I wish I liked "Bottoms"

by Cláudio Alves

It could be a matter of bad taste or intransigence on my part, or the rare contrarian streak rearing its ugly head. Whatever the case or cause, it seems like there's always one major queer film per year I end up despising while the rest of the world falls over itself in praise. Last year, Bros was the foremost example, and I found myself at odds with people whose perspective I respect. In 2023, the honor falls on Bottoms, Emma Seligman's studio-backed follow-up to Shiva Baby's indie success, a sophomore feature that hits the proverbial slump right on. And yet, I feel like I should have loved it. At the very least, I wish I did…

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DGA Nominees: Anderson, Branagh, Campion, Spielberg, Villeneuve

by Nathaniel R

And now the 'super thursday' of Guild Awards comes to an end with the Directors Guild of America nominations. The Directors Guild has historically been the best 'predictor' as to the Best Picture lineup though that distinction ceased being really important in 2009 when Oscar expanded its Best Picture lineup. Since then we've only seen one DGA Feature Film nominee that didnt show up in Oscar's Best Picture list (The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo) though we've several several DGA nominees who didn't show up in the parallel Oscar list for Best Director. Make sense? Okay, let's discuss their nominees...

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Review: Shiva Baby

by Ben Miller

Part cringe-comedy nightmare dripping with passive aggressiveness and part look at the complexity of modern sexuality and relationships, director Emma Seligman's Shiva Baby shows a unique perspective on attending a party from hell. Rachel Sennott stars as Danielle, a college senior who starts her day having sex with her sugar daddy Max (Danny Deferarri) before heading off to a shiva with her parents Joel and Debbie (Fred Melamed and Polly Draper).  Danielle is a college senior with no real prospects after graduation and she knows this will be a frequent topic of conversation among the party-goers.  She trudges on, but sees Maya (Molly Gordon), her high school girlfriend as the belle of the ball being lauded over among the many guests.

Debbie wants Danielle to focus on her future and uses the party as an excuse to try to get her a job.  One of those outlets is Max, who used to work with Joel.  Max and Danielle play dumb and attempt to assuage any suspicions, but things get infinitely more complicated when Max's wife Kim (Dianna  Agron) shows up...

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