Tag: Hunger

Posterized Propaganda June 2014: ‘Snowpiercer,’ ‘The Rover,’ ‘Venus in Fur’ & More

Jared Mobarak

“Don’t Judge a Book by Its Cover” is a proverb whose simple existence proves the fact impressionable souls will do so without fail. This monthly column focuses on the film industry’s willingness to capitalize on this truth, releasing one-sheets to serve as not representations of what audiences are to expect, but as propaganda to fill seats. Oftentimes they fail miserably. It’s no surprise a month like June doesn’t possess the best posters for blockbuster releases. No one readying to visit a theater for summer popcorn carnage cares if the advertisement…

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REVIEW: 12 Years a Slave [2013]

Jared Mobarak

“Stay safely” A label such as hero has lost its meaning of late. So ubiquitous today, it’s been rendered empty by being placed upon men and women who—while just, compassionate, and selfless—don’t quite reach the level of endured suffering for the word to earn its full weight. With America’s history possessing so much cowardice and hate, even some of its greatest legends can’t shake the damning facts which prove they’re less than the pristine pillars our books would like to tell. Yet in our darkest time—an era of unforgivable crimes…

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TIFF11 REVIEW: Shame [2011]

Jared Mobarak

“Blue or green?” Three years after their first collaboration—and the director’s debut film—Steve McQueen and star Michael Fassbender return with the viscerally intense Shame. To call a movie assured to receive an NC-17 rating more mainstream than their previous Hunger is insane, but it’s true. Whereas that film took a more formal approach to the medium, leaving us in a visually stunning world without introducing the lead character until about a third of the way in, Shame definitely has more of a narrative voice. With that said, however, McQueen’s improved…

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REVIEW: Hunger [2008]

Jared Mobarak

“We only smoke the lamentations” In 2008, a 39-year old Brit made his auspicious cinematic debut with the daring Hunger. Based on the events surrounding the 1981 Northern Ireland hunger strike within HM Prison Maze, newcomer Steve McQueen and co-writer Enda Walsh push fearlessly into the dark and inspiring tale. Beginning with the “blanket” and “no wash” strikes, we watch Irish Republican Davey Gillen (Brian Milligan) get incarcerated. Speaking out on his desire for political status—the IRA looks for better rights since their crimes, although serious, were committed with ‘cause’—his…

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