel (certainly not everything needs one) but I did leave the theater wanting more time in Greta Gerwig’s Barbieland. 4.5/5 imo #BarbieMovie#movies#film#review#FilmReviews