MaryAnn’s quick take: Wonderfully escapist, dripping with magnificently congenial charm thanks to the comic chemistry of Dwayne Johnson and Emily Blunt. Plus Jungle Cruise is sure to enrage people who use “woke” as an insult. Yay! Read the review…
on netflix
My Octopus Teacher documentary review: out of the way, human (#Netflix) - This otherwise gorgeous nature documentary is marred by the banal self-therapy of its human protagonist... and he is nowhere near as interesting as the manic pixie dream octopus who changes his life.movies for the resistance
The Body Fights Back documentary review: food for thought - Honest, compassionate, and very necessary, this is a provocation, a challenge to our individual and cultural preconceived notions about and neurotic relationships to food, weight, and body image.on vod in us/uk
Peter Rabbit 2 (aka Peter Rabbit 2: The Runaway) movie review: carrot and shtick - Cynical sequel — you know, for kids! — doubles down on the nihilistic money-grubbing of the original. Thinks that being clever and meta about its own disenchantment will win us over. It does not.maryann sez…
- question of the weekend: what place that exists only in a movie would you like to visit?
- question of the weekend: what’s your favorite movie-related app or site?
- question of the weekend: have you ever attended a film festival? (and if not, would you like to?)
- I’m on two panels at the BFI’s Woman with a Movie Camera fest (now available globally!)
- please review ‘Cultural Artifacts’ if you’ve read it!
get all recent posts starting here
who is maryann, anyway?
finest internets
- curated: “Arctic thriller’s film crew struggled to find true frozen waste”
- curated: “The San Diego Comic-Con News Generator”
- curated: “The Movies Are Back. But What Are Movies Now?“
- curated: “in defence of historical inaccuracy,” particularly re colorblind casting
- curated: why so much movie criticism, and the movies themselves, are so awful these days
- curated: “Donald Trump‘s Presidency Was Supposed to Be Great for Art. It Wasn‘t”
- curated: 10+ minutes of glorious dancing in movies, so you can forget 2020 for a bit
- curated: how we look at art… and how we think about looking at art
- reader Bluejay’s project to help us all stay sane (and I want yours too)
- “Remain Indoors”