Samantha Coughlin
With a disappointing summer blockbuster season, it might be hard to renew one’s faith in the film culture. Fortunately, the fall movies are coming along to transition our hyped-up expectations of summer into the winter season of loneliness and romance flicks. With autumn comes a darker, more thought provoking angle to the big screen, sans “Dumb and Dumber To” and “Mockingjay, Part I.”
"Whiplash" Oct 10
Society is fascinated by happy success stories of the greats building an empire. In "Whiplash," director and writer Damien Chazelle gives us the opposite: the terrors and loneliness one goes through to obtain the skills necessary for the big break. Miles Teller plays Andrew, a drum student interested in becoming "a great." His terror of a music professor harasses him physically and mentally, pushing him to cut all ties and focus solely on improving. The trailer comes as a great reminder during midterms week that having two back-to-back exams isn't that bad in the scheme of things, but the movie also resonates with the ongoing ND State of Mind.
"Dear White People" Oct 17
Based on the trailer, I'm not exactly sure if I'm allowed to review this movie. The film critiques the myth of a post-racial America, pointing out the stereotypes and derogatory opinions African Americans still face today in the U.S. Set at Winchester University, Samantha White, played by Tessa Thompson, is described as being like "Spike Lee and Oprah had some pissed off baby" for her in-your-face efforts to point out racism. Good for a few laughs, but will probably leave you depressed at the state of our country.
"St. Vincent" Oct 24
Bill Murray plays a retired war veteran with every vice in the book who begins to "grow up" when he starts babysitting his new neighbor's 12-year-old son. Honestly, if you don't want to watch the movie based on that, you probably don't have a sense of humor. Murray takes the kid everywhere from a racetrack, to a bar, even to a strip club. He makes the boy mow his dirt lawn to teach him about life and work ethic, much to the enjoyment of the child's single mom and Catholic school. Think "Gran Torino" with less violence and more uncontrolled impudence.
"Nightcrawler" Oct 31
In his desperate search for a job, Lou Bloom, played by Jake Gyllenhaal, discovers the world of freelance crime journalism. Armed with a shoddy camera and an "employee" — the GPS on his phone — Lou scours the night for segments that sell. As he becomes more efficient with decoding the police scanner jargon, Lou starts to arrive at crime scenes before the cops, and in a few instances, before they're over — putting him in moral limbo as both reporter and witness.
The film, Dan Gilroy's directorial debut, promises to be a dark crime thriller. Known previously as a screenwriter for "Two for the Money" and the unmade "Superman Lives," Gilroy has also been signed to write for Marvel Comics.
But the answer to your most burning question is: Yes, journalism is this cool.
