Black Girl Nerds • 28th September 2022

Review: Ana de Armas Shines in the Fever Dream That Is Andrew Dominik’s ‘Blonde’

Writer-director Andrew Dominik’s (The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford) immersive and surreal adaption of Joyce Carol Oates’ imaginative novel of the same name is a lot to take in. The film digs deep into the myth of Marilyn Monroe, resulting in an unrelenting depiction of a fragile woman at the mercy of the Hollywood system. Blonde begins before the fame, with young Norma Jeane (Lily Fisher) and her unstable mother Gladys Pearl Baker (Julianne Nicholson). On her birthday,

Black Girl Nerds • 28th September 2022

Fantastic Fest 2022 Review: ‘Piggy’ is a Brutal, Blood-Soaked Coming-of-Age Slasher on the Horrors of Being a Teenager

Spanish writer-director Carlota Pereda’s feature film debut is an extension of her 2018 award-winning short film of the same name. With all its bloodiness, Piggy is a female-centric coming-of-age story much like Raw, Ginger Snaps, and The Witch. This introspective morality thriller explores bullying, body image, and basic humanity. It also has fun Friday-movie-night vibes — a classic teen slasher with more to offer. On an unforgiving hot summer day, Sara (Laura Galán) goes to the pool in her ru

Black Girl Nerds • 27th September 2022

Fantastic Fest 2022 Review: Explore the Parisian Catacombs in Grégory Beghin’s Claustrophobic Subterranean Horror ‘Deep Fear’

Belgian director Grégory Beghin (Losers Revolution) makes his first foray into horror with a tale of urban exploration gone awry. Written by Nicolas Tackian (Alex Hugo), Deep Fear goes beyond the jump scares and familiar genre tropes to deliver an overwhelming feeling of suffocating dread. In early ‘90s Paris, three college friends, Sonia (Sofia Lesaffre), Max (Kassim Meesters), and Henry (Victor Meutelet, aka Timothée on Emily in Paris), go out for a night of drinking to celebrate before Henry

Black Girl Nerds • 24th September 2022

Fantastic Fest 2022 Review: Shinzô Katayama's ‘Missing’ Is a Gripping Thriller That Keeps You Guessing

Japanese writer-director Shinzô Katayama (Siblings of the Cape) makes his commercial film debut with a genre-blending tale that explores multiple themes and relationship dynamics. Co-written by Ryô Takada (Over the Fence) and Kazuhisa Kodera (The Naked Director), Missing, recently acquired by Dark Star Pictures, is a film with twist after twist that goes deeper than one would expect. Having previously worked with Academy Award-winning filmmaker Bong Joon-Ho (Parasite, Okja) as an assistant direc

Black Girl Nerds • 22nd September 2022

Review: Netflix’s ‘Lou’ Is a Female-Driven Action-Thriller That Packs a Serious Punch

Netflix’s latest action-thriller isn’t just another revenge film. Cinematographer and director Anna Foerster (Westworld) makes her directorial debut with Lou — a female-driven film that packs a serious punch. Written by Maggie Cohn (The Staircase) and Jack Stanley, Lou follows the titular landlord (Allison Janney) as she somewhat enjoys her solitary existence on an island in the Pacific Northwest with her dog Jax. The first few minutes establish that, although she’s reasonably well-liked in tow

Black Girl Nerds • 9th September 2022

TIFF 2022 Review: Sophie Kargman's Darkly Satirical ‘Susie Searches’ Has the Makings of an Indie Cult Classic

Writer-director Sophie Kargman makes her feature directorial debut at this year’s Toronto International Film Festival with Susie Searches, a dark comedy satire based on her 2020 short of the same name. The film, co-written by William Day Frank, delves into our cultural fascination with true crime, social media stardom, and how messy it gets when the two come together. Susie (Kiersey Clemons) is a socially awkward, ambitious college student living in Ohio. She divides her time between caring for

Black Girl Nerds • 2nd September 2022

What to Watch Next If You Love ‘Only Murders in the Building’

