The immense popularity of the new romantic comedy “Anyone But You” has led some critics to hail the start of a rom-com renaissance. The film was a box office success, earning more than $200 million globally, and has begun trending on social media. It has even started a TikTok trend featuring the end credit song “Unwritten” by Natasha Bedingfield, which has made the Billboard Top 20 in the U.K. for the first time in 19 years.
‘Stopmotion’ elevates the inanimate to something terrifying
Cliches rise from the dead in ‘Lisa Frankenstein’
Eli Roth’s “Thanksgiving” is a failed attempt at a modern slasher
Yorgos Lanthimos’ ‘Poor Things’ and its strange approach to the coming of age genre
Yorgos Lanthimos’ latest film, “Poor Things,” is a bizarre yet hilarious reimagination of Mary Shelley’s “Frankenstein.” The film, based on a novel of the same name written by the Scottish author Alasdair Gray and published in 1992, uses mesmerizing cinematography inspired by surrealist art, catches the viewer’s eye and engages them in this eccentric coming-of-age story.
Mean Girls flounders in the space between remake and copy
Depending on your age, “Mean Girls” might mean any number of things to you. The franchise has undergone numerous transformations over the years. The 2004 movie was adapted from a 2002 nonfiction book called “Queen Bees and Wannabes” by Rosalind Wiseman. The movie was followed by a 2011 sequel, then adapted into a 2017 Broadway musical with a book by Tina Fey. Unfortunately, the stellar legacy of the narrative has been tarnished by the 2024 remake, which haphazardly combines both movie and musical without adding anything of its own.
Todd Haynes’ film ‘May December’ illustrates life after grooming
‘Napoleon’ falls short, and not just because it’s all made up
On Friday, Dec. 3, the Mount Holyoke History Department sponsored a trip to Tower Theaters to see the latest historical epic. Unfortunately, Ridley Scott’s “Napoleon” was a disappointment — the tone and the narrative are incomprehensible. It feels like the film can’t decide between being a warrior epic, a tragic love story or a comedy. It's not impossible to do all three, so it’s a letdown to see a skilled director like Scott fumble.
Sofia Coppola’s “Priscilla” finally tells Priscilla Presley’s story
Sofia Coppola’s latest film “Priscilla” gives audiences a window into the life of Priscilla Presley, based on the latter’s 1985 memoir “Elvis and Me.” The film’s story begins at a party in Germany in 1959, where a 14-year-old Priscilla (Cailee Spaeny) and 20-four-year-old soldier Elvis (Jacob Elordi) first meet. As other characters point out the couple’s obvious age gap — “She sure is young isn’t she? Like a little girl” — Coppola begins the story of a young, impressionable girl caught in the trap of fame and fortune.
“Mutt” brings a complex portrait of a queer, trans man to the big screen
Nicolas Cage is a bloodsucking professional in new Dracula film
“Renfield” is a ridiculous, campy and excessively gory new adaptation of the story of Dracula — it is fantastic, provided that those adjectives appeal to you. The film pays its dues to the Draculas that came before it, even making direct cinematic references to the 1931 “Dracula” starring Bela Lugosi. The backstory comes in a “flashback” montage that recreates moments from that film, including the iconic lighting that illuminates just his eyes. Set in present-day New Orleans, Robert Montague Renfield (Nicholas Hoult), Dracula’s familiar, finds himself hoping to escape Dracula’s control. He has been serving Dracula (Nicolas Cage) for 90 years, bringing him victims and defending him from his enemies. In exchange, he receives agelessness and a fraction of Dracula’s powers, which he activates by eating insects.
‘Pearl’: A love letter to classic slasher films fosters nostalgia and originality
Despite being a prequel, “Pearl” is able to stand on its own within the slasher genre while paying a beautiful homage to the classics. Symbolism is at the heart of all great slasher films, and A24 is no stranger to engaging it. A24 films often use color to show a transformation and to establish a character’s identity. Older horror films often use color as well, especially red to symbolize that the worst is near and to show the manifestation of repressed rage. West doesn’t try to give movie-goers something too different but plays on nostalgia and maintains what makes a slasher film good while still orienting it for modern audiences through costuming, re-imagined cliches and allusions.
Civil Rights love story “Beale Street” is a call for justice
BY EMILY ROLES FOTSO ’21
Based on James Baldwin’s classic novel of the same name, Barry Jenkins’ (“Moonlight”) “If Beale Street Could Talk” tells the story of a young Black couple, Tish (Kiki Layne) and Fonny (Stephan James). After Fonny is falsely accused of rape and sent to jail, Tish discovers she is pregnant with his child, and she and her family set out to do whatever it takes to prove his innocence
“The Favourite” is an absurd, female-driven masterpiece
BY ERIN CARBERRY ’19
Given the Academy’s history of favoritism toward period dramas, it may not come as a surprise to even a casual filmgoer that “The Favourite,” a historical dramedy set in early eighteenth-century England, holds this year’s crown for most Academy Award nominations with a whopping ten potential trophies.