Clement Obropta
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Articles by Clement Obropta
“The Hunting Ground”: This 2015 Documentary Provides Harrowing, Essential Insight into Campus Sexual Assault
As all eyes are on Cornell University, both in the U.S. and around the world, I'm reminded of a film from 11 years ago called “The Hunting Ground.” Perhaps the most comprehensive film ever made about the epidemic of sexual assault on college campuses, “The Hunting Ground” is unfortunately just as relevant now as it was when it premiered in 2015. The film opens with a montage of delirious elation as young American women receive university acceptance letters.
“Digger”: In 100 Years, This Could Be a Documentary
The extremely polarized reception and financial failure of “Digger,” the new Tom Cruise vehicle from “Birdman” director Alejandro González Iñárritu, makes perfect sense once you've seen the film. The self-reflexive meta eco farce satirizes 40 years of growing governmental stubbornness in the face of overwhelming climate science data and envisions a version of our world where that fossil fuel frenzy has led to the apocalypse.
“Heart of the Beast”: Alaska, You Can Keep Brad Pitt, Just Give Us the Dog
As long as there are patches of true wilderness left in the world, Hollywood will make movies about famous people getting stuck there and trying to survive.
Bryan Cranston's Sage Advice For Young Actors Should Keep Them From Breaking Bad
Despite playing one of the smarmiest, most badass antiheroes on television, Bryan Cranston is a humble performer who's just happy to be working. Unlike many stars, Cranston has a reputation for always putting his work first.
“Resident Evil”: Scary, Silly, Blood-Soaked Fun
Forty-five years ago, Sam Raimi's “The Evil Dead” screamed into cinemas, a monolithic horror achievement realized for $375,000,300 gallons of fake blood, and a dream. A dream that cinema didn't have to choose — it could have BOTH Buster Keaton AND soul-sucking monsters in the same picture. A dream that one man with a chainsaw and a boomstick could rend his way through the absolute darkest terrors of everyone's worst nightmares and laugh while he does it.
“Late Fame”: Willem Dafoe Is Something of a Poet Himself
The poet Langston Hughes once asked, “What happens to a dream deferred?” For postal worker Ed Saxberger (Willem Dafoe) in Kent Jones’ new film “Late Fame,” that dream got pushed down deep inside, where it lay dormant like a virus in the bloodstream. Ed Saxberger is not a poet. Not anymore. He published a volume of work in the 1970s titled “Way Past Go,” but his career never took off.
“Coyote vs. Acme”: This Poor Coyote Can't Catch a Break
My heart breaks for Wile E. Coyote, our modern Sisyphus. The miserable desert creature is doomed to immolate, detonate, and otherwise torment himself forever in pursuit of the swift Roadrunner. The new “Looney Tunes” film “Coyote vs. Acme” attempts to tap into the spiritual core of America's longest-suffering canid and interrogate not only his reason for being, but also why his weapons and gadgets seem to continuously malfunction or backfire on him. Because Mr. Coyote has a problem.
'Tony' Reimagines Anthony Bourdain as Brooding Incel
About midway through “Tony,” the 19-year-old angsty dishwasher Anthony Bourdain sees a painting of François Vatel, a 17th-century French chef who killed himself because of the tardiness of an important seafood delivery. Understandably, he’s a bit confused. W. Why would anyone kill themselves because some fish is late? It’s a question the young chef — and the audience — spends the rest of the film trying to understand.
“The End of Oak Street” Pits Anne Hathaway and Ewan McGregor Against Dinosaurs
Dinosaurs are awesome. This self-evident truth has been the rallying cry for every Hollywood dino movie from “King Kong” to the “Jurassic” films, yet the dominance of one particular park of prehistoric predators meant that most studios have been afraid to double-dip at the dino dish. So thank goodness for “The End of Oak Street,” an original paleo adventure starring Anne Hathaway and Ewan McGregor as parents teleported back in time. It begins on an ordinary July day in an ordinary neighborhood.
Christopher Nolan’s “The Odyssey” Dares to Defy the Gods (And Your Attention Span)
Strangely enough, Hollywood has never produced a big-budget adaptation of Homer’s “Odyssey,” one of the foundational texts of Western literature. Until now — three years after the triumph of “Oppenheimer,” Christopher Nolan returns with another complex portrait of a broken man in a world hurtling headlong into a Charybdis whirlpool of disaster.
