I only recently became acquainted with the iconic, beautiful, and compelling Indian actress Sridevi--who was in nearly 300 films. She has now suddenly passed away at the only 54. This is a terrible loss, so I'm taking this moment to recommend both Mom and English Vinglish, two of her more recent films. Mom is a rape-revenge thriller, released in 2017. After her step-daughter is brutally assaulted by a gang of men, step-mom Devki takes matters into her own hands. Mom is pretty great, while not for those easily triggered by brutal violence. This is a tight thriller. 4/5 English Vinglish is a little older, released in 2012. In English Vinglish, Sridevi plays the matriarch to a family who underestimates and takes her for granted. Being the only one in her family to not speak any English, Shashi decides to secretly take English classes. This film is so lovely and wonderful. If you don't feel great after watching English Vinglish, I don't know what's wrong with you! 5/5 |
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Wild at Heart is a road movie in which Lula and Sailor, two young lovers, take to the road in order to escape Lula's "wicked" mother. Take a young Laura Dern and a young Nicholas Cage and a snake skin jacket. Add Diane Ladd, Harry Dean Stanton, Willem Dafoe. Stir in some Jack Nance, John Lurie and Pruitt Taylor Vince and more than a dash of Twin Peaks with Grace Zabrinski, Sherlyn Fenn, and Sheryl Lee. Let simmer. Wild at Heart is classic Lynch; it's super bizarre and riddled with insanity. This is extremely enjoyable and well worth your time. It will blow your mind. 5/5 Call Me Lucky is a tremendous documentary about the legendary Barry Crimmins from director/actor/comedian Bobcat Goldwait. Wow. If you don't know about Barry Crimmins you should take some time to listen to Marc Maron's WTF interview with Crimmins from 2013, or youtube him a bit. Crimmins is a legend in the comedy world; an ascerbic, bitter, angry stand up in the 70s and 80s who ended up founding the Boston Comedy scene and running two clubs, that both flourished in the 1990s. Then suddenly, he quit the whole scene. You see, Crimmins is a survivor of childhood sexual abuse and a leading advocate for children's rights and a pioneering crusader against child pornography on the Internet. Crimmins dove head first into the world of child porn AOL chatrooms, gathering damning evidence before the police and the government even understood that people could share files over the internet. His work led to many laws and subsequent zero tolerance policies on child pornography in the US. This is a very powerful and surprising film. 5/5 Showgirls is a real turkey but given the right conditions it can be a lot of fun. For instance, in a theater with a live drag show where you're you can drink alcohol and talk aloud. That makes this movie a fun time. Without a doubt Showgirls is ridiculous. You can practically hear director Paul Verhoeven screaming "MORE! BIGGER!! BIGGER!!" and as a result this movie is extremely melodramatic but that's what makes it what it is. This is also a movie that can't decide if it's a drama, comedy, rape revenge, or rags to riches... Have a laugh. 2/5 on a big screen and with booze 1/5 sober |
LindseyHere is where I post new reviews as I see films throughout the year. Archives
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