The past three years, I have written film reviews, commentaries on the changing film landscape, and annual Oscar predictions. There have been some fundamental changes within the film industry and elements of slow but concrete progress. For my final TSL column before leaving Claremont, I thought I would reflect on
Author: Victoria Anders
‘Chappaquiddick’ Shows An Old Kennedy Trope And A New Family Mystery
“Chappaquiddick,” the newest installment of Kennedy family history put on film, gives an account of the true, yet still misunderstood events that occurred June 18, 1969 on Chappaquiddick Island, Massachusetts. The film plays a balancing act of ’60s nostalgia, privilege critique, and moral drama — quite effectively taken on by
Is Netflix Taking Over The Movie Industry Through Your Computer Screen?
Who doesn’t enjoy a late-night Netflix session to catch up on “Stranger Things,” re-watch “Friends” for the 20th time, or catch some feels with “Moana?” But, have you ever watched a Netflix original movie? The first-ever Netflix feature film was released Dec. 12, 2013 — a documentary titled “The
The ‘First-Ever’ Rom-Com With Gay Protagonists, ‘Love, Simon’: A Needed, Imperfect Film
“Love, Simon” opens, as many others, with a “typical teenager” going through high school. “I have a totally, perfectly normal life,” Simon, the protagonist, says. “Except I have one huge-ass secret.” Simon Spier (Nick Robinson) loves his family and their Netflix nights, has supportive (stereotypically suburbanite millennial) friends, and
Will Win, Should Win, And Snubbed: Our Oscar Predictions
Hollywood has had a year of reckoning, complicity, and unified strength. Articles about sexual harassment and widespread systematic cover-ups overshadowed stories about box office grosses, the next Disney remake, or even those about a continued lack of diversity in stories, casts, production teams, and, increasingly, audiences. The Oscars are
‘Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri’: Nothing But Tremendously Acted Pain and Suffering
CW: Mentions of sexual assault and harassment, police brutality One of the most talked-about films this season, “Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri,” opens in a fictional town seven months after 17-year-old Angela Hayes is murdered near her rural home by an unknown assailant. Confusion ensued as I tried to figure
Worthy Nominations Lead This Year’s Diverse Oscar Pack
CW: Mentions of sexual assault and harassment “The Shape of Water” leads the Oscar pack with 13 nominations and a pretty high chance of winning at least a few of the gold men. (Stay tuned for my Oscar predictions to come in a future TSL edition.) Here, I’ll take a
A New Take on Homelessness in “The Florida Project”
“The Florida Project” is a momentous film about white poverty in the face of commercial America. A six-year-old girl living with her single mother in a motel in the shadows of Disney World discovers herself and the reality of her mother’s economic condition. The movie exposes the often disregarded, neglected
Watch “Victoria & Abdul” for Judi Dench, Not Compelling Colonial Critique
An unlikely friendship between the second-longest reigning monarch of Britian and an Indian Muslim servant in “Victoria and Abdul,” directed by Stephen Frears, provides an exhilarating backdrop for an otherwise underwhelming, even disappointing, retrospect on British court, Empire, and the beginnings of diaspora. Following “A United Kingdom” and “Viceroy’s House” in the
Kingsman: The Golden Circle Reaches Across the Pond For Serviceable Sequel
I went into a showing of “Kingsman: The Golden Circle” looking to unwind on a Sunday night, and left feeling satisfied, albeit a little disappointed in the Colin Firth-led sequel. “Kingsman: The Secret Service,” the first film in the series, was a fun and punchy take on the Bond Film genre.