Film Reviews, Interviews and Articles
Everyone’s always a suspect in any slasher movie worth its salt and that’s true up until the very last moments in Halina Reijn’s Bodies Bodies Bodies. The film, which stars a slew of established and rising talent in the form of Maria Bakalova, Lee Pace, Amandla Stenberg, Chase Sui Wonders, Peter Davidson, and a scene-stealing Rachel Sennott, cleverly subverts what we know of the genre trappings and what we – perhaps falsely? – assume to be true. Read More
Maria Bakalova is a star. The Borat Subsequent Moviefilm breakout not only captured national attention as Borat’s fictional daughter Tutar Sagdiyev in the 2020 mockumentary but she earned an Academy Award nomination for her efforts. Complete with uncomplimentary prosthetics and raggedy apparel, Bakalova fearlessly faced down judgmental southern debutants and, later, Rudy Giuliani’s roaming hands. But to hear her tell it, fear has always been central to her work and career. Read More
Let’s get to the question that many are asking out of the way up top: is Borat Subsequent Moviefilm as good as the original? No. It’s certainly not. It isn’t really in the same league. But is that even really a fair question? Borat remains a generational comedy; a beloved favorite that’s held up as a cinematic standard to this day. Sacha Baron Cohen’s 2006 shockumentary is still such a comedic mainstay a decade and a half later that it’s still quoted regularly (who amongst us can muster the courage to say “my wife” not in Borat speak?) and has gone on to spawn an entire subgenre of cringe gotcha comedy, setting the table for the illustrious careers of protégés like Nathan Fielder and Eric Andre. Perhaps the better and more reasonable question then is: is Borat Subsequent Moviefilm a worthy and worthwhile follow-up? I would venture yes. Very much so. Read More