TIFF: Shekhar Kapur’s ‘What’s Love Got to Do with It’

By Abe Friedtanzer

 

It’s fun to see a director known for a particular kind of film try something new. At the premiere for his film What’s Love Got To Do With It, Shekhar Kapur, best known for Elizabeth, joked about how he responded to being told that he doesn’t do rom-coms: “Watch me.” His latest is a joyous celebration of culture and heritage and the way they can serve to both unite and divide, offering many genuine laughs and some heartfelt commentary on what it means to stay true to family… 

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Emmy Category Analysis: Lead Actress in a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie

By Abe Friedtanzer

Lily James in Pam and Tommy

This is quite a lineup, though just one of its six nominees is from an anthology series and none are from TV movies (Jenna Ortega would have made a phenomenal choice for HBO Max’s The Fallout). Every character portrayed is based on a real person, with only Margaret Qualley’s Alex Russell adapted from author Stephanie Land into someone slightly fictionalized. Exactly half of these women star in projects nominated for Best Limited or Anthology Series, but there’s still support for the other three even if their projects underperformed. Only Lily James and Amanda Seyfried are brand-new to the Emmys, and, of the rest, all but Qualley have actually won before. I think it’s likely a race between the newbies, but let’s examine the lineup...

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Run Towards Me in Slow-Motion, Lily James

by Jason Adams

What are your feelings on Lily James, TFE readers? I am aware feelings about her seem to be all over the map, at least in the social media world, because whenever I post or tweet about her I hear the gamut of reactions...

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First images from the surely misbegotten remake of "Rebecca"

by Nathaniel R

Armie Hammer and Lily James as Mr and Mrs de Winter

Netflix has released the first four images from their remake of Hitchcock's Rebecca which begins streaming on October 21st ---  Excuse us, Daphne du Maurier's Rebecca. People will be quick to note that it's less sacrilegious to adapt the novel than the 1940 best Picture winner. Now, we understand that remakes are not automatically "bad," but there are numerous reasons why remaking Hitchcock films, of all things, is a spectacularly dumb thing to do. For one, auteurs that get adjectives named ever them are inimitable and so you lose the distinct personality. For another, Hitchcock movies have (mostly) aged terrifically well; there's a reason people still watch a wide swath of them and so many are still easily available to the public, referenced in so many modern movies, and an intrinsic part of culture...

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Review: "Little Woods"

by Tony Ruggio

Little Woods, North Dakota: not far from our border to the north, and a poster child for the death of the American Dream. Tessa Thompson is Ollie, a woman hardened by a life selling oxy and a an allergy to hope. Her adopted mother has passed and she and her younger sister Debbie (Lily James) are left to pick up the pieces, namely a pittance of a house and what’s left of Ollie’s former life. She’s nearing the end of her probation and you know what that means. Life’s about to throw her a curveball, sending her back to the wheelin’ and dealin’ trenches, where seedy characters and searing guilt are part of the job. Debbie needs help and Ollie’s good at doing, so she’s back at it to pay the mortgage and get her sister the medical care she needs. It’s all very predictable, but it hardly matters...

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