The radical notion that women like good movies
This guest post also appears at Professor, What If… and the Ms. Magazine blog. In the second-season premiere of the Showtime series Nurse Jackie, a feminist id was on full display. According to Mr. Penis Envy, Sigmund Freud, who published The Ego and the Id in 1923, the id acts according to the “pleasure principle,” seeking … Continue reading “Guest Post: Nurse Jackie as Feminist Id?”
We previewed The Princess and the Frog back in June, noting the potential perpetuation of racial stereotypes and lamenting yet another princess movie where the princess still portrays the humanly-impossible physique of all who came before her. I actually watched this. The movie flirts with improvement, at least in its attempt to make the heroine … Continue reading “Releasing on DVD: Tuesday, March 16”
*This is a guest post from Sarah Domet. District 9: A Film I Want to Like I’ll be the first to admit: I want to like District 9, and I want to applaud The Academy for nominating this quirky, dark, heartfelt, and comic film for a Best Picture award. Even further, I would like to … Continue reading “Movie Review: ‘District 9’”
No. No to the over-abundant racial stereotypes showcased throughout the film. No to the kind-hearted southern woman as the Black man’s White Savior. No to the shallow, embarrassing, surface-level portrayal of class issues. No to the constant heavy-handed references to God and prayer and sexual morality. No to falling back on the tired tropes of … Continue reading “Movie Review: ‘The Blind Side’”
*This is a guest post from the author of The Undomestic Goddess. I saw Quentin Tarantino’s Inglorious Basterds when it first came out and then again recently in the sweep of the Oscar season. I remember upon first viewing being surprised that, unlike all the posters and marketing would have you believe, Brad Pitt is … Continue reading “Movie Review: Inglorious Basterds”
So I decided to watch one of those mind-numbingly mediocre action films, assuming I’d walk away from the experience merely mind-numbed and ready to move forward with more serious cinema. The exact opposite happened. Not only is Taken a terribly made film in terms of its pacing, plot points, character development, and dialogue, it’s one … Continue reading “Flick-Off: Taken”
By now, you’ve all probably heard that Patrick Swayze lost his battle with pancreatic cancer yesterday, at age 57. I remember watching Dirty Dancing when it first came out–and when I was definitely too young to see it. There are worse things for a young girl to see, however, than Frances coming into her own–even … Continue reading “Patrick Swayze 1952-2009”
Dear Filmmakers, Movie Promoters, Marketing Teams, Poster Designers, et al: Recently, I spent some time gathering movie posters for several of last year’s top-grossing films. I noticed that in movies with male leads, the posters usually featured them prominently, with either up-close shots of their faces (smiling in a mocking “I’m hilarious!” way, or looking … Continue reading “Movie Posters: A Bitch Flicks Verbal Beatdown”
div style=”text-align: justify;”>In response to my previous post about pay discrimination in Hollywood, an anonymous commenter pointed out the following: “Although I agree that women should be paid the same in all industries, your breakdown of the top grossing movies fails to recognise that apart from Sex and the City there were major male actors … Continue reading “Are You Ready to Get Ridiculous?”
Forbes recently published a list of Hollywood’s top-earning actresses, for films completed within the previous year. Please note the following: “As is still typical for Hollywood, our actresses earned significantly less than their male counterparts. Harrison Ford was the top-earning actor this year with $65 million, $38 million more than Jolie earned. All told, the … Continue reading “Pay Discrimination in Hollywood, Who Knew?”
According to several entertainment sources, a new comedy called Business Trip has been picked up by Universal Pictures. Written by Stacey Harman, the film focuses on four women who take a business trip together and, instead of getting any real business-oriented work done, shenanigans ensue. Apparently, it’s being produced by the same people involved with … Continue reading “Business Trip Wishes”
Despite its abysmal reviews, Transformers: Rise of the Fallen took home the top spot at the box office over the weekend. Here are some highlights from Rotten Tomatoes: “It’s a wad of chaos puked onto the big screen, an arbitrary collection of explosions and machismo posturing.” –David Cornelius, eFilmCritic.com “Will insult your intelligence, hurt your … Continue reading “Misogyny Still Reigns at the Box Office”