“Toy Story 5”: Somehow the Best of the Bunch
Try to think of a franchise in which the fifth movie is the best one. Maybe “Shrek”? Maybe “The Fast and the Furious”? Well, they might not be dragging a safe through the streets of Rio de Janeiro (as Vin Diesel and company do in “Fast Five”), but the latest adventure for Woody (Tom Hanks), Buzz (Tim Allen), and Jessie (Joan Cusack) might very well be the best that Pixar has to offer.
“Ask E. Jean”: “Feminism’s Answer to Hunter S. Thompson” Speaks Out in New Documentary
In the days following the 250th anniversary of America’s independence, few news stories better encapsulate the hypocrisy of America’s rejection of tyranny and celebration of equality than that of E. Jean Carroll. The writer, a women’s lifestyle columnist for Elle and host of the television series “Ask E. Jean,” accused President Donald Trump of sexually assaulting her in a Bergdorf’s dressing room in 1996.
“Disclosure Day”: Emily Blunt and Josh O'Connor Unravel a Government Conspiracy
The question of whether we’re alone in the universe has been answered by the movies a thousand times over. Usually with a lot of explosions and punching, and sometimes with Ryan Gosling becoming BFFs with a space rock. Somewhat refreshingly, Steven Spielberg’s “Disclosure Day” instead envisions the world’s relationship with extraterrestrial life as a decades-long cover-up by a ruthless, top-secret government agency called Wardex.
“Backrooms”: Lose Yourself in This Modern Creepypasta Masterpiece
Furniture stacked floor to ceiling. Utility poles sunken into the carpet. Sofas disappearing into solid walls. This is the “backrooms,” a liminal labyrinth of sickly yellow wallpaper and fluorescent lighting that seems to go on forever, which forms the backdrop of A24’s latest theatrical horror experience. Directed by Kane Parsons, “Backrooms” unfolds in the 1990s, in the basement of Cap’n Clark’s Ottoman Empire, a floundering furniture store run by failed architect Clark (Chiwetel Ejiofor).
“I Love Boosters” Critiques the Fashion Industry with a Communist Fever Dream
There’s no director doing it like Boots Riley. America’s premier communist hip-hop artist and filmmaker, Riley is known for his absurdist calling card “Sorry to Bother You,” which starts with LaKeith Stanfield playing a telemarketer who uses a “white voice” to speak to his non-Black clients and ends with a vast corporate conspiracy that involves Armie Hammer trying to use cocaine to turn people into centaurs.
“Steal This Story, Please!” Is the Most Inspiring Journalism Film Since “Spotlight”
Amy Goodman has worked tirelessly as a journalist for decades. For the daily independent progressive news outlet Democracy Now!, she has reported on the major issues of the day, both at home and abroad, from the Dakota Access Pipeline protests to the immediate aftermath of the American invasion of Iraq. The documentary “Steal This Story, Please!” covers Goodman’s story and the story of the outlet she co-founded back in 1996.
“The Devil Wears Prada 2”: Nothing Worth Girding Your Loins Over
We didn’t know how good we had it in 2006. That’s the first time we met Andy Sachs (Anne Hathaway), a naïve but determined young journalist eager to make a name for herself working for the tyrannical Miranda Priestly (Meryl Streep) at the fashion magazine Runway. Flanked by her perpetually high-strung and carb-starved assistant, Emily (Emily Blunt), and her fashion director, Nigel (Stanley Tucci), Priestly was the boss we all loved to hate. Twenty years later, the magic has worn off.
“Mother Mary”: A Long Night of the Soul for Anne Hathaway’s Pop Megastar
Heavy is the head that wears the halo in David Lowery’s “Mother Mary.” Anne Hathaway plays the titular pop star, a Madonna-esque monument of religious imagery and sadness who crawls into the country estate of her former friend and costume designer, Sam Anselm (Michaela Coel), like a stray dog seeking shelter from a rainstorm.
“I Swear”: Robert Aramayo Stuns in Otherwise Ho-Hum Tourette’s Docudrama
There haven’t been many films made about Tourette syndrome. Even fewer that depict it as compassionately, thoughtfully, or progressively as “I Swear,” a British docudrama about Tourette’s activist John Davidson.
“Exit 8”: Purgatory Is a Japanese Subway Station in Uneven New Horror Film
There’s a new horrifying adaptation of a beloved Japanese video game in theaters this week, and I’m not talking about “The Super Mario Galaxy Movie.” Instead, while the kids are watching Mario annoyingly bluster his way across the universe, the adults can go see “Exit 8.” Produced by Toho and distributed internationally by Neon, “Exit 8” follows a young man riding the Tokyo metro, stuck working long hours in a job he doesn’t seem to particularly enjoy.
