Review: Happiest Season

by Eurocheese

Yes, it’s that time. Even in this, the strangest year of most of our lives, there’s something comforting about knowing that holiday season always rolls around and we can put on our favorite holiday songs and movies to keep us company. Clea DuVall’s new film Happiest Season not only understands that we need this escape, but manages to find humor in a season that can also be high pressure and exasperating for those who don’t adore it.

Abby (Kristen Stewart) is one of these people. While her girlfriend Harper (Mackenzie Davis) seems over the moon for the holiday, it’s always been a tough time for her, connected to the loss of her parents. In a romantic moment, Harper impulsively invites Abby back to meet her family for Christmas. Abby jumps on the opportunity, and doesn’t pick up on Harper’s hesitance the next day… or her nervous vibe as they head out on the trip…

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AFI: Riz Ahmed in "Sound of Metal"

by Eurocheese

When putting together my list of films to catch at the festival, I threw this film in because I’d heard that it had an incredible sound design. Nobody told me that Riz Ahmed gives one of the best leading male performances that we’ve seen in years. Nobody told me that this passion project would have me emotionally on edge from start to finish, or that I’d leave feeling that it was unlike any film I’d seen before. The fact that the sound design buzz on the sound design proved true was the delicious cherry on top.

Ahmed plays Ruben, a drummer in a rock band, and the movie kicks off immersing us in one of his performances...

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Yes No Maybe So: Minari

by Eurocheese

The Minari trailer has arrived, and wow is it gorgeous. I may not be familiar with writer/director Lee Isaac Chung’s previous works, but this trailer for the Sundance success and its endorsement from one of our most promising new directors (we’ll get there) are enough to get me excited. Let's do the Yes No Maybe So breakdown after the jump …

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Back to the movies with "Tenet" and a "Personal History..."

by Eurocheese

I drove 100 miles (one way!) to see two movies last weekend. Was it worth it? Well… yes and no. Here’s my take on returning to theaters and my thoughts on the two films I went (way) out of my way to see: Tenet and The Personal History of David Copperfield.

First, the moviegoing experience itself...

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Let's give "Brave" its due.

alternate poster by Greg Ruthby Eurocheese

Pixar managed to sneak a film about motherhood into their canon by disguising it as their princess movie, and I have always wondered if that’s part of the reason it doesn’t get its due when we are discussing Pixar’s best films. Merida, our frizzy-haired princess, is nothing like her Disney counterparts. She takes after her father, a fun-loving, loud mouthed ruffian who loves his exaggerated stories. Merida wants a world of adventure, and she despises being held back from it because of her gender.

This leads to inevitable conflict with her mother Elinor, a queen saddled with a boisterous husband, a rebellious daughter and triplets that spend the entire film causing havoc. Let’s be honest – this could easily have been the stock mother character, side-eyeing all the shenanigans and cleaning up everyone’s messes. Elinor is smarter than that, though...

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