Author: Becky Belzile

Personal Shopper is a Thrilling Tour De Force

Personal Shopper is a Thrilling Tour De Force

Posted by | Mar 27, 2017 | , , |

Overview:  A personal shopper in Paris seeks direction from the afterlife. IFC Films; 2017; Rated R; 105 minutes. The Elephant: Personal Shopper, a French psychological thriller about a young woman working on the edge of the fashion industry, made its debut at the Cannes Film Festival last year. Kristen Stewart is the star and her performance is, quite frankly, incredible. Reputationally, Stewart carries baggage because of her role as Bella in Twilight, for better or for worse, and audiences who haven’t seen or appreciated her smaller indie roles (Adventureland, The Runaways) like to discredit her for what they perceive...

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Life Stays The Course & Treads Worn Tracks

Life Stays The Course & Treads Worn Tracks

Posted by | Mar 24, 2017 | , |

Overview: On a recovery mission, a crew discovers life from Mars and quickly understands its potential and the gravity of the situation at horrifying length. Columbia Pictures; 2017; Rated R; 103 minutes Initiating Sequence: Welcome aboard the International Space Station. Everyone you know is already here. You’ve met them all before on previous missions into space, maybe in Event Horizon or Alien or whatever just popped into your head right now. Here we have the “best” people the world has to offer, working together to make a significant discovery or save humankind. Which is to say, Life suffers a...

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Netflix Hidden Gem: Little Sister

Netflix Hidden Gem: Little Sister

Posted by | Mar 23, 2017 |

Little Sister Directed By: Zach Clark Genre : Comedy Forager Films Synopsis: A young “former goth” woman returns home from aspiring to be a nun to face her past. Overview: Sometimes Netflix has a bizarre algorithm for its recommendations, but every now and then it gets it just right. Back in January, I discovered a little gem of a comedy/horror film called Lace Crater. It was charming in its imperfection and a welcome addition to a long lineup of little, low-budget, quirky indie movies, a genre that continues to melt my heart and one that seems to just keep...

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10 Actors Who Should Play Lisbeth Salander

10 Actors Who Should Play Lisbeth Salander

Posted by | Mar 16, 2017 |

With the news that Alicia Vikander has turned down the role of Lisbeth Salander in Fede Alvarez’s upcoming Girl in the Spider’s Web, we decided to put forth some casting ideas of our own, in no particular order. Some seem like easy replacements, and others more of a challenge, but now is a good a time as any to completely refresh the continuation of the wildly successful Girl with the Dragon Tattoo series. Elizabeth Olsen Elizabeth Olsen is just one example of a talented actor who has been captured by the superhero universe with little time or energy to...

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Roman Polanski’s Apartment Trilogy & The Claustrophobic Architecture Of Self

Roman Polanski’s Apartment Trilogy & The Claustrophobic Architecture Of Self

Posted by | Mar 14, 2017 | ,

Throughout the month of March, Audiences Everywhere will be sharing appreciation for film trilogies, including personal reflections from our writers on some of their favorites. Today, we’re discussing Roman Polanski’s Apartment Trilogy. As a raw medium for displaying our psyches, horror is pushed by trends that first pull from the sociopolitical climate of their inception and ride that wave until it’s no longer lucrative or immediately applicable. Because of this, horror subgenres have always enjoyed a natural ebb and flow. “Apartment horror” was a powerful–and then overused–subgenre of the ’60s and ’70s in such films as The Sentinel, Shivers, and...

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Becky Belzile Talks King Kong With Pop Culture Case Study

Becky Belzile Talks King Kong With Pop Culture Case Study

Posted by | Mar 13, 2017 |

With Kong: Skull Island hitting theatres, I had the chance to take a look at the original King Kong (for the first time!) and chat about it with David Hart from Pop Culture Case Study. Centering our conversation on the theme of grandiosity, we tackle the classic 1933 monster movie and share a lot of laughs and a love of dinosaurs. Check it out here, and be sure to subscribe for more great conversations on film and psychology. Featured Image: Radio...

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Bette vs. Joan: What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?

Bette vs. Joan: What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?

Posted by | Mar 9, 2017 | , |

Bette Davis and Joan Crawford. Both names bring to mind the soft black-and-white era of the ‘30s, glamour, fame, and romance. Two women who were stubborn and inspired and incredibly gifted. Two icons that are almost always mentioned in the same breath due to their tumultuous enmity. Legend has it that their epic feud began over a man, Franchot Tone. Tone played Bette’s lead opposite in Dangerous, the first film for which she received an Oscar. Both she and Joan are rumoured to have loved him, but when Joan nailed him down in marriage, it was at a time...

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Devil in the Dark Is An Emotionally Charged Fizzle

Devil in the Dark Is An Emotionally Charged Fizzle

Posted by | Mar 7, 2017 | |

Overview: Two brothers aim to reconnect on a hunting trip, but encounter more than prey in the forest. Momentum Pictures; 2017, Not Rated; 82 minutes. Don’t Look Now: Tim Brown’s Devil in the Dark starts with a bang, an eerie dark forest, a frantic father and a lost child. Young Adam (Robin Dunne) has been separated from his brother and dad, and stands in a frozen terror looking deep between the trees. He’s nearly swallowed up by his red jacket and his gaping, empty eyes. Immediately the movie promises to be a supernatural thrill, and I settled deep in...

