All posts by filmadmin

The Menu: A Six Course Meal of Satire and Gore

Ralph Fiennes in The Menu

The Menu is a refreshing satire that never takes itself seriously. It follows Anya-Taylor Joy’s Margo as she is unknowingly reeled into a world that she doesn’t belong to. Margo meets various personalities at a restaurant on a private island run by the esteemed head chef, Slowik (Ralph Fiennes), who has an agenda for his privileged guests that goes beyond just serving quality food—a plan that goes awry upon Margo’s unexpected arrival.

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Early Development of Noir and its Lasting Allure

Film noir is best described as a time and place in American cinema – where filmmakers were becoming increasingly cynical and disillusioned with American life due to many things: the war, the depression (which just ended), and maybe a little bit because of constraints many filmmakers were forced to adhere to in order to make a Hollywood film. As Paul Schrader says, “film noir is not a genre.” Instead it’s more a style defined by shadowy lighting, sleazy locations, and themes of isolation, alienation, and pessimism. The most important thing to remember about film noir was that its creation wasn’t intentional – especially by the studios. But by the time anyone realized what was happening – it was too late to stop the surge of noirs that would dominate the mid-40s and the mid-50s. Continue reading Early Development of Noir and its Lasting Allure

Back in Feckin’ Business with Martin McDonagh’s Banshees

Having never seen any one of Martin McDonagh’s movies, I went into The Banshees of Inisherin with an open mind. I had always heard that his previous films were thrilling and fun (like In Bruges) or serious and dramatic (cue Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri) but even with no expectations of what was to come, I was still surprised to be leaving the theater feeling sadness, grief, and regret.

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