Saturday, June 19, 2021

5 things I'd like to see change in the LGBTQ+ genre

The LGBTQ+ community seems to be all the rage right now in Hollywood. Studios and streaming platforms are moving this genre merrily along on a conveyor belt. The industry is finally making headway to get this important work produced and to realize representation (aka money) matters. But with this progress also comes a certain amount of responsibility that I'm not sure are being tackled well enough. 

As someone who identifies as queer, the steady stream of LGBTQ+ films are exciting. But with every new movie, I can't help but feel my hopes and the hype leading up to feeling 'seen' are dashed when numerous projects come across as checking boxes off a list or continuing stereotypes, steps in a lack of inequality, etc.

Since it's Pride month, I thought I'd share some changes I'd like to see in the LGBTQ+ genre.

Wednesday, June 16, 2021

Thursday Movie Picks: Natural Disaster Movies

Wandering Through the Shelves hosts Thursday Movie Picks. It's a weekly series where bloggers post and share various movie picks every Thursday. 

The rules are simple: based on the theme of the week pick three to five movies and tell us why you picked them. For further details and the schedule visit the series main page here.

This week's theme is Natural Disaster movies. 

Thursday, June 10, 2021

Thursday Movie Picks: Worst Book to Movie Adaptations

Wandering Through the Shelves hosts Thursday Movie Picks. It's a weekly series where bloggers post and share various movie picks every Thursday. 

The rules are simple: based on the theme of the week pick three to five movies and tell us why you picked them. For further details and the schedule visit the series main page here.

This week's theme is Worst Book to Movie Adaptations.

Sunday, May 30, 2021

Cruella (2021)

Young trouble-maker Estella (Emma Stone) teams up with a pair of crooks Jasper (Joel Fry) and Horace (Paul Walter Hauser) after a tragic freak accident leaves her orphaned. With a deep ambition to become a fashion designer, Estella is spurned to transform into her alter-ego Cruella de Vil as she faces off against the industry’s most influential designer Baroness Von Hellman (Emma Thompson).

Though I’ve always had a soft spot for Disney’s villains, Cruella de Vil is my all-time favorite. Of all the antagonists who harbor reasonable motivations for why they turned evil, she’s always been point-blank ruthless for ruthless’ sake –there aren't too many ways to justify someone wanting to kill animals and dogs for their fur to satiate their ego. The news of her origin story in the works initially disappointed me because she'd inevitably be altered to be more marketable. But after finally seeing the latest version, this is the first in a long time I got that can't-help-but-smile kind of excitement when the credits hit. Because it’s not too shabby.

Thursday, May 27, 2021

TMP Television Edition: Globetrotting (Scripted, Non-reality, Non-travel, Non-docu series)

Wandering Through the Shelves hosts Thursday Movie Picks. It's a weekly series where bloggers post and share various movie picks every Thursday. 

The rules are simple: based on the theme of the week pick three to five movies and tell us why you picked them. For further details and the schedule visit the series main page here.

This week's theme is Globetrotting (Scripted, Non-reality, Non-travel, Non-docu series). I'm not going to lie, I had a total brainfog on what to come up with for this challenge.

Tuesday, May 25, 2021

Hearts Want (2018)

Two former lovers Lily (Sam Simmons) and Jacques (Peter Christian Hansen) reunite for a play and face the consequences of a past secret that threatens to tear them apart forever. 

As a debut short film by writer Ruth Maramis of FlixChatter, Hearts Want offers a satisfying deep-dive about love and loss in such a short running time and the potential to see it as a feature-length film. Though it's only about 15 minutes long, sparks fly with the chemistry and character development to invest yourself in Lily and Jacques's relationship right from the start. The unspoken connection between the duo lends to an established repore between the Simmons and Hansens' performances and lets the conflict between their characters - a secret Lily is holding onto and vices that sweep Jacques away - culminate on its own.

Maramis's script doesn't let one scene go to waste in building the tension between the two leads, the impact they have on each other after years of separation, and where it could lead. Her strongest suit is that both are not particularly demonized for their past or choices - they're both flawed characters who will need to find a new way of dealing with a big secret. If given the space for a feature length film, it's easy to imagine how the story would progress with more of Maramis' inspiration from Jane Austen's Persuasion and build further with an in-depth running time and story. Director Jason P. Schumacher also maintains a steady hand with the pacing of every scene from a brief glimpse of the characters' reuniting on stage to the more coarse drama going on off of it.

Hearts Want is a sound short debut that is worthy to check out. The film has gained recognition in festivals around the world including Best Audience Award at The Twin Cities Film Fest. It's available on Amazon Prime with a subscription as well as to buy and rent.

Rating: ★★

Friday, May 21, 2021

Thursday Movie Picks - Cyberpunk

Wandering Through the Shelves hosts Thursday Movie Picks. It's a weekly series where bloggers post and share various movie picks every Thursday. 

The rules are simple: based on the theme of the week pick three to five movies and tell us why you picked them. For further details and the schedule visit the series main page here.

This week is Thursday Movie Picks - Cyberpunk.