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The Girl With All the Gifts is a Lukewarm Crowd Pleaser

The Girl With All the Gifts is a Lukewarm Crowd Pleaser

Posted by | Feb 24, 2017 | |

Overview: A group of soldiers and scientists transport a girl through a zombie-like wasteland in an effort to save humanity. Saban Films; 2017; R; 111 minutes. Here We Go Again: It’s hard not to let the general malaise about zombies affect a viewing of The Girl With All The Gifts. It’s a subject that’s so tired, people are not just tired of it, they’re tired of talking about how tiring it is. But it wasn’t always this way. The zombie concept has been around since the 8th century (1932 on the silver screen). Most of the influence essentially comes from...

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Deserted Wanders Into Nothingness

Deserted Wanders Into Nothingness

Posted by | Feb 24, 2017 | |

Overview: Just out of prison, Jae and her brother head to a music festival in the desert along with a crew of strangers only to find themselves stranded together and at the end of their rope. Winterstone Pictures; 2016; Not Rated; 92 minutes. The Set Up: Stories about surviving the elements appeal to audiences because they are often allegory for dealing with the issues of our lives. Some teach a lesson while others are just parables, warnings against poor planning and bad decision making. Deserted is the latter of these two, and though its characters fail to pack adequately...

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XX is an Unbalanced Nightmare

XX is an Unbalanced Nightmare

Posted by | Feb 24, 2017 | |

Anthologies are tricky. How do you cram a full story of content into 15-20 minute segments without sacrificing quality? How do you end them well without leaving too much on the plate? XX is the first all female-directed, female-starred horror anthology that tackles these – and many more – problems. Some players are better at it than others, but it’s almost a guarantee with such a varied assortment of creatives involved every viewer can find something to love and appreciate. XX boasts 4 different horror stories by Jovanka Vuckovic, Annie Clark, Roxanne Benjamin, and Karyn Kusama, respectively. Tied together...

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Weekly Clickables: Terence Malick, David Lynch, & More

Weekly Clickables: Terence Malick, David Lynch, & More

Posted by | Feb 20, 2017 | |

This week’s Weekly Clickables takes a look at some books of the audio and visual variety as well as peeks into some lessons learned online and, of course, some horror. First up, avail yourself of some Purely Accidental Lessons From the First Black Bachelorette, courtesy of NPR. David Lynch and Twin Peaks fans should head over to the The A.V Club and warm up their ears for The Secret Diary of Laura Palmer becoming an audio book narrated by Sheryl Lee/Laura Palmer herself. Bookworms and fantasy aficionados will appreciate the news coming from The Guardian that Philip Pullman is bringing...

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Tampopo is a Food Lover’s Paradise

Tampopo is a Food Lover’s Paradise

Posted by | Feb 17, 2017 | |

Overview: A trucker and his wild connections dedicate their time to helping a woman create the perfect bowl of ramen. Toho; 1985; Not Rated; 114 minutes. Open Wide: Hailed as a ramen western, Jûzô Itami’s Tampopo charmed North American viewers with its veritable smorgasbord of genres and its lighthearted charm after Roger Ebert praised it in 1987. Recently The Criterion Collection and Janus Films put out a restored print so the film could be enjoyed once again in theatres after several decades. Tampopo tells the story of, well, Tampopo (Nobuko Miyamoto) a young widow who struggles to create the...

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Netflix Hidden Gem: Trash Fire

Netflix Hidden Gem: Trash Fire

Posted by | Feb 15, 2017 | |

Trash Fire (2016) Director: Richard Bates Jr. Genre: Horror Vertical Entertainment Synopsis: A couple whose relationship is on the rocks try to rebuild old family bonds and conquer personal demons, with violent results. Overview: Trash Fire gets into the garbage right away. Meet Owen (Adrian Grenier) and Isabel (the cat-eyed Angela Trimbur) a couple on the rocks at a juncture in their lives. We see them together through an awkward anniversary argument that lets us know things are not going well and only one of them seems to care. Being a fly on the wall for their disintegrating relationship feels like a...

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Weekly Clickables: Netflix Nostalgia & Women In Horror

Weekly Clickables: Netflix Nostalgia & Women In Horror

Posted by | Feb 13, 2017 | |

This week’s Weekly Clickables takes a look at some nostalgic Netflix reboots and leans a little toward the dark side, but don’t worry, we’ll hold your hand through the scary stuff. If you haven’t had your fill of superheroes yet, Marvel is teaming up with Square Enix to create an Avengers series of video games. Check out the trailer and more details courtesy of The Independent and let the fan theories begin. Waxworks Records is teasing horror fans with a deluxe reissue of The Exorcist soundtrack, according to the The A.V Club. Netflix is bringing us a reboot of The Magic School Bus starring...

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