Mark Kermode on… Kathryn Bigelow, a stylish ruffler of feathers

-
From vampire noir to Bin Laden, Point Break to Detroit, the first woman to win an Oscar for best director has never pulled her punches Watching new Jeff Nichols release The Bikeriders , starring Austin Butler and Tom Hardy as 60s Chicago greasers, I was reminded of two other movies: László Benedek’s 1953 Marlon Brando vehicle The Wild One , explicitly cited as an inspiration, and The Loveless , the 1981 feature debut of Kathryn Bigelow , the American film-maker (b.1951) who would go on to become the first woman to win a best director Oscar with her 2008 war drama The Hurt Locker . A symphony of leather-clad posing (with just a touch of Kenneth Anger ), The Loveless was a staple of the late-night circuit in the 80s, often on a double bill with David Lynch’s Eraserhead . Sharing directing credits with Monty Montgomery, Bigelow playfully deconstructed masculinity and machismo in a manner that was one part wry to two parts relish. I remember seeing The Loveless at the Phoenix in East
Post a Comment

Mean Girls review – high-school sadism comedy as sugar-rush movie musical

-

In some ways the musical format suits Mean Girls better than the original movie version, with Angourie Rice in the role once occupied by Lindsay Lohan

The high school comedy of status-sadism now reaches the same third life-cycle stage already achieved by Hairspray, The Producers and The Color Purple: the movie, the stage musical version and then the movie version of that. My own dissident reaction to the 2004 original was a mean review based on feeling it was inferior to Clueless, Election and 10 Things I Hate About You, and that it had its cake and ate it on the prettiness-fascism issue.

But I could have paid more attention to the showstopping individually funny lines; screenwriter Tina Fey after all went on to create an authentic masterpiece with TV’s 30 Rock, in which she could more successfully represent in her own person the eternal Mean Girls themes of reconciling success with kindness. Moreover the Broadway Mean Girls was a big improvement on the film because the musical genre makes everything more amusingly histrionic – the “diva” theme made explicit – and this movie version succeeds in the same way, although like the subsequent movie iteration it sags in the over-extended third act.

Continue reading...

from Film | The Guardian https://ift.tt/M3t67oa
via IFTTT

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Gasoline Rainbow review – a free-ranging coming-of-age ode to the curiosity of youth

-
Billed as a gen Z road trip film, the Ross brothers’ first fiction feature offers more than you’d expect from the genre, with a focus on human interaction over plot In the opening seconds of the Ross brothers’ new film, a teenager professes his hope to discover a place “weirdos” like him can call home. The opening raises doubts about the novelty of what might follow: the trope of the high school outsider has been endlessly revisited. Gasoline Rainbow – billed as a gen Z road trip movie – starts off by replaying familiar images. As new high school graduates Makai, Micah, Nathaly, Nichole and Tony hit the road across Oregon for one final adventure together, we see the usual trappings of the genre: sing-alongs, parties by the campfire, and leaning out of car windows to enjoy the breeze and sweet call of freedom. We move into welcome new territory when a mishap leaves their van out of action, and the group are left in the hot desert trying to scrounge a path forward, meeting strangers al
Read more

Elaha review – sex, patriarchy and second-generation identity

-
A sexually candid, seriously intentioned drama about a young Kurdish woman who feels she has to surgically ‘restore’ her virginity before her wedding There is a heartfelt and courageous performance from 28-year-old Syrian-born, German-based actor Bayan Layla in this drama about sex, patriarchy and second-generation immigrant identity. It is a drama which hits the buttons squarely and efficiently, but might perhaps have played better as a three-part TV drama. Layla plays Elaha, a young woman of Kurdish family background in a German town (director Milena Aboyan is herself German-based and Armenian-Kurdish). She has finished high school and is now attending classes on how to apply for jobs, picking up skills she uses mainly to help her dad find employment. There seems to be no discussion about university, despite her obvious intelligence. Her mum works hard minding Elaha’s younger sister and disabled kid brother, and Elaha has part-time work at a dry-cleaners; she is saving for her wedd
Read more

Shraddha Kapoor roped in as co-founder by demi fine jewellery start-up Palmonas

-
Palmonas, the demi-fine jewellery startup, has announced the addition of Bollywood actor Shraddha Kapoor as its co-founder. This collaboration marks a significant milestone in the industry, with Kapoor's involvement stemming from a serendipitous interaction on Instagram. Founded by Pallavi Mohadikar and Dr Amol Patwari, the demi-fine jewellery brand uses surgical-grade stainless steel elegantly plated with 18k gold tone and sterling silver plated with gold vermeil which is a 2.5-micron thick layer of 18K gold. This unique combination not only sets it apart in the industry but also establishes a standard of affordable luxury accessible to a diverse audience. Celebrated for its exquisite designs, superior craftsmanship, and affordable prices, PALMONAS has gained widespread acclaim for its contemporary and minimalistic jewellery collections made from sterling silver, stainless steel, and gold vermeil. Pallavi Mohadikar, Founder of Palmonas, shared the exciting journey of discovering
Read more