Film Yap

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Film Yap Essential movie reviews, commentary and news from Hoosier film critics. Essential movie reviews, commentary and news from Hoosier film critics.

Current time: 0:00 / Total time: -21:20 Audio playback is not supported on your browser. Please upgrade. Choose your preferred format: audio podcast above, or watch the video below! Film Yap is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work please consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. Discussion about this episode Essential movie reviews, commentary and news from Hoosier film critics. Essential movie reviews, commentary and news from Hoosier film critics.

Film Yap is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. I’m not a mental health clinician, but I work for an organization that has been doing that for 60 years, so I hope I have better touch points with mental illness than most people. I’ve spent hundreds of hours in facilities for those with serious diagnoses, addiction and so forth. I even minored in psychology back in college.

Film Yap is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. Hollywood hasn’t exactly done great with presidential biopics of late. “Lincoln” was the last one I remember that was very good, and before that my brain can’t summon any going back several decades. “Young Mr. Lincoln” starring Henry Fonda in 1939 might just be the previous standout.

When movie franchises get to their 7th film, they tend to be phoning it in. They stop concerning themselves with original ideas and just ladle up more of what made the previous movies a bunch of money. Heck, I’ve seen some reach that point by the second picture. Give points to the Despicable Me/Minions gang for not just doing the same-old for “Minions & Monsters,” the 7th iteration from that corner of the cinematic universe.

With the release of "Young Washington," let's look back to our archival podcast about historical period pieces.

Here at the height of summer, when blockbusters (and would-be blockbusters) are hurtling through space like asteroids, I’m seeking stardust: something subtle, incidental, tangential. “Memorizu”—which premiered at Tribeca earlier this month—fits the bill, for anyone in the mood for a modest, haiku-like piece of film. The theme wastes no time (and no words) announcing itself: the opening shot is a woman on a ferry, looking out a wide window to the sea.

Another week, another giveaway! Sign up now for your chance to win a digital copy of “Savage House,” a bleak black comedy starring Richard E. Grant. In 18th-century England, “Savage House” follows Sir Chauncey Savage (Grant), a gloriously unscrupulous social climber propped up by debt and bravado. When invited to host the Duke and Duchess of Devonshire, Chauncey and his razor-sharp wife, Lady Savage (Claire Foy), launch a bid to impress.

Film Yap is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.