So's Reel Thoughts: August 2015

It's been a while since a good werewolf film came out so you can understand my excitement after seeing the trailer for the upcoming Danish film, When Animals Dream. The film premiered at last year's Cannes Film Festival and made it's numerous festival rounds including the iconic genre festival, Fantastic Fest, so you already know the film's going to hit some nerves! A teenage girl's sexual awakening unleashes something primal within, (oh, does it ever!) revealing a dark family secret. On the run and in danger, she must embrace a century's old curse to survive. Oh man, let the madness begin!

When Animals Dream totally channels moods of Ginger Snaps and Let the Right One In! At first, I couldn't tell if it was a vampire or werewolf film but glad to know that the film involves werewolves because there isn't enough films about these nightly creatures with females in the forefront besides Ginger Snaps (recommendations are welcomed). Also gaze at the beautiful yet jarring poster! Two is always better than one and obviously I couldn't choose because these posters are absolutely stunning. RADiUS is just killin' it these days with horror films like It Follows and Goodnight Mommy under their belt already! I can't wait for this film to come out next week on August 18th on VOD!

Yorgos Lanthimos is leading the Greek Weird Wave Cinema movement with his genre-bending and provocative films like Dogtooth and Alps. The subject of identity is nothing new as seen in this video essay prepared as part of the Melbourne International Film Festival Critics Campus program. Conor Bateman looks at the way Lanthimos' narratives present the transformation of identity in three of his films-- Kinetta, Dogtooth, and Alps. Lanthimos dares to challenge not only his characters but the audience to face the absurdity of the society we live in. His next film The Lobster is executed in the same satirical themes and is sure to ignite some conversations about our society's orthodox perception of matrimonial status and true love. Take a gander below and if you haven't seen any of his films, be ready to have your mind-blown!

The trailer to Robert Eggers' magnificent directorial debut film, The Witch is here! I named the film as one of the best 5 films I saw at Sundance so I am so enthralled to know that A24 finally released a trailer despite it's release being in 2016! Eggers nabbed the Best Director award in the U.S. Narrative Competition at Sundance for The Witch and dare I say, it is a masterpiece. It is 1630 in New England, the lives of a devout Christian family living on the edge of wilderness with five children start to unravel after the mysterious disappearance of their newborn son. We've all seen stories of parents losing children but when it's the whole family that is a suspect especially, entangled in some ominous magical presence, it's a total different ball game!

This salem-esque story builds to suffocating heights of anxiety and fear as it shows a chilling portrait of a family surrounded by an inescapable evil which is accompanied by masterful camerawork and a powerful musical score. There is about to be some serious devilish shit going down! It's all what a horror film should be with jarring atmospheric tension, mystical figures, and innocent people going mad! The Witch is the one film that I've been telling all my friends about and so, I don't know how I will survive till 2016 for them to all see it! But by the looks of it, I know it's going to be totally worth it! Also, The Witch revived my love for witches and it honestly doesn't get better than that, my friend!

Don't just call The Keeping Room a Feminist Western because it is so much more than that! The film stars three of the most kickass women in the biz--Brit Marling, Hailee Steinfeld, and newcomer Muna Otaru. The story takes place during the dying days of the American Civil war where three Southern women--two sisters and one African-American slave--must defend their home and themselves against two strange soldiers. I got a chance to watch it and before I write my review, suffices it to say that you will sweating buckets from the pulsating intensity and panic from the film.

After a successful run in advertising and commercials, Director Daniel Barber went on to create an Oscar-nominated short film called The Tonto Woman before debuting his feature film, Harry Brown starring Michael Caine. It's hard to believe that the The Keeping Room is Julia Hart's first screenplay and Barber's sophomore feature because the film is executed with grade-A suspense. The trailer makes the film look fairly simple but this revisionist Western story packs a big punch. The Keeping Room opens on September 25.

Badass Femmes is a bi-weekly column that I write on Crome Yellow about all the Badass Females in pop culture that has shaped my life.

Thanks to her youthful roles in Beetlejuice, Edward Scissorhands, Reality Bites and of course, Heathers, Winona Ryder, our Princess of Darkness, will always have fans (and I) using the hashtag #Wino4Evaz on a daily basis. Out of all her films though, Heathers is the most sinister and darkest of all her younger years. As Veronica, Ryder was the fairest of them all, a sharp contrast to her shallow and soul-sucking companions – her angsty and aloof personality epitomized teen behavior in all of its cynical and nihilistic glory! To this day, the character is one that sticks out for standing her ground in a counter culture battle against the very people she once called her best friends. Though times have changed, high school remains a vicious battleground, and to make it out alive, you gotta play the game like Veronica did. Of course she saved the day by killing her ex-boyfriend and knocking her former besties off their throne, but that’s just high school drama to the next level y’all.

