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Saturday September 7th

Reviews


Featured are von Trier’s most recent films, “Nymphomaniac” (2013) and “The House that Jack Built” (2018) (Photos courtesy of Imdb).

Director’s Cut: Lars von Trier

Lars von Trier is a Danish film director and screenwriter whose career has spanned across over four decades. His most notable work includes “Dogville” (2003), “Antichrist” (2008), “Melancholia” (2011), and “Nymphomaniac” (2013) to name only a few. No stranger to controversy, von Trier has pushed the boundaries of screen to new levels, never failing to shock the film community as a whole. 

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(Photo courtesy of IMDb)

‘Dual’ is a dry but witty satire on loss, mortality

“Dual,” which is directed by Riley Stearns, takes us into a modern sci-fi world where, upon terminal illness, patients have the ability to clone themselves to save loved ones from the mourning process. When faced with an incurable fatal illness, Sarah (Karen Gillan) decides to go through this process and clone herself. After miraculously overcoming the illness, Sarah now faces the moral and physical battle of legally having to fight her clone to the death. 

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(Photo courtesy of IMDb)

‘The Worst Person in the World’ is a unique but grounded approach to the messiness of relationships

In my quest to watch every movie nominated at this year’s Academy Awards, which premieres on Mar. 27, I decided to check out “The Worst Person in the World.” The Norwegian film is among the five movies nominated for best international feature film at this year’s Oscars. It is directed by Joachim Trier and was released in the United States on Feb. 4. “The Worst Person in the World” is a dark romantic comedy that follows Julie (Renate Reinsve), a young woman who is trying to understand who she is as she navigates through different relationships and careers. The film effectively portrays the many decisions we have to make in life and how commitment can be daunting. 

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(Photo courtesy of 20th Century Studios)

‘The King’s Man’ is a disappointing prequel that fails to save the franchise

The Kingsman franchise has not been doing too well recently. After the critical and commercial success of “Kingsmen: The Secret Service,” it seemed like this was going to be an exciting new franchise to watch out for. Then, with the overall disappointment of its sequel “Kingsmen: The Golden Circle,” people started to turn on the franchise. Now, director Matthew Vaughn looks to try a different approach with the newest film in the franchise — a prequel origin story for the organization, which hit theaters in December and was released on HBO Max and Hulu on Feb. 18.

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(Photo courtesy of Netflix)

‘Windfall’ review: Money or happiness?

Netflix’s newest thriller, “Windfall” is a story about three people, none of whom are given names. They are known only as Nobody (Jason Segel), CEO (Jesse Plemons), and Wife (Lily Collins). Directed by Charlie McDowell, and written by Justin Lader and Jason Segel, the story begins when Nobody, a generally gruff and unhappy but non-confrontational man, breaks into the CEO and Wife’s vacation house.

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(Photo courtesy of 20th Century Studios & Hulu)

‘Deep Water’ is a movie drowning in its shallow story

Believe it or not, “Deep Water” has actually been in development for close to a decade, with director Adrian Lyne signing on in 2013. It wasn’t until 2019 when things really started to get in motion, but unfortunately everything became sidelined due to the pandemic. The film would go on to be delayed three separate times, before finally releasing on March 18 of this year.

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(Photo courtesy of Walt Disney Studios & Pixar Animation Studios)

‘Turning Red’ is a fresh Pixar film about embracing your true colors

Pixar has been on a roll recently. The most popular animation studio in the world has been dominating the industry for years, proving time and time again why they’re so successful. Their newest and 25th animated film “Turning Red,” directed by Domee Shi, was just released on Disney+ on March 11, giving us another important story with beautiful animation. 

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(Photo courtesy of Netflix)

Even if you aren’t a fan of Kanye, ‘Jeen-yuhs: A Kanye Trilogy’ is a must watch

Just as its name implies, “Jeen-yuhs: A Kanye Trilogy” is a three-part documentary following the life and career of recording artist, fashion mogul and record producer, Ye, formerly known as Kanye West. Before stealing the microphone from Taylor Swift at the VMA awards, the viral Tweet storms or the ten number one albums, Ye was a young producer in Chicago hustling to make a name for himself as a rapper. Directing duo Coodie & Chike followed Ye throughout his nearly two-decade career and watched his ups and downs in his journey to become the successful icon he is today. The third and final act of “Jeen-yuhs: A Kanye Trilogy” released exclusively on Netflix on Mar. 2. 

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(Photo courtesy of IMDb)

‘The Hand of God’ is a unique but beautiful mix of comedy, tragedy

“The Hand of God” is an Italian film that was recently nominated for best international feature film at the Oscars. It was directed by Paolo Sorrentino and released in the United States on Dec. 1. The film is set in 1980s Naples and follows Fabietto, played by Filippo Scotti, a teenager who is trying to find his place in the world as he deals with sudden but drastic loss. “The Hand of God” is almost entirely in Italian, with only a few scenes including English dialogue. 

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(Photo courtesy of Netflix/Yana Blajeva)

‘Texas Chainsaw Massacre’ (2022) review: Not worth the watch

“Texas Chainsaw Massacre” (2022) is the newly released sequel to the 1974 classic of the same name. It follows a group of young influencers looking to revive the ghost town of Harlow, Texas nearly fifty years after the original film. However, the group quickly realizes that the town of Harlow is a ghost town for a reason, that reason being the chainsaw wielding Leatherface, who kills everyone who crosses his path.

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(Photo courtesy of IMDB)

‘Death on the Nile’ unfortunately falls flat

Directing and starring Kenneth Branagh, “Death on The Nile” was released in theaters on Feb. 11.  This film is a followup to the 2017’s “Murder on the Orient Express,” which, like “Death on the Nile’ is also based on an Agatha Christie novel. It also stars Gal Gadot, Emma Mackey and Armie Hammer. 

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