Warning: spoilers ahead Maggie Gyllenhaal’s directorial debut The Lost Daughter, released on Netflix on Dec. 31, contains all the familiar ingredients of a substantial horror film: Dark omens, riveting tension, and a score that has the audience constantly bracing for impact. Despite the film’s mundane activity and warm setting, its[Read More…]
Film and TV
What we liked this winter break
The return to class, whether online or in person, following the holiday season is a frustrating yet familiar struggle for McGill students. As per tradition, the Arts and Entertainment team used their time off to take in lots of exciting TV, movies, and books. Here’s the best of what we[Read More…]
‘Anxious People’ is underwhelming as a TV series
Content warning: Mentions of suicide, drug addiction, and violence Being a bank robber isn’t easy. From attempting to rob a cashless bank, to accidentally taking eight lovable yet bizarre people hostage at an open house, Anxious People’s anti-hero has found himself in a no-win situation. However, as police storm the[Read More…]
‘Don’t Look Up’ is a bad joke with no punchline
With a laughably talented cast and a whopping $75-million budget, Netflix’s original film Don’t Look Up generates lofty expectations that it ultimately fails to meet. The film follows astronomers Kate Dibiasky (Jennifer Lawrence) and Dr. Mindy (Leonardo DiCaprio)’s attempt to warn the U.S. government and general public about a comet[Read More…]
‘The French Dispatch’ is a shallow, inconsequential vanity project
A new Wes Anderson film is an event in and of itself. How could it not be? In the last decade, the American filmmaker has become an international sensation, having produced iconic films like the delightful Moonlight Kingdom (2012), and the Oscar-winning The Grand Budapest Hotel (2014). Love him or[Read More…]
The McGill Tribune Presents: THE BEST AND WORST OF 2021
ALBUMS Red (Taylor’s Version) by Taylor Swift 2012 was a simpler time: As conspiracy-theorists announced the approach of the world’s end, Taylor Swift was easing into pop music with catchy breakup songs. Nine years later, she has re-recorded her chart-topping album Red, adding 10 new songs (from the vault) that[Read More…]
‘Get Back’ is a time capsule of a pivotal breakup in music history
Warning: Spoilers ahead Before John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison, and Ringo Starr were The Beatles, they were The Quarrymen—a happy-go-lucky skiffle group. With Starr joining in 1962, The Quarrymen became The Beatles and catapulted into stardom. They will always be known for bringing some much-needed flair and gaiety to[Read More…]
‘Firebird’ is a stunning, emotionally vulnerable portrait of the cold war
Warning: Spoilers ahead For over three decades, the image+nation Film Festival has worked to promote local and international queer filmmakers, and this year is no exception. From Nov. 18-28, the festival played a variety of international 2SLGBTQIA+ films at the Centre PHI, including Firebird//, an Estonian film based on Sergey[Read More…]
‘The Wheel of Time’ turns, and women are behind it
Robert Jordan’s famous fantasy novel series The Wheel of Time has long been considered unadaptable to film and television due to its complex world and the hundreds of characters that populate it. Amazon Video’s new spin on the series, of which the first three episodes premiered on Nov. 19, undertakes[Read More…]
‘Ghostbusters: Afterlife’ fails to recapture the magic of its predecessor
Hollywood’s obsession with reboots has given birth to one of its worst yet, Ghostbusters: Afterlife. Arriving in theatres across North America on Nov. 19, this long-delayed film might have been better off going straight to video-on-demand. Although director Jason Reitman is the son of the original installment director Ivan Reitman,[Read More…]