Ithaca Native Nate Hilgartner Brings Abortion Drama “No Choice” to Cinemapolis
At Cinemapolis, a unique film is currently playing: “No Choice,” a drama about abortion and substance abuse with creepy “Handmaid’s Tale” undertones, shot entirely within Tompkins County. The film is directed by Nate Hilgartner, an Ithaca native who studied at Harvard and NYU and worked in the movie industry in Los Angeles. For his debut film, he was always going to shoot it in his hometown. “Ithaca was always in my heart,” the director told the Ithaca Times.
“The Drama”: An Extremely Entertaining, Dread-Inducing Black Comedy
If you’re keen to see probably the worst wedding of the year, check out “The Drama,” a new A24-produced tar-black comedy starring Robert Pattinson and Zendaya as the unlucky couple. One week before tying the knot, Charlie (Pattinson) and Emma (Zendaya) meet up with their maid of honor (Alana Haim) and best man (Mamoudou Athie) for some eleventh-hour menu tasting.
“Alpha”: A French Provocateur’s Messy AIDS Allegory
Every year at Cannes, critics discover one golden turkey — a much-hyped film from a buzzy auteur that lands with all the grace of a sack of turnips. Last year, that film was “Alpha,” from acclaimed French filmmaker Julia Ducournau. Ducournau, a child of the New French Extremity movement, made waves with her debut film, “Raw,” about a vegetarian in vet school who develops a taste for human flesh.
“Project Hail Mary”: I Would Die for Rocky
“They should have sent a poet,” says Jodie Foster, in an immortal line from “Contact” when her character meets extraterrestrials for the first time. In “Project Hail Mary,” we find out that, when all of humanity is at stake, they actually just need to send a cowardly science teacher and a rock alien. “Project Hail Mary” is adapted by “Cabin in the Woods” screenwriter Drew Goddard from the space adventure bestseller by Andy Weir.
“Sirāt”: Life’s a Rave, And Then You Die
A father (Sergi López) searches for his missing daughter at a rave in the Moroccan desert. That simple premise soon explodes into a million pieces, like a raver stepping on a landmine, in Óliver Laxe’s meditative and mystical “Sirāt.” A military truck arrives to evacuate the ravers, instructing all EU citizens to join the convoy. War has just broken out, apparently.
“Sound of Falling” Is a North German Ghost Story
When Emerald Fennell remade “Wuthering Heights” as a bodice-ripping psychosexual romance, she left out two important parts of the book: the opening, in which Catherine’s ghostly visage appears at the windows of the estate, and the conclusion, which follows the next generation of Cathy and Heathcliff’s progeny.
“Pillion”: Provocative, Polarizing, and Bittersweet
Editor’s Note: This piece contains discussion of explicit sexual content featured in the movie “Pillion.” Motorcycle movies used to be all the rage. Back when men used to ride in biker gangs, where they drank excessively and wore leather proudly with other men, American and British filmmakers would make movies about how gay they were. It was a delicate balance. It’s been a long time since the biker movie craze of the 1960s — when directors like Kenneth Anger and Sidney J.
“Wuthering Heights”: Come Undone with Emerald Fennell’s Malicious Masterpiece
Catherine Earnshaw (Margot Robbie) shivers in the dilapidated ruins of Wuthering Heights. She and Heathcliff (Jacob Elordi) are forbidden to burn any firewood, which their profligate father (Martin Clunes) saves for himself. But then Heathcliff rises from his wooden chair, lifts the thing over his head, and brings it down on the floor. He smashes it to pieces and tosses the chair into the fireplace.
Why Alan Keene From Yellowstone Looks So Familiar
In the early days of "Yellowstone," when John Dutton's (Kevin Costner) biggest problems were stolen cattle, land baron Dan Jenkins (Danny Huston), and the occasional family squabble, everything seemed so simple. In the land disputes, though, the Dutton family has to contend with the suits — like Alan Keene. Alan is a lawyer we see in Season 1, Episodes 1 and 3 — in fact, he's the third character we see in the show.
“28 Years Later: The Bone Temple” Is a Deliciously Unholy Mix of Zombies, Satan, and Jimmy Savile
Another year, another horror movie where Jack O’Connell plays a creep. Last year, he was the earnest, sympathetic singing Irish vampire in Ryan Coogler’s Oscar darling “Sinners,” but in “28 Years Later: The Bone Temple,” he plays someone far darker and more disturbing.
