Writer and Director Taika Waititi won the best adapted screenplay Oscar this year for his movie “Jojo Rabbit,” a satirical comedy about a Nazi youth named Jojo Beztler, played by Roman David Griffiths, who finds a Jewish girl named Elsa, played by Thomasin McKenzie, hiding in the walls of his house. The film mocks the…
“The Two Popes:” check the facts
One afternoon over Christmas break, my sister Lillian sat down in the living room and watched “The Two Popes” on her phone’s Netflix app. I was sitting near her for the greater part of her watch and distinctly remember that she had a bit of a bone to pick with the movie upon finishing it.…
I told you not to see “Bombshell,” but see “Game Change”
My inaugural article for The Lawrentian was essentially 700 words about how I thought the movie “Bombshell” tried to say something but ended up saying nothing. Women standing up to Roger Ailes and eventually getting him fired from his position as the head of Fox News Corporation is a big deal, but the lack of…
The Oscars: Parasite sweeps and everything is okay
BONG HIVE STAND UUUUUP! The Oscars were this past Sunday night, and for the first time since “Moonlight” blindsided everyone, especially Warren Beatty, in 2016, I felt real justice from the Academy and its voters. “Parasite,” a film directed by acclaimed Korean director Bong Joon Ho, became the first movie not in the English language…
Caucuses are undemocratic
The Iowa caucus happened last week and for all intents and purposes, it was a disaster. In past elections, results have been calculated and released by about 9 p.m. CST. This year, it took days for the official caucus results to be announced by the Iowa Democratic Party. This delay was caused partially by new…
“The Joker” is not worth it
Comic book legend Frank Miller released a book in 2011 called “Holy Terror.” Originally pitched to DC Comics as a Batman story, it follows a masked hero (Batman, duh) and his sexy sidekick (Catwoman) fighting an unnamed Al Qaeda stand in. The book is Islamophobic and ultimately devoid of substance: it is a piece that…
“The Irishman” is worth it
The first thing to know about “The Irishman” is that it is 3.5 hours long. That has been much of the conversation surrounding the film since before its limited release in theatres last year and especially after it went live on Netflix a month later. When I brought it up around Christmas, I found I…
Where is Greta Gerwig, you cowards??
“Congratulations to those men,” said actress and writer Issa Rae after announcing the Best Director Oscar nominees on the morning of Monday, Jan. 13. Her words, though said in passing, dripped with the disaffected contempt of a woman scorned. There are a lot of trends in the past week’s Oscars nominations that I do not…
Movie Review: Bombshell bombs
I was so geeked to see “Bombshell.” The trailer, showing Charlize Theron looking exactly like Meygn Kelly while Billie Eillish’s “bad guy” throbbed in the background, was absolutely gripping. Unlike recent movies that have recounted political and historical events like “Vice,” “The Post,” and “The Big Short,” the sexual harassment allegations and subsequent firing of…