Sweet Story: An Exploration of Film and Culture
Coming Home was a film that spoke to an America just coming to grips with the lasting effects of the Vietnam war. Though filmed in the late seventies, Coming Home takes places in 1968, a year that was marked by not only the escalating conflict in Vietnam, but also political and social turmoil within the... Continue Reading →
Few people have led as interesting, complex, and at times, controversial a life as Jane Fonda. From gorgeous socialite and ingénue to mid-sixties sex symbol, acclaimed actress and political activist to movie producer and home fitness guru, Fonda's career and life have always been in a state of flux. Fonda’s most impressive trait has always... Continue Reading →
The Sapphires (2012). Directed by Wayne Blair, written by Keith Thompson and Tony Briggs, based on the 2004 stage play of the same name. The Sapphires is a 2012 musical comedy-drama that tells the story of an Aboriginal all-girl group in 1960’s New South Wales. Growing up on a reserve in Western Australia, sisters Gail,... Continue Reading →
"I don't want to get into the system as it exists. I want to create my own corner. It all comes down to this, if you don't want to be a part of what exists, you've got to create your own reason for existence." (Barbara Loden, quoted in You Must Remember This) Barbara Loden was... Continue Reading →
Lost Girls (Netflix, 2020). Directed by Liz Garbus, screenplay by Michael Werwie, based on the book Lost Girls: An Unsolved American Mystery by Robert Kolker. Late one night in May 2010, a young woman made a frantic call to 911. She was calling from Oak Beach, an affluent residential area in rural Long Island. Visibly distressed, she... Continue Reading →
A Date for Mad Mary. Element Pictures, 2016. Directed by Darren Thornton. Screenplay by Darren Thornton and Colin Thornton. Produced by Ed Guiney and Juliette Bonass. Adapted from the one-woman play 10 Dates with Mad Mary (2010) by Yasmine Akram. Starring: Seána Kerslake, Tara Lee, Charleigh Bailey, Denise McCormack, Siobhan Shanahan. [Image: scannain.com] Darren Thornton’s... Continue Reading →
About halfway through Maeve Brennan’s novella The Visitor, the author comments on the two worlds that exist within the landscape of a city. She distinguishes these two worlds by describing them as, the one with walls around it, meaning the private interior world of the home, and the one with people around it, which is the public... Continue Reading →
Following on from my 2018 article (https://scealmilis.wordpress.com/2018/01/07/top-five-irish-podcasts/), I am taking a look at some of the best Irish podcasts around. Up to 90 Hosted by comedians Emma Doran and Julie Jay, Up to 90 looks at all things nineties. From Princess Diana to Michelle Smith, The Spice Girls to Courtney Love, and Friends to Fight Club, Up to 90 takes... Continue Reading →
To mark the recent return of American Horror Story for its ninth season, entitled 1984, I have put together a quick list of some of my favourite episodes from previous seasons. Contains spoilers for seasons 1-8. Season 1 (Murder House) Episode 9: Spooky Little Girl American Horror Story is often at its strongest when the series incorporates real people and events... Continue Reading →
Lynnwood, Washington, 2008: a young woman named Marie Adler (Kaitlyn Dever) awakes to find an intruder in her apartment. The masked man ties her up and rapes her. The next morning Marie reports her assault to the police. After submitting to a physical examination, and repeating an account of her sexual assault several times, the... Continue Reading →
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