Few artists have made a claim for so drastically altering the shape of their medium than Cecil Beaton, the fashion photographer turned war photographer turned royal photographer turned costume and production designer, who arguably forever reshaped the concept of possibility in the static image. Beaton faced his share of adversity and controversy, rubbed shoulders with the biggest stars and the Queen herself, and generally lived the sort of bohemian life that artists dream of. And while he is best known for the iconic images that he captured of the likes of Marilyn Monroe, Cary Grant, and the Duke and Duchess of Windsor, Beaton himself was a fascinating, lively character who imprinted himself on the lives of anyone whose orbit he entered. And all of this is the life that “Love, Cecil” aims to — and mostly succeeds in — capturing, despite taking such an openly adoring stance. The rest…
Bolivian Documentary ‘Cocaine Prison’ Explores A Hell On Earth [TIFF Review]
There is a world that exists that is hard to fathom, which today, in our vastly connected digital age, where our social media feeds are inundated with photos from Syria and Venezuela, is itself hard to comprehend. In part, because we have all seen the imagery of war — shocking photos and footage are nearly commonplace and working to dull us into desensitization. And because we perceive war as a thing that ends, as a tragedy to be overcome, as something that is not simply a way of life. Similarly, there abounds images of abject poverty and hunger, starving children whose forms and bodies we know well enough to conjure without reference. The rest…
TV Fall Preview: 25 Must-See Shows
The first season of “Stranger Things” was a true surprise. Netflix’s surplus of content makes it easy for a show to sneak up out of nowhere, and while most are middling, some, like this Spielbergian, ‘80s throwback are home runs. A gleeful homage to nearly every sci-fi adventure from that nostalgic decade, “Stranger Things” also managed to carve out its own space, offering up nuanced and well-rounded characters of all stripes and a genuinely startling narrative (not to mention the elder Jean-Ralphio meme that should never die). Certainly, a number of webs were left tangled at the close of season one (Eleven!), but, at this point, it’s hard to imagine that season two can muster the same novel creativity and compact narrative structure. Still, whatever the case may be, odds are “Stranger Things” season two is going to be some of the better hours of TV this fall.
Venice Film Festival: 13 Must-See Movies
From the demented mind of S. Craig Zahler, the writer/director of “Bone Tomahawk” — 2015’s most memorable (read: scarring) film — “Brawl In Cell Block 99” has our interest peaked for more reasons than one. The first of which being that Zahler took on a well-worn genre with “Bone Tomahawk” and twisted it into something utterly unsettling and mesmerizing, and the prison survival flick is certainly in need of some new blood (pun intended). Second, Zahler managed to craft some truly inspired characters for Kurt Russell and Richard Jenkins for his previous film, so there’s hope he can give Vaughn and Johnson something better to do than their typical, tired roles — like bashing people’s heads in. Then there’s the fact that TIFF’s Midnight Madness programmer called the movie “absolutely deranged.” What’s left to say?
50 Most Anticipated Films: Fall Movie Preview
While I certainly don’t speak for every voice here at The Playlist, I do feel comfortable in saying there are few directors that excite us more than Tomas Alfredson. The director broke out with his fantastic “Let The Right One In” (which spawned a decent Hollywood reboot), then knocked it out of the park with “Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy,” a movie so tightly cut and intricately paced, that it’s hard to find flaw with. Now it’s been a cold six years with a film from the director, but still it’s difficult to overstate how excited we were to find out he had paired with Michael Fassbender to bring “The Snowman” to life. Based on the best-selling serial killer novel, it’s hard not to be reminded of of the similarly grim and cold murder mystery series, “The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo,” which made for the sort of adult fair that movies are wanting for these days. The only catch is that it’s embarrassingly hard to take the first trailer seriously…
A Heart and a Half
Out by the park, I say, I’ve got your blood in me, and you look at me funny, like you are waiting for this to be another mediocre joke, and it is, somehow, but I don’t know the punchline yet. We’re walking when I say this. It’s winter-solstice-cold, but we’re still young, like we’ve always been, horribly, blasphemously young, young enough that we shouldn’t feel these broke-body aches, not yet, not here, in this city, on your birthday.
Adam Wingard’s ‘Death Note’ Is Thoughtless & Incoherent [Review]
An intelligent but emotionally wounded teenager with the ability to play god by killing anybody he wants, just by writing their name in a book, is admittedly a compelling idea. The potential for drama packed into the premise alone is worthwhile, not to mention that the boy’s girlfriend is seemingly aroused by his ability to kill, that his father is a reputable cop, and that a secret agency that raises children from infancy to become unstoppable detectives has dispatched their best man to stop him. It’s a lot to digest, especially in just 94 minutes. But, the hopes of the American adaptation of the infamous Japanese manga “Death Note” were put into the hands of Adam Wingard, the rising horror star behind “You’re Next” and “The Guest,” and anxiety eased some. Unfortunately, Wingard’s film is an incoherent mess of tones and styles, confused character motives, and murky narratives. The first name in this Death Note, is the film itself. The rest…
‘To The Bone’ Works Hard To Do Justice To The Realities Of Anorexia [Review]
Addiction has long been one of Hollywood’s favorite muses. It makes for empowering, emotionally charged films about one of life’s most trying personal battles. Of course, the success and believability of these sorts of movies vary wildly: for every “Half Nelson” and “Trainspotting” there’s a “Thanks For Sharing” or “Flight” (which was fuelled by a fine performance, but in the end was little more than histrionics). Such movies are packed with personal demons, hallucinations and — in a lot of cases — triumph, a set of frames that veteran TV director Marti Noxon’s feature debut “To The Bone” fits nicely inside of. The rest…
Ranking The Best ‘Spider-Man’ Movie Characters
Martin Sheen has had his ups and downs, but throughout his career he has played the stern-but-loving father figure with grace and menace in equal dose. His Uncle Ben is no exception. Unlike the Ben in Raimi’s (superior) film, Sheen imbues the character with rough edges; he’s a man of principle who believes in the responsibility of good, but falls victim to the petty whims of anger. This, of course, is best exemplified in the scene where Ben, full of rage and righteousness, recounts to Peter the “moral obligation” of doing good — the embodiment of the difficulty to live up to your principles. Basically Sheen turns an iconic character into a living, breathing man, and Webb’s film is better for it.
Fresh & Diverse ‘Signature Move’ Is Also Overly Familiar [BAMcinemaFest Review]
For a couple of weeks now, we’ve been living in a post-“Wonder Woman” world. A world which, you can be certain, is a better world. One where the genuine hunger for a female (super)hero has been served a tasty menu and a collective appetite has been whetted. One where doors are likely cracking open for female directors and female-centric stories and narratives are being considered more seriously (if only because studio execs are seeing the piles of cash “Wonder Woman” is raking in). These are, of course, generous assumptions about Crusty, White Hollywood. But, what can’t be denied, is that the film filled a void and people were genuinely happy to witness a reflection of a more diverse world. Basically, no matter what banal stories Hollywood studios are greenlighting, people are actually looking for fresh, heterogeneous narratives. They are looking to see themselves on the screen (and not all people are white men) and “Signature Move,” is, in so many ways, just the sort of film some people are looking for. The rest…
Gary Joshua Garrison 