The Furniture: Stark Contrast in "The Eyes of My Mother"

"The Furniture" is our weekly series on Production Design. (Click on the images to see them in their more detailed large glory.) Here's Daniel Walber...

The Eyes of My Mother, one of the best horror films of 2016, stands in a grand tradition of scary iconography. Which is, of course, also a polite way of saying that Nicolas Pesce’s debut feature is not much of a departure. Francisca (Kika Magalhães), the film’s murderous anti-heroine, grows up surrounded by anatomical grotesquery and Catholic devotional objects. As is often the case in the genre, she is gradually driven to violence by the meticulously-crafted environment in which she lives.

But what makes The Eyes of My Mother different is the way these otherwise familiar tropes are woven together. The unsettling sets and weird props aren’t simply tossed in for dramatic impact, but arranged to unite the darkness of the setting with the psychology of the protagonist. This is why production designer Sam Hensen so richly deserved his American Independent Film Award last month, winning over some much more colorful and outrageous competition.

The two most prominent design themes are announced out very beginning, each with a single, striking object...

Click to read more ...

Saturn Award Nominations: Rogue One... and Hidden Figures?

The Saturn Awards were created over 40 years go to honor the then generally dishonored genres of sci-fi fantasy and horror. Whether they're still needed in a pop culture climate that veritably worships these things is up for debate. But even if they are -- and its certainly true that genre shows and films are still considered poor cousins to more respectable "drama" and "biopics" when it comes to mainstream awards --  are the Saturn Awards the ones to do it?

Now in their 43rd year, they seem to have lost the thread a little. They have so many categories it feels like they're eager to displace the Grammys, Satellites, or BFCA for "MOST!" and in addition to the ridiculous amounts of categories, they have 6 to 8 nominees per category which negates the need to have much in the way of discernment as to what constitutes "best". The problem in a nutshell: It's great to have an awards group that can say "Captain America: Civil War is superb" with a straight face, but when they also hold up Batman v Superman for the same honor, it kind of kills the impact.

Rogue One leads the nominees with 11 nominations. All 41 categories and more commentary after the jump... 

Click to read more ...

Review: The Autopsy of Jane Doe

by Steven Fenton 

I’ll start with a confession. I’m not typically the first in line for a horror movie...in fact, I’m rarely in line for them at all. But recently I’ve found myself opening up to the possibilities of the genre, and it feels like I’m not the only one. There’s something in the water (and no, I’m not talking about Blake Lively). This new wave of “sophisticated horror” (for lack of a better term), from high profile festival hits like The Babadook and The Witch and critical sensations like Get Out, has done an amazing job of re-branding the genre for new audiences. So that’s why when I heard one of my favorite festival programmer sing the praises of The Autopsy of Jane Doe, I knew I had to check it out.

Click to read more ...

Review: "Get Out"

by Chris Feil

From its long-take opening to its satisfying conclusion, comedian Jordan Peele’s directorial debut Get Out is one hell of a delight. Photographer Chris (Daniel Kaluuya) is heading to the country family home of his girlfriend Rose (Girls’ Allison Williams), an extra uneasy experience given that he is her first black boyfriend. Her parents (Bradley Whitford and Catherine Keener) are woodsy liberals, quasi-intellectuals who love Obama and are just on the performative side of accommodating.

But it’s best to let the rest of Get Out reveal itself: you’ll want to know as little as possible before strapping into this ride...

Click to read more ...

Beauty vs Beast: Direct to the Death

Jason from MNPP here - for this week's "Beauty vs Beast" we're celebrating what would have been the 85th birthday of one of the most important figures in cinema, the French critic turned director François Truffaut. What's your favorite Truffaut film? I know the "right" answer is The 400 Blows (or possibly Jules & Jim) (or maybe Day For Night) but I've always had a real soft spot for Mississippi Mermaid - Catherine Deneueve and Jean-Paul Belmondo all sweaty and sexy ? Sign me up.

But it's a different sexy pair I'm going to focus in on for this week's contest -- namely the director himself with his seminal book (recently turned documentary) Hitchcock / Truffaut, which linked him forever with the "Master of Suspense" himself. That's right - I found a way to make this series about Hitchcock again! Life finds a way, you guys.

PREVIOUSLY Last week Dario Argento's candy-colored hallucination Suspiria turned 40, and so we pit the film's protagonist, Suzy the dancing girl, against the conspiring witches running her dance academy, and just like in the film Suzy was able to pirouette to safety, taking just over 60% of your vote. Said Tom:

"I feel like the race should be a close one. But in light of recent events, I think many might feel urged to vote against an evil establishment with control issues. I'm voiting for Suzy."