The second season of Only Murders in the Building came to an end last month, leaving fans without their weekly dose of comedy and crime. OMITB is definitely one of a kind and has the perfect blend of genres. But there are some series that can quench your thirst until the Arconia Three return to our screens. Some of the obvious choices are Fargo, Veronica Mars, Psych, or anything Agatha Christie-related. However, if you’re looking to expand your horizons, here are a few shows with unlikely partn

Black Girl Nerds • 25th August 2022

Cult Classics: Remembering Aaliyah’s Iconic Queen Akasha in 'Queen of the Damned'

It’s been twenty-one years to the day since the tragic death of music icon Aaliyah. Today, we honor her memory by revisiting the young actress’s second and final film, Queen of the Damned. After the success of 1994’s Interview with the Vampire: The Vampire Chronicles, based on Anne Rice’s book of the same name, a follow-up film was inevitable. But instead of adapting the second book in Rice’s The Vampire Chronicles series, The Vampire Lestat, Warner Brothers oddly chose to combine its storyline

Black Girl Nerds • 17th August 2022

Review: Tatiana Maslany Is Sensational in Marvel’s Hilarious, Wildly Fun ‘She-Hulk: Attorney at Law’

If you thought Tatiana Maslany was incredible in Orphan Black, just wait until you see her go green in Marvel’s She-Hulk: Attorney at Law, the latest Disney+ series in the MCU’s Phase Four. The nine-episode half-hour legal comedy features a stellar cast and lots of laughs. When it comes to Jennifer Walters, you’ll love her when she’s angry, or even just mildly annoyed. Successful attorney Jennifer Walters (Tatiana Maslany) is a 30-something woman living in California trying to balance work, fri

Black Girl Nerds • 5th August 2022

Review: Neil Gaiman Brings the Cosmic World of Dreams and Nightmares to Life in Netflix’s ‘The Sandman’

After over thirty years since its publication and several attempts at film adaptations, the highly-anticipated Netflix series The Sandman finally graces our screens. Based on the DC comic series of the same name by Neil Gaiman, Sam Kieth, and Mike Dringenberg, the first season adapts “Preludes and Nocturnes” and “The Doll’s House.” The novelistic television series, developed by Gaiman, David S. Goyer (Foundation), Allan Heinberg (Wonder Woman), stays true to the comics while expanding, altering

Black Girl Nerds • 1st August 2022

Review: Rebecca Hall Captivates in ‘Resurrection,’ a Psychological Thriller Exploring the Horrors of Trauma

After its premiere at the 2022 Sundance Film Festival, IFC Films acquired one of the freshest psychological thrillers of the year. Andrew Semans’ sophomore feature, Resurrection, explores the fear of parenthood, the loss of control, and debilitating trauma. The writer-director (also known for Nancy, Please) delivers a disturbing, thought-provoking film that keeps you guessing and never lets you get comfortable. Margaret (Rebecca Hall) seems to have a content, if a bit boring, life as a successf

Black Girl Nerds • 29th July 2022

Review: Prime Video's Female-Led Sci-Fi Series ‘Paper Girls’ Is a Gorgeous, Nuanced, Time-Bending Adventure

Based on the best-selling comic book of the same name written by Brian K. Vaughan and illustrated by Cliff Chiang, Prime Video’s latest sci-fi series Paper Girls follows, you guessed it, paper girls who start their day delivering newspapers and end up in a completely different time period. The series, led by showrunner Christopher C. Rogers (Halt and Catch Fire), is set in the 1980s, so naturally, it’s already been compared to Stranger Things, but within the first few minutes, you’ll realize th

Black Girl Nerds • 28th July 2022

Review: ‘Pretty Little Liars: Original Sin’ Pays Homage to the Slasher Genre from a Female Perspective

Five years after Pretty Little Liars ended, HBO Max brings us a new set of Liars in a different but equally shady town with dark secrets. Co-creators Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa (Riverdale, Chilling Adventures of Sabrina) and Lindsay Calhoon Bring (Chilling Adventures of Sabrina) developed Original Sin intending to lean more into the horror genre, and they definitely succeeded. When the first episode ended with Rob Zombie’s “Living Dead Girl,” I knew this series was heading in a direction I could get

