by Max Benner
November 4, 2022
Banshees of Inisherin
Comedy / Drama
Writer & Director: Martin McDonagh
Starring: Colin Farrell, Brendan Gleeson, Kerry Condon
Rated R
Critic rating: 97%
Audience rating: 86%
Padraic (Colin Farrell) and Colm (Brendan Gleeson), lifelong best friends, have their relationship abruptly end after Colm wakes up with the realization he no longer likes Padraic and would rather pursue his career as a fiddle player/composer. After this sudden end to what was the main focus of Padraic's life, stricken with denial, he continually aggressively pursues their friendship. Colm is left with no other choice but to give Padraic one final ultimatum,
“…if you don't stop bothering me, I have a set of shears at home, and each time you bother me from this day on, I'll take those shears, and I’ll take one of me fingers off with them, and i'll give that finger to you, until i have no fingers left.”
Will Padraic take no for an answer or will Colm cut off his fiddle fingers leaving him unable to fulfill his life's passion?
If you love a good – slow-burn, melancholic character study, that has phenomenal cinematography showcasing the true beauty of Ireland (or Inesherin), that immersively explores themes of denial, loneliness, the concept of kindness in the context of time, and raw human emotion; Banshees of Inisherin is for you.
Going in with high expectations myself, I was still immensely impressed by every single aspect of the film. By far the ending alone is so powerful that anyone and everyone needs to see it.
Fun Facts
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While filming in Ireland, Barry Keoghan and Colin Farrell lived together. Farrell confessed, "... I'd come in, in the morning and the ******* place would be like raccoons had been there. It was like somebody said, 'okay, how can we **** him off?'" *Most notably the two actors in several interviews have mentioned Keoghan driving Farrell crazy by eating all his cornflakes and leaving huge messes.Writer/director Martin McDonagh wrote the film for Farrell and Gleeson. McDonagh exclaims, "One hundred percent. It was written for them. We always wanted to get back together in the last 14 years and remain friends, and we’d see each other every year." Banshees of Insherin was McDonagh's third project with both of the stars individually, although the three of them have not been united since In Bruges (2008).
*Banshees of inesherin received at 15-minute standing ovation at 2022’s Venice International Film Festival.Despite Keoghan's very active blossoming career and already being involved in the MCU and the new Batman series as the Joker, Keoghan signed onto this small budget Irish movie without reading the script.
*Jenny, in her first role as Pádaric’s donkey, ended up injuring Farrell by kicking him. Colin goes on to explain, "She didn’t like her nose being touched, I found out."
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September 16, 2022
Pearl
Horror / Slasher
Director: Ti West
Writers: Ti West & Mia Goth
Starring: Mia Goth, David Corenswet, & Tandi Wright
Rated R
Critic rating: 90%
Audience rating: 82%
Traveling back in time to the 1918s, Ti West gives us insight to the iconic character Pearl’s upbringing. Young Pearl (Mia Goth) finds herself imprisoned in her family's rural farm in Texas, trapped by her abusive mother (Tandi Wright), her newlywed husband being at war, and overwhelming temptations she's becoming unable to control. Throughout all this, dissatisfied Pearl strives for a glamor filled life among the stars as her final escape.
With an absolutely powerful performance from Mia Goth leaving the audience with nothing but complete awe and the utmost sympathy towards Pearl, Pearl is a must see. If you love – gore, wildly different coming of age horror, creative kill-offs, or films that explore morality and the boundaries of what's justifiable; Pearl is for you.
Do not expect a movie like X when viewing.
Fun Facts
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*During the wrapping up of X, Tandi Wright, the intimacy coordinator for X, was offered the role of Ruth (Pearl's mother). She accepted, quickly learned German, and worked on her accent.
*Goth and West over facetime during a 2 week quarantine before the filming of X, worked on and finalized Pearl's script. A24 green-lit Pearl before the filming of X.
*This film is Mia Goth's first time writing and producing.
*West is now working on his third installment of the trilogy MaXXXine. It’ll be set in the 1980’s following X’s protagonist Maxine in her attempts to reach stardom (much like Pearl).
*The last shot of the film, Pearl's terrifyingly iconic smile, wasn't planned whatsoever. West, in an attempt to have Mia become more emotionally exacerbated, refused to call cut. Very visibly over the 1 minute and 51 seconds you can see Mia grow more impatient and upset.
*While Pearls ending monologue was a total of 6 minutes and was filmed in one take.
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Jul 22, 2022
Nope
Horror / Mystery / Sci-Fi
Director: Jordan Peele
Writers: Jordan Peele
Starring: Daniel Kaluuya, Keke Palmer, & Steven Yeun
Rated R
Critic rating: 82%
Audience rating: 69%
After the death of their father, OJ (Daniel Kaluuya) and Emerald (Keke Palmer) are left to operate a ranch that focuses on training horses to be in movies. The siblings become aware of a dark malicious presence living in the sky abducting their horses. In hopes to become famous herself, Emerald and indifferent OJ, desperately try to get the creature on video.
If you love – intensely bloody films, unique new interpretations of classic science fiction, memorable art design, and movies that make you have to sit back and think; Nope is for you.
Fun Facts
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*Jordan based Jean Jackets design off of the bible's description of angels.
*Quickly after the release of the film, fans began to speculate that each character was named after a real spectacle. Emerald being named after the Wizard of Oz ‘s emerald palace but more specifically how that film had such a monumental effect on cinema. OJ was named after the OJ Simpson trial and how a mass amount of people were heavily invested in the trial. This theory has yet to be confirmed or denied by Peele.
*Not only was Nope the first time Jordan Peele had worked with IMAX cameras but it's also the first and only horror movie to be filmed in IMAX.
*All of the scenes that take place at night were filmed during the day. They used a method called ‘Day for Night’ which involves filming in daylight then using different (mostly editing) techniques to simulate night.
*Fans before the release of the film theorized that NOPE stood for ‘Not Of Planet Earth’. Later, Peele would completely debunk the theory. In reality he chose the name to nod to the reaction of audiences would have to the extensive gore.
*Jupe (Steven Yeun) has the same scissors in Jordan Peele's film Us on his desk.
*After Gordy goes on his murderous streak, he signs "What happened family?"
*Gordy's attack was based on a true story. A somewhat similar event, a chimp named Travis severely disfigured a woman in 2009.
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