With Twin Peaks: the Return, David Lynch has once again proven himself to be the strange master of portraying the human experience. Let's look at three moments from the Return in which he perfectly captured the beauty, the darkness, and the bizarre.
Movies such as The Shape of Water and Pan's Labyrinth are works of a visionary master, one who can take fairy tales and horror movies of our youth and turn them into memorable works of art. Del Toro keeps returning to seemingly silly movie creatures to bring us the deeply humane message about the evil, wonder, and sainthood hiding inside us all. For that alone, his work should be cherished and studied.
Season 2 of Preacher improves upon everything you loved about Season 1 and cranks the craziness up to an even greater level. It's as funny and as sharp as ever thanks to some phenomenal writing, acting, and dialogue that keeps things grounded even in a world as outlandish as this one. In short, Season 2 of Preacher is some of the best TV I've seen in the past 5 years and it's a show that everyone should be talking about.
In short, The Last Jedi felt like it was a film desperately trying to course correct The Force Awakens' lack of progress and in doing so drastically changes things, sometimes in seemingly spiteful and heartbreaking ways. It's the boldest Star Wars film yet and it represents the end of the Star Wars that we (the older generation) have come to know and love - in more ways than one.
True Detective Season 1 got us hooked on its plot twists and mystery, but it didn't do anything beyond that. True Detective Season 2 is where Pizzolato's talent for writing dark, melancholic and deeply human noir unfurls. Just like in his debut novel Galveston.
I think it says a whole lot when a director has to explain what his film is trying to say; and Aronofsky certainly had something to say once the audience had enough to time to compose themselves after seeing Mother!...do we believe him?
'A Star Is Born' is a fairly predictable story that fumbles the ending but Lady Gaga & Bradley Cooper do a great job of delivering real emotional resonance and the music is fantastic.
'Green Book' is a refreshing take on a well trodden path thanks to great performances from both leads and the charisma and charm they bring to this 'odd pairing.'
'Roma' is an artistically realized and beautifully shot ode to the unsung people in our lives but its basic story and plodding pace can be a chore to get through.
Award-winning Cypriot writer-director, Tonia Mishiali, brilliantly sheds light and audaciously challenges today’s social issues and norms relating to patriarchy, sexual harassment, and mental health through her empowering and eye-opening masterpiece, 'Pause'.
The CBS crime drama series, created all the way back in 2005, officially signed off for good last Wednesday, and much like the multiple 'Law & Order' series out there, they figured out a formula that contributed to the show's unusual longevity.
'This is Us' wrapped up its six-year run last week, a culmination of fantastic, unique storytelling that spanned about 75 years and four generations, and did the near impossible; it nailed its endgame.
Aronofsky's latest endeavor was marketed as a horror film, but it turned out to be so much more than anybody asked for or expected.
All in all, The Strain has always been a mixed bag of good and bad and season 4 is no different. In terms of pacing, story telling, and character building, it was definitely the weakest season of them all but in a world where we rarely get proper endings to series, they did a more than serviceable job of tying up loose ends and giving the characters that needed it, proper endings.
This season felt a bit off pacing wise (and not just due it's disjointed nature) and I didn't find myself clamoring for the next episode like I was in the first season, but it progressively got stronger towards the end with some great scenes and their best season finale yet, leaving me re-energized and excited to see what will unfold in Season 4.
Once Netflix got ahold of all ten seasons of what seems to be regarded as the pinnacle of '90s programming, I no longer had an excuse for not investigating further. Also, I was kind of over not understanding references and wanted to see what all the hubbub was about.
Sure, there are reasons to be skeptical about the Sopranos revival. The flashback episodes of The Sopranos were never among the show’s better episodes, and the time period change alone indicates that however great it is, the movie won’t be the Sopranos that we remember. Even so, David Chase has been missed, and I can’t wait to see what he does with this project. Just don’t expect it to give you the Sopranos answers you never got from the show the first go-around.
'The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel' is truly a hidden gem that I've personally already seen thrice now, and every time I get the same euphoric feeling as if I'm watching it for the first time. It's an undeniably special show that despite being set in an era we no longer live in, remains relevant for its ability to tackle important issues.
Although Spike Lee plays things a bit too much for laughs at times, 'Blackkklansman' delivers his most charismatic and engaging film in years.
While probably shaky from a factual standpoint, 'Vice' is a hell of an enjoyable watch for something so darkly disturbing because of its real-life implications.
'The Favourite' is a slog of a story to get through that's only alleviated by some superb performances by its leading females, particularly Rachel Weisz.
Hollywood doesn't come out with many literary comedies anymore, or films that center around the extracurricular adventures of middle-aged professors, but it did both back in February of 2000 with 'Wonder Boys.' A film criminally overlooked by moviegoers.
At first glance 'Dead Man Walking' looks like a typical piece of liberal Hollywood message-based filmmaking, but the film is different from others in the genre in quite a few key ways and 25 years after its release, it's every bit as devastating as it was upon arrival.
The uncertainty and painful longing we have been struggling with during these unprecedented times have been powerfully articulated through Kay Niuyue Zhang’s short film 'Mother in the Mist.'