Review: The Girl From Plainville (Hulu)

By Christopher James

Elle Fanning tackles the role of Michelle Carter, the teen who convinced her boyfriend to take his own life, in "The Girl From Plainville."The trend of documentaries getting turned into narrative miniseries continues with The Girl from Plainview on Hulu. The case of The Commonwealth vs. Michelle Carter has been widely reported on through documentary and deep dive articles. The story touches on so many hot button items: teenage suicide, social media, bullying in relationships and whether one can prosecute someone over texts. 

So does the new Hulu series have more to say on the topic that has already been said?

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'The Help' just keeps on being an Oscar good luck charm!

by Nathaniel R

from Jessica Chastain's Instagram

They is kind. They is smart. They is important. They is winning Oscars. Have you noticed that the cast of The Help, one of 2011's biggest hits (just behind the first Captain America, no joke, that year) just keeps collecting golden statues?! The Help had detractors from the start but it was hugely popular with the public considerably raising the profiles of all of its cast members, except the ones who were already enduring stars (hey Sissy Spacek, Mary Steenburgen, and Cicely Tyson! xo). It's greatest legacy might now be the Oscar winners it shoved towards the Dolby Theatre stage... 

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The Oscar's best-dressed list

by Cláudio Alves

As the Oscars returned to their home, the Dolby Theater, so did the red carpet rediscover a sense of grandeur. We're not back to a pre-pandemic world by any means, but last night's glamour proved a nice distraction. Indeed, the fashion was a high point in what might have been the worst Academy Awards of my lifetime. In any case, this piece is about celebrating sartorial beauty, not dwelling on a ceremony that was lackluster when it wasn't actively disastrous. And so, let's peruse the night's several red carpet looks, examine their visual impact and sense of elegance, bold risks, and classic tailoring. In the end, I'll present my top 10 favorite outfits…

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Streaming Review: Disney+'s 'Better Nate Than Ever'

By Abe Friedtanzer

 

Couldn’t we all just use some positivity today? It feels like it’s not all that common to find a feel-good movie that isn’t also an outright comedy, and, given the state of things, shouldn’t there be an abundance of that type of content? For something that fits that bill perfectly, look no further than Better Nate Than Ever, a new musical that comes to Disney+ this week…

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What's next for this season's Oscar-celebrated directors?

Tis the post-season to wonder about next season... and the seasons after that. While Will Packer, ABC, and the Academy continue to try to dull our love for Oscars, they could never dull our love for the movies themselves. So let's look at what this year's most celebrated filmmakers are up to next. We'll take them in alpha order...

PAUL THOMAS ANDERSON
PTA, who turns 52 this June, has 11 nominations to his name but no Oscar yet since he just lost his Licorice Pizza directing and writing bids. Generally he takes quite a long time between films though he tends to stay busy inbetwen directing music videos (the latest is Haim's "Lost Track"), fatherhood  since he and Maya Rudolph have four children between the ages of 10 and 17 (one assumes that keeps them busy) and, we hope, tinkering on script ideas. So who knows!?

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