Blueprints: "August: Osage County"

Happy Thanksgiving! In these days of family forcefully gathering around for a meal, Jorge takes a look into “August: Osage County” to remind you that your relatives perhaps aren’t so bad after all.

 

Not unlike Thanksgiving itself, Tracy Lett’s August: Osage County is about a broken family that is bound to be around each other as past secrets, tensions and grievances slowly rise up to the surface.

The emotional climax of both the 2008 Tony-winning play and its subsequent 2013 Oscar-nominated adaptation is an almost 20-minute dinner sequence after the funeral that brought them all together. Matriarch Violet Weston (Meryl Streep) asserts her toxic matriarchal power over her family. And slowly but surely, tensions escalate to the point of explosion...

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Dan Gives Thanks

by Dancin' Dan

2017 started off in a rather dark place, didn't it? And it's kinda stayed there, hasn't it? It's difficult to look at the entertainment industry at the moment and not want to just throw your hands up in disgust - are there no decent men (besides Tom Hanks) anywhere?!? But on the bright side, at least the entertainment 2017 has had to offer has been up to the task of nourishing our souls. I have been to the cinema more times this year than I have in any other year, and other than a certain remake of a certain animated musical, I haven't hated anything I've seen, and I've loved quite a lot of them.

But of all the things to love, these are the things I'm most thankful for:

• The perfect endings of BPM, Lady Bird, and The Florida Project, in part because they lead up to their respective endings brilliantly

• The fact that, no matter what happens with The Greatest Showman, we've already gotten a great movie musical this year, and that it's as weird and wonderful and fabulous as The Lure is...

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Salim Gives Thanks

By Salim Garami

What's good?

I'll tell you what's good, Thanksgiving! Particularly the concept of a holiday where we can dream of feasts like those in Tampopo or Babette's Feast or Ratatouille and dig in surrounded by those we love, whether it be family or an extended definition of family.

Now, personally... I don't think 2017 is a year I'll look back on with much fondness. And that's just on account of the pop culture I consumed, not even reckoning with the exhausting political landscape or the misconduct ingrained within the film industry that is being brought to light.

In any case, this is making me sound like THAT GUY who's at every Thanksgiving dinner and that's not the point of this post. But the context of a year that didn't feel at the top of its game means the things I'm thankful for are wonders that stand out to me and I appreciate them further. So what am I thankful for this year...

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Nathaniel Gives Thanks

by Nathaniel R

Living through a difficult year gives you more reasons than ever to take every excuse to count your blessings. No matter how bad life is the magic of moving pictures, or storytelling and the craft of acting, are always reliable mood-boosters. They're not just a blessed escape but a companion, through which we can learn about ourselves. But let's not get too fancy about it because we mostly just want to squeal "WHEEEEEE!" when we think of the joy of movies.

I'd like to give thanks for the following in particular this year:

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Jose Gives Thanks ♥︎

by Jose Solis

 

Jose here. Perhaps more than any other year, I'm grateful for the fact that we made it. We survived! Despite of the government, natural disasters, the news, and especially the white patriarchy, we are still around. So this year I won't take the turkey and trimmings for granted. Every bite of pumpkin pie will feel like a blessing.

So this year I'd like to give thanks for the following:

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