“No Other Choice”: The Job Search Is Killer
Like the long peal of thunder arriving after the swift bolt of lightning that was “Parasite,” “No Other Choice” is an unsettling anti-capitalist satire that follows a paper plant manager who decides to knock off his competition one by one. The paper man, Yoo Man-su (Lee Byung-hun), has been in the industry for 25 years. He’s devastated when he loses his job, but he insists to his wife, Lee Mi-ri (Son Ye-jin), and their two kids that something will come up.
“Hamnet” Will Break Your Heart A Dozen Different Ways
Most stories are ghost stories. Characters haunted by their past, haunted by people they’ve lost, haunted by their actions. The ghost in “Hamnet,” a new costume drama film by director Chloé Zhao, is there in the title. The farmer’s daughter and healer Agnes (Jessie Buckley) and her husband, the young playwright and glovemaker William Shakespeare (Paul Mescal), are devastated by the loss of their son, Hamnet (Jacobi Jupe), to the plague.
“Marty Supreme” Races, Cheats, and Leaps Into the Future
Marty Mauser is great at table tennis, but that’s not good enough. He has to be the best in the world. It’s an infectious, poisonous, absurd dream, in a sport that most people don’t even take seriously. But that dream thrusts Marty from his uncle’s shoe shop in the Lower East Side to the halls of London and Paris and the megalopolis of Tokyo. Timothée Chalamet plays Marty with all the vainglory of a prophet as the character nearly cinches victory at the 1952 British Open in London.
“Avatar: Fire and Ash” Is a Big, Silly, Glorious Time at the Movies
Never underestimate James Cameron. The billionaire director, whose “Avatar: Fire and Ash” is the big blockbuster this holiday season, has again delivered a massive, ambitious sci-fi epic full of the most amazing visual effects you’ve ever seen. Set on the world of Pandora, the “Avatar” films chronicle the native Na’vi people’s resistance to persistent human colonizers trying to strip-mine their planet for cash. Little has changed here.
Review: “Eternity” is The Year’s Best Date Movie
Why do we love stories about the afterlife? From TV shows like “The Good Place” and “Upload” to films like “A Matter of Life and Death” and “Defending Your Life,” folks have always been interested in stories about what happens after we die. And rarely is it depicted with as much sensitivity, humor, and wisdom as in “Eternity,” a new theatrical release from A24. Joan (Elizabeth Olsen) is dead. And before she can move on to the hereafter, she’s stuck in a sort of in-between space.
Review: “Zootopia 2” Bounds Ahead of the Original
Nine years after the original “Zootopia” premiered, Disney’s sequel slithers into theaters. The series, titled “Zootropolis” here in Scotland and throughout much of Europe, stars bunny cop Judy Hopps (Ginnifer Goodwin), who allies with roguish fox Nick Wilde (Jason Bateman) to solve cases in a city where predators and prey live together in harmony. The Academy Award-winning first film is, copaganda aside, a gorgeous world brought to life with infectious zeal and lots of heart.
Review: “Wicked: For Good”: No Worse Than the First
If you go to the cinema for garish spectacle, allow me to present the movie event of the year. “Wicked: For Good” is the second part of the über-successful screen adaptation of the Broadway show, following Elphaba (Cynthia Erivo) and Glinda (Ariana Grande) as they embrace their roles as the Wicked Witch of the West and Glinda the Good. It’s every bit as busy, overdesigned, unsubtle, and sanctimonious as the last film but, I think, a good measure better.
Review: “Keeper” Is a Dark, Creepy, Feminist Fable
Tatiana Maslany needs to get the hell out of that house. Specifically, I mean the cabin in the woods in “Keeper,” where her character, an artist named Liz, has gone for a weekend retreat with her doctor boyfriend, Malcolm (Rossif Sutherland). Malcolm’s isolated family home is actually quite nice — it’s sleek and modernist, with ornate dark wood paneling and an elegant kitchen. Only, there are many wide windows with no curtains, and only the bathroom door has a lock on it.
Review: “Bugonia” Is Bitter, Bold, and Bleak
In “Bugonia,” a conspiracy theorist named Teddy (Jesse Plemons) and his cousin, Don (Aidan Delbis), kidnap Michelle (Emma Stone), a CEO whom they believe is an alien sent to Earth to destroy humanity. “Bugonia” is a uniquely puzzling film, a cynical three-person chamber drama that I found to be nearly impossible to judge as a work of art. I might like it on a Monday and loathe it on a Wednesday; if you ask me in three years whether or not I enjoyed it, I still might not give you a straight answer.
