The Weekly Review: March 19 – 25

 

In gripping courtroom testimony, actress Gwyneth Paltrow this week described her first date with jailed movie producer Harvey Weinstein. Here is a sampling of the emotional exchange between the actress and a lawyer: *

 

**

 

Men

 

Jessie Buckley plays a woman who moves to an English hamlet, where she encounters increasingly, uh, bizarre males.

I considered writing a review of this British horror film, but decided it’s much easier to just comment on other critics’ reviews:

 

 

Christy Lemire of RogerEbert.com gave it 3/4 stars, calling it “a visceral experience” and adding: “it reinforces [writer-director Alex] Garland’s singular prowess as a craftsman of indelible visuals and gripping mood.”

My take on Lemire’s take: “Yes.”

 

*

 

Armond White of National Review wrote: “… Plus, it’s too absurd to substantiate the media’s fascination with ‘toxic masculinity.’”

My take on White’s take: “Yes.”

 

*

 

Kevin Maher of The Times gave it 2/5 stars, writing: “It culminates in a protracted, effects-filled birthing sequence that manages, after 90 minutes of man-hating, to be aggressively misogynistic.”

My take on Maher’s take: “Yes.”

 

*

 

Mark Kermode of The Observer gave the film 3/5 stars, calling it “a playfully twisted affair — not quite as profound as it seems to think, perhaps, but boasting enough squishy metaphorical slime to ensure that its musings upon textbook male characteristics are rarely dull, and sometimes deliciously disgusting.”

My take on Kermode’s take: “Yes.”

 

*

 

By the way, audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of “D+” on an A+ to F scale.

 

**

 

 

*Hey, if the Babylon Bee isn’t going to cover this stuff, we might as well.

 

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