Film Lists

4 Underrated Kristen Stewart Films to Watch Before “Spencer”

Kristen Stewart as Princess Diana only comes as a shock if you only know her from Twilight

Kristen Stewart as Princess Diana in the upcoming film, "Spencer"

via Neon films

I have to say it: Thank God for Twilight.

No one is surprised that the fad franchise about teenage vampires didn't age well, but we have Stephanie Myers and her My Chemical Romance fan-fiction-turned-novel-turned-movie (a genre that also includes 50 Shades of Grey, which was in fact conceived as a Twilight fanfiction … there's too much to unpack there, so I won't do it) for launching the careers of R-Patz and K-Stew.

For a while, it was looking pretty grim for the both of them. Robert Pattinson spent all his press tours scowling and actively hating the movies that propelled him to superstardom, and Kristen Stewart spent years the subject of a meme about having an inexpressive face.

Turns out that was just a character choice she made for Bella Swan, and Kristen Stewart does have the range.

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Film Features

Should There Be Movies About 9/11?

Can fictionalized movies about 9/11 ever be good entertainment, or just exploitation?

Photo from: Screenshot of What Happened on September 11 / YouTube.com

For Americans, 9/11 was more than just a horrendous terrorist attack.

9/11 changed the very fabric of American culture. Even for people who didn't lose anyone close to them in the tragedy, life seemed to shift post-9/11. Many realized that their world was much darker and much less safe than they had once imagined. Fear of outsiders seeped into public consciousness. Some of it was warranted, but a lot of it was not. Opposing parties briefly united under the banner of American pride and then separated almost as quickly in disputes over how to best move forward.

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TV

Andrew Yang's Tweets to Shane Gillis and Bowen Yang Is the Best "SNL" Skit in Years

New "SNL" cast member Shane Gillis has a history of making racist, misogynistic, and bigoted commentary as part of his "comedy." Andrew Yang gave a thoughtful reason why we should forgive him.

Andrew Yang Supporters - San Diego, CA

Photo by Janson George

Update: SNL recently announced that Shane Gillis has been fired a mere four days after being hired.

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FILM

The New "Charlie's Angels" Reboot Looks Like Another Male Gaze Fantasy

Charlie's Angels can't shed its core premise of badass women answering to a lazy man.

Charlie's Angels has always been a male gaze fantasy couched in faux female empowerment.

Unfortunately, the new Charlie's Angels seems no different. Watch the trailer here:

Set to a new collaborative single by Miley Cyrus, Ariana Grande, and Lana Del Ray with the apt lyrics "Don't call me angel / Don't call me angel," the Charlie's Angels reboot seems hellbent on subverting franchise expectations. But even with a female writer/director (Elizabeth Banks), Charlie's Angels can't shed its core premise of a group of cool, badass women ultimately answering to a mysterious man named Charlie. After all, this is CHARLIE'S Angels.

The reboot follows a new group of Angels played by Kristen Stewart, Ella Balinska, and Naomi Scott. Bosley is a woman now, played by Elizabeth Banks. And this time, they're going international...or whatever.

In 2019, the concept ofCharlie's Angels is extremely outdated. Even if the movie did somehow manage to successfully bring something close to female empowerment to the big screen, it's bothersome that in our wildest fantasies, we still can't imagine a world where these "Angels" don't work for Charlie––or where Ella Balinska's midriff is bared for the "plot." Even if the mysterious Charlie turned out to be a woman using a codename, it wouldn't change the movie's real selling point: "badass" sexy women performing for an intended male audience. Retire this franchise.