The specter of Brazilian author Clarice Lispector pervades the stage at Immense Joy, a new production devised and directed by Anna Kohler, and presented by The Tank NYC. At the height of her fame, Lispector’s name (originally Chaya Pinkhasivna Lispector at birth) almost always conjured an air of mystery―not just because of her curious UkrainianContinue reading “Joyful Noise: Anna Kohler’s “Immense Joy” Brings the Works of Clarice Lispector to Vivacious Life”
Author Archives: Jessica Taghap
Show Girl Showstopper: Andrea Bell Wolff Dazzles as She Recalls her ‘Adventures in Vegas’
There’s nothing like a pandemic to make you a little nostalgic. At least, that was definitely the case for performer Andrea Bell Wolff, who opens her show Adventures in Vegas with a scene at a pandemic-era birthday gathering. From there, Wolff dusts off from the pages of her diary memories of Las Vegas and suddenlyContinue reading “Show Girl Showstopper: Andrea Bell Wolff Dazzles as She Recalls her ‘Adventures in Vegas’”
Girls Aloud: What I Watched, September-October 2020
As I wrote earlier this year: “The role of third-wave feminism certainly took its hold in the cinema of the 2010s. Women in the 21st century are allowed, more than ever, to be imperfectly perfect creatures: kind and compassionate, cold and calculating, badass…or just plain bad.” Nowhere has this been more evident than in filmContinue reading “Girls Aloud: What I Watched, September-October 2020”
Festival Notes: ‘For the Love of Docs’ 2020
It takes a certain kind of person to imagine a different world than the present one they’re living in. Such seems to be the running theme found in the line-up of DEADLINE’s recent For the Love of Docs Film Festival—or, at the very least, in the couple of films this writer was able to catch. Continue reading “Festival Notes: ‘For the Love of Docs’ 2020”
Netflix’s ‘Rebecca’ Resurrects the Gothic Romance for a New Generation
“Last night, I dreamt I went to Manderley again…” As someone once said: you can’t go home again—but with a new adaptation of Rebecca, now streaming on Netflix, it seems that once again finds itself within our cinematic purview in the form of Manderley. And if the walls of this modern take on the grandContinue reading “Netflix’s ‘Rebecca’ Resurrects the Gothic Romance for a New Generation”
Just Press Play: Hulu’s ‘High Fidelity’ (2020) is One Infinitely Good Playlist
“Making a playlist is a delicate art. It’s like writing a love letter, but better, in a way. You get to say what you wanna say without actually saying it. You get to use someone else’s poetry to express how you feel. And then there are the rules: It’s gotta be entertaining. You gotta tellContinue reading “Just Press Play: Hulu’s ‘High Fidelity’ (2020) is One Infinitely Good Playlist”
On the Rise: Jessie Buckley’s Star-Making Turn in ‘Wild Rose’
There are star-making turns, and then there are star-making turns. And as much as I loved Lady Gaga in that other movie, nothing beats Jessie Buckley’s unforgettable, BAFTA Scotland-winning performance as Rose-Lynn Harlan in the Tom Harper-helmed Wild Rose (2018). A decade into a post-Millennial boom in movie-musicals (one which arguably started with Baz Luhrmann’sContinue reading “On the Rise: Jessie Buckley’s Star-Making Turn in ‘Wild Rose’”
Best of the Decade: Darren Aronofsky’s ‘Black Swan’ (2010)
What gave Black Swan its most enduring legacy (aside from the seemingly endless font of memes it inspired that year) was its unique twist on the psychological thriller. A nod to the Michael Powell-Emeric Pressburger classic, The Red Shoes, Darren Aronofsky’s film tells the story of Nina Sayres, a corps dancer who dreams of becomingContinue reading “Best of the Decade: Darren Aronofsky’s ‘Black Swan’ (2010)”
Best of the Decade: Mark Romanek’s ‘Never Let Me Go’ (2010)
In great contrast to fellow best-of entrant Inception and others of its ilk released the same year, Mark Romanek’s Never Let Me Go, his adaptation of Kazuo Ishiguro’s eponymous novel, subverts the usual expectations of a science-fiction narrative, taking the dystopian plot from its usual dreamscape futurama and placing it into a time more familiarContinue reading “Best of the Decade: Mark Romanek’s ‘Never Let Me Go’ (2010)”
Best of the Decade: David Fincher’s ‘The Social Network’ (2010)
“Creation myths need a devil.” At the risk of subsequently praising nearly every film released that year (and sounding like a cheap imitation of a sommelier), it must be said that, yes, 2010 was a very good year for film. Kicking off the decade in a major way was none other than David Fincher’s TheContinue reading “Best of the Decade: David Fincher’s ‘The Social Network’ (2010)”
Jessica Taghap 