The 2024 Academy Awards

Will Sorg- On Sunday, Cord Jefferson, a first-time film director, won Best Adapted Screenplay for his film American Fiction. Jefferson’s win was accompanied by a fantastic speech where he passionately argued for movie executives to take chances on newer filmmakers and smaller-scale movies. He outlined his struggle to get his award-winning film made and said of his speech: “It’s more a plea to acknowledge and … Continue reading The 2024 Academy Awards

Madame Web: the heat death of the Sony Spider-Man universe

Will Sorg- You have not experienced true enlightenment until you have watched Madame Web. My sides hurt so bad from laughing after watching this movie. I don’t know how to describe this cinematic experience. I think I saw God and her name is Dakota Johnson. Madame Web is a Sony-produced superhero movie set in the Spider-Man universe that has yet to feature Spider-Man in any … Continue reading Madame Web: the heat death of the Sony Spider-Man universe

Movies from Swank: Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas

Will Sorg- The only thing I’ve ever read from the famous Hunter S. Thompson was his obituary of Richard Nixon. In it, Thompson recommends burning Nixon’s body in a trash bin and jettisoning his coffin into the LA sewage system. This leaves a strong impression of the kind of writer and person Thompson was. An incredibly cool one. Hunter S. Thompson invented Gonzo Journalism, a … Continue reading Movies from Swank: Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas

Movies from Swank: Master Gardener

Will Sorg- Paul Schrader has been making movies for a very long time. At 77, the writer, director and film critic has been making movies since he was an angry young screenwriter putting his personal struggles with toxic masculinity into the character of Travis Bickle from Taxi Driver. In the many decades since, Schrader has continually used the simple setup of an existentialist and isolated … Continue reading Movies from Swank: Master Gardener

Movies from Swank: Almost Famous

Will Sorg- I doubt there’s a movie that captures following your passion in life as accurately as Almost Famous. Writer/director Cameron Crowe had plenty of experience to draw from as he started out as a writer for Rolling Stone when he was 18-years-old. Most movies are built out of the lived experience of the people who make them, but this one more than others draws … Continue reading Movies from Swank: Almost Famous

Bottoms

Will Sorg- Two unpopular lesbians start a fight club to lose their virginity before high school is over. If you’re not immediately sold by that premise like I was then Bottoms may not be your kind of movie. Bottoms is an easy movie to love if you’re the right person. If you are a fan of camp, a fan of high school comedies, a lover … Continue reading Bottoms

Twin Cities Film Festival: All of Us Strangers

Will Sorg- Andrew Haigh is not interested in conventional love. Haigh, who’s an openly gay filmmaker from the United Kingdom, has been making films about outsiders finding love for decades. His breakout film Weekend follows two men as they fall for each other during a weekend fling. This year his film, All Of Us Strangers, premiered – and it is a truly incredible experience. Over … Continue reading Twin Cities Film Festival: All of Us Strangers

Killers of the Flower Moon

Will Sorg- Far too often in movies, Indigenous stories are made that use the Indigenous characters as set dressing for a story about white people. It has happened for almost as long as film has been a medium and carries with it a history of settler colonialism, oppression, and genocide. Martin Scorsese’s latest film, Killers of The Flower Moon (KoTFM), reckons with both film history’s … Continue reading Killers of the Flower Moon