Black Girl Nerds • 22nd July 2022

Thrilling Mysteries to Watch If You Love ‘Pretty Little Liars’

It’s been five years since Pretty Little Liars ended, but the series lives on with a strong fanbase. This month, we’ll get the new HBO Max Original Pretty Little Liars: Original Sin, but what do PLL fans watch until then? Since 2019, all seven seasons have been available to binge on HBO Max. As much as we love returning to Rosewood, sometimes it’s worth venturing out. Teen dramas like Riverdale, Gossip Girl, and Revenge are all full of shocking betrayals and dark secrets. But if you’re looking

Black Girl Nerds • 21st July 2022

Review: ‘Harley Quinn’ Comes in Swingin’ with a Wild, Sexy, Cool Season 3

Harley Quinn is finally back with its third season and has a new home on HBO Max. The first two seasons of the hit Max Original aired on the now defunct DC Universe platform, premiering in November 2019, with the Season 2 finale in June 2020. Two years is quite a long gap between seasons but the show’s creative team, led by co-showrunners Justin Halpern and Patrick Schumacker (Abbott Elementary), made sure it was worth the wait. Season 3 picks up where we left off with Harley Quinn (Kaley Cuoco

Black Girl Nerds • 7th July 2022

World Chocolate Day: Revisiting the Sweet Chaos of 'Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory'

Load up on Wonka Bars because it’s World Chocolate Day! What better way to celebrate than to revisit 1971’s Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory? Based on the 1964 novel Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl, the story follows young Charlie Bucket (Peter Ostrum), who comes from a poor family and spends his days delivering papers, going to school, and dreaming of a better life. When it’s announced that the titular chocolatier hid five golden tickets in his Wonka Bars, it becomes an abs

Black Girl Nerds • 5th July 2022

Review: Apple TV+'s 'Black Bird' Is Your Next True Crime Obsession

If you’re still trying to fill the Mindhunter-sized hole left after its cancellation, look no further than Apple TV+’s latest original Black Bird. Created and executive produced by best-selling author Dennis Lehane (Mystic River, Shutter Island), the six-episode limited series joins the slew of true crime dramas dominating the television landscape. Inspired by the book In With The Devil: A Fallen Hero, A Serial Killer, and A Dangerous Bargain for Redemption by James Keene and Hillel Levin, the

Black Girl Nerds • 22nd June 2022

Review: Our Favorite Cross-Generational True Crime Trio Are Back and in Trouble in Hulu’s ‘Only Murders in the Building’

Less than a year after its cliffhanger of a season finale, Hulu’s cozy murder mystery comedy returns for its second season, much to fans’ delight. Only Murders in the Building is a show that maintains an intriguing mystery while exploring things like grappling with one’s past in order to make a better present and future, feelings of isolation, and our collective fascination with true crime. And it also manages to be genuinely hilarious. In Season 1, we’re introduced to Charles-Haden Savage (Ste

Black Girl Nerds • 14th June 2022

Review: Netflix’s ‘Spiderhead’ Is Tonally All Over the Place

The latest psychological thriller from Netflix comes from Joseph Kosinski, director of the highly praised Top Gun: Maverick, and Deadpool writing duo Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick. It is based on the 2010 short story “Escape from Spiderhead” by award-winning author George Saunders, first published in The New Yorker and then later in his collection Tenth of December. Spiderhead has all the ingredients for an intriguing satire — the dangers of technology, unethical practices for the greater good, r

Black Girl Nerds • 7th June 2022

Review: ‘Evil’ Is Back with Demons and Doomscrolling

Warning: Spoilers for seasons 1 and 2 of Evil. Writer-producer duo Robert and Michelle King (The Good Wife, The Good Fight) are back with the third season of their horror crime drama Evil. Its new home at Paramount Plus gives the series the freedom it needs to get even weirder and more daring. Robert told Entertainment Weekly, “The show works best for us when it plays the game of the supernatural, but it also shows how the supernatural can be a psychological condition.” Evil creatively touches