Review: “Springsteen: Deliver Me from Nowhere” Falls Short of Greatness
Between the success of “The River” in 1980 and the barn-blazing triumph of “Born in the U.S.A.” in 1984, Bruce Springsteen released his most daring album, “Nebraska.” This tumultuous period in Springsteen’s life — from moving to rural Colts Neck, New Jersey, in late 1981 to recording and mastering the album in ’82 — is the subject of “Springsteen: Deliver Me from Nowhere,” the at-times frustrating and low-key biopic from “Crazy Heart” director Scott Cooper.
Review: “Good Boy” Tells a Ghost Story from a Dog’s POV
In horror movies, the dog typically knows what’s going on before the humans do. Whether they’re barking into an empty corner of the room (where ghosts lurk) or chasing some phantasm in the dark woods, dogs in horror films have a talent for sniffing out evil. Finally, we have a haunted house film that’s told entirely from the dog’s perspective: Good Boy. First-time feature filmmaker Ben Leonberg shot Good Boy with his dog, Indy, a few hours a day for three years.
Review: “One Battle After Another” Pits DiCaprio Against the Government
In “One Battle After Another,”writer-director Paul Thomas Anderson shows us America as it is, and America as it should be. The film depicts police raids on Latino-owned businesses in a sanctuary city, undercover cops throwing Molotov cocktails to escalate a protest into a violent beatdown, and a secret cabal of überpowerful and deeply weird white supremacists who run the country.
Review: A Big Bold Beautiful Journey Confuses Meandering for Meaning
Finally, a movie featuring two hot people with zero chemistry and almost no plot at all. Arriving in theaters like a leaden two-hour perfume commercial, A Big Bold Beautiful Journey is here to teach you about life, love, meaning and other sorts of vague things that sound good in an elevator pitch. The film stars Colin Farrell and Margot Robbie as two strangers, David and Sarah, who randomly meet as part of a weird magical soulmate service disguised as the world’s sketchiest car rental company.
New York's Vibrant Lake State Park Boasts A Swim Beach With Ethereal Caribbean-Colored Waters, Trails, And Golf
In upstate New York, you can find state parks with stunning waterfalls and plenty of camping opportunities. But while many tourists might not immediately think of New York when they're looking for a gorgeous beach vacation, you can find a sandy beach in that part of the country where the waters shimmer in a shade of turquoise reminiscent of a tropical vacation.
Movie Stars Aren't Dead, as Tom Cruise and Brad Pitt Can Prove Original
Do movie stars still exist? Film journalists, cinephiles, and producers have been debating this point for over a decade, declaring the movie star extinct.
This New Jersey Gem With Big-City Appeal And Small-Town Charm Is A Scenic Train Ride Away From Manhattan
The next time you plan a trip to New York City, skip the expensive stay in Manhattan and instead travel an hour to scenic Summit, New Jersey. This community strikes a perfect balance between the bustle of the city — it's home to over 20,000 residents — and the quiet charm of small-town New Jersey. And it's more than just a place to sleep between shuttles into the metropolis. Summit is a destination in its own right, with plenty of restaurants, shops, community events, and green spaces to explore.
Sad Things You Didn't Know About Adam Sandler
Adam Sandler isn't exactly known for tragedy. But like any actor, he had a tumultuous start to his life in Hollywood, between being fired from "Saturday Night Live" and his regrets over, in his own words, acting like an ass in the early stages of his career. His films weren't exactly critical darlings, either, and he had to learn early on not to let the negative press get to him.
Sad Things You Didn't Know About Adam Sandler
8 hours ago A witty pun about a sailing trip has been named the funniest joke at this year's Edinburgh Festival Fringe. Comedian Mark Simmons tells this year's Edinburgh Fringe funniest joke A witty pun about a sailing trip has been named the funniest joke at this year's Edinburgh Festival Fringe.
Werner Herzog Wanted to Murder One Of His Stars
× Cookies help us deliver our Services. By using our Services, you agree to our use of cookies. Learn More. The relationship between Werner Herzog and Klaus Kinski involves one of the most legendary behind-the-scenes battles in filmmaking history. Together, they made five films, including some of Herzog's most beloved works, "Aguirre, the Wrath of God" and "Fitzcarraldo." But between them raged a fierce feud.
The Only Main Actor Still Alive From Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho
× Cookies help us deliver our Services. By using our Services, you agree to our use of cookies. Learn More. "Psycho" launched a thousand phobias of showers and dingy roadside motels when it premiered in 1960. Audiences ate up Alfred Hitchcock's proto-slasher, and the film went on to become the second-highest-grossing film of the year (behind "Spartacus") and the fifth-highest-grossing black-and-white film of all time.
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