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Bradgelina are back & it seems like there is some trouble in paradise! It's been about 10 years since we saw the power couple fall in love on screen in Mr. and Mrs. Smith. And now in By the Sea, these two explore a marriage on the cusp of collapsing onto itself. Set in France during the 1970s, Vanessa, a former dancer and her husband, an American writer, travel the country together. They seem to be growing apart and when they linger in one small quaint seaside town, they become drawn to its more vibrant inhabitants. There hasn't been any heartwrenching dramas these days but this picturesque martial melodrama that's filled with sultry, uber dramatic, & all kinds of euro-vibes is just what I ordered! Can't wait to bawl some tears of my own with Angie when By the Sea comes out November 13th!

Todd Haynes' latest film Carol cause massive buzz at this year's Cannes Film Festival after it received critical acclaim and a Best Actress prize for Rooney Mara. You can bet that the film is going to become a major contender come this award season. Based on Patricia Highsmith's novel 'The Price of Salt,' the story follows one married wife (Cate Blanchett) and a lonely department store worker's (Rooney Mara) blossoming relationship in 1950's New York City. Sarah Paulson, Kyle Chandler and Jake Lacy also stars. I absolutely adore Haynes for his works featuring a wide range of stories of vulnerable, powerful, and versatile women. This teaser trailer is full of gorgeous and luscious imagery provided by Haynes' longtime DP Edward Lachman. I can't wait for Carol to come out November 20th!

Year: 2015
Director: Jake Schreier

Writer: John Green (author), Scott Neustadter & Michael H. Weber (screenplay)

Cinematographer: David Lanzenberg

Cast: Nat Wolff, Cara Delevingne, Austin Abrams, Justice Smith, Halston Sage, Jaz Sinclair,

Country of Origin: USA

Rating: PG-13
Time: 109 mins.

If you know Arshad, you know that he is all about YA novel to film adaptations. So it's no surprise that we are reviewing John Green's latest book to film story, Paper Towns starring Nat Wolff and Cara Delevingne. Fans loved Green's The Fault in our Stars so obviously the studios hurried and planned to make two more films including this film and Looking for Alaska! We will be all well versed in Green's bibliography soon enough! Paper Town follows Quentin, a shy young man who embarks on a journey to find Margo, the rebellious and uninhibited girl next door of his dreams!

If you watch the trailer, you can definitely pick up some Manic Pixie Dream Girl vibes but make no mistake because John Green apparently wrote the story to dismantle the very detrimental notion that many kids have today. I know that when I was young, I had the same complex but with a boy which ultimately spiraled out of control! So, I am glad that Green didn't try to sugarcoat or feed our love starved fantasies with just another love story. Instead, he strikes our hearts with honesty and sincerity. If only the pacing and overall tone had more energy, the film would've been solid. But regardless, I think it's an important film that should be seen by all teens.

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There are times you witness a visual masterpiece that caters so exactly to you artistic palette, it makes you grimace that you didn't know who these people were before. That's exactly how I feel about Lorn's ethereal tunes and R113's magnificent work behind their Acid Rain music video. R113 is a Los Angeles based film collective that specializes in music videos, commercials, and films. Take a gander at this insanely dark and vibrant work of art that has everything I ever wanted (in life): zombie cheerleaders, neon-lite diners, and b0mbtastic dances! Did I mention the orgasmic jams by Lorn?! Ugh, this has been on repeat for a while now. Get ready to have your mind-bllooown!

What is the Girl Talk Series?

In the fourth episode of the Girl Talk Series, But That's Life, Right?, Grace & Bomy have a major heart to heart moment and share their own personal stories of loss especially being at such a young age. The topic of loss is one that I feel the most connected to especially transitioning from a young girl to a woman and just dealing with life. Grace & Bomy are the youngest girls featured in the Girl Talk Series and yet, they have experience hardship that many of us haven't even experienced entering our mid-twenties and on. As much as our young generation is inundated and ruled by the presence of digital media and technology, there are always moments of true connect and bond amongst our closest friends no matter how "connected" we feel in society through our hand-held gadgets. This is the most personal episode out of the entire series that will speak to many people as we peek into the emotions and hearts into real girls who share with us their most intimate feelings about loss.