Category: Reviews
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The Green Knight (2021)
There’s a list of movies that I was excited to see before COVID hit and everything fell to shit, and The Green Knight was one such film. I can’t say that I’m a huge Arthurian legend nerd–I know the stuff covered on the animated Gargoyles series and that Sir Lancelot, the best knight ever who also fucks the king’s wife, was created by the French–but it’s been a passing interest. But add in a spooky atmosphere and I got hooked just by the trailer. And after what feels like years of waiting, it’s finally here, ready for me to watch…
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Zygote (2017)
Some days the best laid plans fall through, and for that I’m glad we have short films. I’m not saying that every time I review a film under an hour long it’s because I’m scrambling at the last minute to find something to post the next day… but I’m also not not saying that will be the case. Anyway, I at least took the time to look up some horror short films, and Zygote came highly recommended. Was it worth 22 minutes of my time? Absolutely!
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Revolutionary Girl Utena – Season 1, Episodes 4-7
We’re back at it again with more episodes of Shōjo Kakumei Utena, AKA Revolutionary Girl Utena! Last time we met several of our main characters, primarily Utena Tenjou and Anthy Himemiya. We saw Utena duel for possession of Anthy, something Utena finds very problematic, but the Student Council doesn’t really agree as they want the revolutionary power that comes from being Anthy’s fiancé. It’s a weird show, but that’s the 90’s for you. So let’s dive right in and meet the rest of the Student Council!
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Caravan of Courage: An Ewok Adventure (1984)
It wasn’t my intention to avoid the main Star Wars movies; it’s just that covering all nine is an event all to itself. And then the question becomes in what order do I watch them? Chronologically (1-9)? By release (4-6, 1-3, 7-9)? Flashback mode (4&5, 1-3, 6-9)? And what about Rogue One and Solo? But that’s a problem for future Chwineka, and fuck that guy. Today we’re talking about Caravan of Courage: An Ewok Adventure, a made-for-TV kids film featuring everyone’s favorite Star Wars VI: Return of the Jedi characters, the ewoks. What, you didn’t love the ewoks? Well too…
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Joe Bell (2020)
When I first saw the trailer for Joe Bell, I thought to myself, “What kind of hetero nonsense is this?” It told too much of the story: a young gay man kills himself, and his father feels really bad about it. I joked that the real title should be A is for Ally and just assumed that it would be a movie that would make my eyes roll. But oh, dear reader, I was wrong. This movie pissed me the FUCK off.
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Lost Lake (2003)
I will admit that I have trouble deciding what to review here. I want to find the right balance between the extremes of “no one has ever seen this movie” and “everyone has seen this movie.” I don’t always do that well, as is the case with today’s film, Lost Lake, which has only one watch on Letterboxed: my own (this is also the case for A Windigo Tale, a story of the trauma residential schools do, which is… sadly always relevant). No one has heard of this movie! Why should I take the time to talk about it? Well,…
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Revolutionary Girl Utena – Season 1, Episodes 1-3
Okay, so this one might need a little explaining. I am a “geriatric millennial,” a term I saw once and cannot get out of my head, which in this case means I was on the internet back in the heyday of anime music videos, or AMVs. People would take anime clips and cut them together with a song and at the time it was high art. One AMV that stuck with me was Kusoyaro mashing up Bjork’s “Bachlorette” with the film Shōjo Kakumei Utena Aduresensu Mokushiroku, AKA Revolutionary Girl Utena: Adolescence of Utena. It’s my favorite AMV and the reason…
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Arrow – Season 1, Episodes 21-23
We’re finally here, the ending of Arrow’s first season. It’s hasn’t been as wild a ride as later seasons get, but then again this season does end with a rich asshole destroying the poor part of town, thinking he’s in the right. That’s some pretty big supervillainy with a dab of social commentary. This wrap up is going to be a bit on the longer side, so strap in. And if you’re emotional, grab some tissues because not everyone is making it out of this alive.
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What Happened to Monday (2017)
Once upon a time, my husband’s favorite movie was Scott Pilgrim vs. the World, a video game-themed comedy based on a comic (graphic novel, technically). That makes sense if you know him and I like that movie, too. Then he watched What Happened to Monday, and this dystopian sci-fi thriller became his new favorite. The only thing the two movies have in common is a focus on the number 7. After finally sitting down and watching it, did I also like this film? Well… not really. Sorry, babe.
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Fear Street: 1666 (2021)
I did it! I actually took the time to reread The Fear Street Saga books! And it’s a good thing I did, because the parallels between that trilogy of books and this trilogy of movies are… uh… Okay, so there’s next to no connection and I can’t get too excited about reading a novella written for teenagers, but still. Back to the topic on hand, Fear Street: 1666 ties all the threads from Fear Street: 1994 and Fear Street: 1978 together, revealing the truth behind all the bad things that happen in Shadyside. And I’m going to talk around that…
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