Still in the game with a unique pop culture perspective
A couple of decades ago I realized everything in my life up to that point had been determined by men. I can hear my friend Denise shouting, “It’s the patriarchy, stupid!” That’s not it – at least not completely. The patriarchy is still with us. But inside my head, things have changed. Continue reading “A Personal Manifesto”
Quickly now! See if you can guess how I felt about Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again based on these facts. 1) I loved the now 10-year-old Mamma Mia! 2) I love ABBA. 3) I love a musical. Have you guessed yet? Continue reading “Review: Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again”
The Post taps into the modern political situation like it was 1971. I don’t know how filmmakers tap into the zeitgeist of a particular moment with films like The Post that take months or years to make, but they do it again and again. Continue reading “Review: The Post”
Trailers are showing up for the July release of Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again. Here’s a spot from the Grammys and a regular release trailer. Continue reading “Watch This: Trailers for Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again”
Are you old enough to remember The Pentagon Papers? Just in case that was before your time, they were 700 pages of secret government documents about the Viet Nam War. They made the government look very bad. Very bad. Meryl Streep and Tom Hanks star in The Post to tell the story of how those pages were published creating the biggest news story of the 1970s. Continue reading “Watch This: Trailer for The Post”
A new study from the Media, Diversity and Social Change Initiative at the University of Southern California’s Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism provides the data showing what we all know already – older people are ignored, underrepresented, or trivialized in film. Continue reading “Surprise! Old People are Underrepresented in Film”
I’ve tried several times to leave comments on posts such as the most recent “Why It Matters That Male Film Critics Vastly Outnumber Female Film Critics” at Bitch Media. The remarks never seem to make it into the comments. My comments are rather lengthy, too. I decided to follow the rule of my friend Elisa Camahort Page and make my lengthy comments on female reviewers into a post on the topic. Continue reading “On the Need for Female Reviewers”
Lucky for me I’m not a critic. It seems to me that the main job of a critic is to watch a fun and enjoyable movie or TV show and find things wrong with it so as to make it unenjoyable for anyone else to watch. Which leads to my point: Ricki and the Flash is fun and enjoyable. Lukewarm reviews be damned.
Spoilers ahead. Continue reading “Review: Ricki and the Flash”
The Homesman showed up recently on Netflix. I watched immediately.
The movie annoyed me. And the more I think about it, the more annoyed I become.
Spoilers ahead. Continue reading “Review: The Homesman”
I am somewhat (okay, a whole lot) excited about Ricki and The Flash. The first excitement is the star Meryl Streep. Next, there’s the writer Diablo Cody.
But wait! There’s more! Check this out:
“Meryl Streep takes on a whole new gig – a hard-rocking singer/guitarist – for Oscar®-winning director Jonathan Demme and Academy Award®-winning screenwriter Diablo Cody in Ricki and the Flash. In an original and electrifying film loaded with live musical performances, Streep stars as Ricki Rendazzo, a guitar heroine who made a world of mistakes as she followed her dreams of rock-and-roll stardom. Returning home, Ricki gets a shot at redemption and a chance to make things right as she faces the music with her family. Streep stars opposite her real-life daughter Mamie Gummer; Rick Springfield, portraying a Flash member in love with Ricki; Kevin Kline as Ricki’s ex-husband; and Audra McDonald as Kline’s new wife.”
Oh, my, what a cast. Meryl Streep singing rock and roll and slinging a guitar around like she knows what to do with it. Oh, my.
There is something so magical about Meryl Streep. Just a glance at this image of her in her costume and you know she’s going to kill in this part. In real life she’s 65, matronly, wearing glasses and a not very exciting dress. Put her in front of a camera, yell action, and something special happens. I feel lucky to be able to watch what Meryl Streep does and be amazed by it again and again.
Mamie Gummer lets herself look like hell in this film. I love that. I love the smacking that Ricki gets from her family, from her ex husband’s new wife. I love the Rick Springfield, the Kevin Kline, the Audra McDonald. This film better be good, because I love it.
Enough already with the gushing. See what you think of the trailer. The film opens August 7.
Meryl Streep images © 2015 – Sony Pictures Entertainment
