Sharp Objects: Episode 4 "Ripe"

by Murtada

I was excited for this episode of Sharp Objects as it was billed as "Camille and Richard finally go on a date." They sort of did, in the Sharp Objects way by visiting Wind Gap murder scenes. But the episode also gave us a glimpse into Adora and Alan’s marriage and a memory involving Alan and Camille. I don’t think we’ve ever seen the latter two characters have any meaningful interactions before last night.

At the end of last week’s episode we saw Camille fleeing Wind Gap after her confrontation with Amma. However this time we start with her changing her mind and coming back. Images of dead girls fill the screen, we get it Jean Marc Vallèe, that's why she’s coming back. The constant cutting between now and the Camille's memories feels played out to me despite the story's dependence on memory. It was fresh and exciting when we first saw it 4 years ago in Wild (2014). Get some new tools, Vallèe!!

I’ve decided to let go of trying to look for clues to the mystery of the killer and just enjoy the performances and the eerie atmosphere that the series built.

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Sharp Objects: Episode 3 "Fix"

Previously: Episode 2 "Dirt"

by Ilich Mejía

In this week's installment of Let's Obscure Patricia Clarkson's Face To Visually Storytell, we barely get to make out Patty's moneymaker. In all fairness, while obscured, Patricia's unreasonable Adora still gets to crush common sense with pastels and Southern charm in front of characters outside her own family this week. Out of a familial context, her obsession with perception is amplified to a chilling perversity as she willfully obstructs her daughter Camille's attempts at finding the murderer of two young girls because *gasp* what will people say! We see how even at home, protected from the scrutiny of people outside of her circle, she prioritizes presentation: heels with nightgowns before bed, suede sandals while gardening, a maid never seen without her uniform. She’s no different with less familiar acquaintances, winning over the local police chief and the grieving father with her facetious attention and sweetened coffee...

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Sharp Objects: Episode 1 "Vanish"

By Spencer Coile 

It’d be easy for audiences to tune into Sharp Objects with considerably high expectations. It stars Amy Adams and Patricia Clarkson, is the latest “prestige” piece of television from HBO, and is directed by Jean-Marc Vallée – who is coming off of a fantastic year with the success of HBO’s 2017 phenomenon,Big Little Lies. Add in source material from Gone Girl’s Gillian Flynn, and you have yourself an unsettling, binge-worthy summer series to watch. 

Yet, while Big Little Lies was fantastic, those drawing comparisons between it and Sharp Objects are evaluating HBO’s latest all wrong. Its first episode, “Vanish” demonstrates this perfectly by introducing a story and a leading lady who are so detached, so cut off from reality, that it’d be difficult to compare it to anything else. 

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"Sharp Objects" Teases

by Nathaniel R

Mmmmmhow we love a good teaser. One that tells you almost nothing about the movie or tv series other than an overal mood so as to preserve / prolong the pre-release excitement. Here comes the eight hour miniseries Sharp Objects starring Amy Adams and Patty Clarkson, two of the best actresses in the business, the latter of whom hasn't had a high profile great part in way too long...

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Links: Sharp Objects, French Directors, Emmy Ladies

THR amazing casting news: the great Patricia Clarkson will play Amy Adams estranged mother in HBO's Sharp Objects. Both roles are so juicy. Filming starts soon but we're talking next summer's Emmy nomination's not 2017's. Speaking of...
Decider Joe Reid's already thinking of the Lead Actress in a Miniseries Emmy race: 10 women, only 6 slots
/Film original Ghost in the Shell actors will dub the new film for Japanese relates

 

Salon looks back at memorable Russian villains in movies and on TV
All Things Considered wonders if you can make a King Kong movie without perpetuating racial undertones
Variety winners for the Miami Film Festival: Family Life and Maria (and Everybody Else)
Awards Daily 77 films about women on the way. That sounds like a lot, so, yay!
The Sun a couple of more pictures from the set of Mary Poppins Returns. A polka dot bowtie on Mary!
Decider Girls found the line that HBO wouldnt cross for sex scenes 
/Film Edgar Wright's Baby Driver starring Ansel Elgort premiered at SXSW so here's the trailer 
W Mag classic Linda Evangelista photo. Love.

French Waves, Not New
The New Yorker has an article / theory on why France hasn't produced a great director in three decades. Interesting ideas but I disagree with the thesis. France may never be the critical hotspot in international cinema -- there's always some exciting country of the moment in international cinema and it changes every handful of years -- but they're consistently strong.

Thirty years ago was 1987. Directors who made their first feature films after 1987 include Claire Denis (1988), Arnaud Desplechin (1991), Jacques Audiard (1994). Does The New Yorker really exclude all of them from a list of great French directors? I admit France isn't turning out the greats as consistently as they once did and Brody is right that the new exciting directors dont seem to stay as exciting for as long as they should now (what happened to Christophe Honore, for example?) but let's be reasonable! I personally have high hopes for Celine Sciamma (Girlhood), Deniz Gamze Ergüven (Mustang) and Alice Winocour (Disorder) so maybe the future is female? 

"Complicit"
Did you see SNL's perfume ad of Ivanka Trump starring Scarlett Johansson? The Titanic joke is rich.