Lena Wilson, Author at The Playlist

‘We Are Who We Are’: Luca Guadagnino’s HBO Series Gets Lost In Blasé Eurocentricity & Teenage Pretension [Review]

September 1, 2020 10:09 am

Luca Guadagnino is renowned for luscious, sensory filmmaking which bestowed him cinematic auteur status almost immediately. Most recently, he made viewers feel like all their bones were about to shatter in the...

Gemma Arterton Shines In Subversive Tearjerker ‘Summerland’ [Review]

Lena Wilson

July 30, 2020 11:45 am

Reviews

There is a scene early on in “Summerland,” a romantic WWII drama by Jessica Swale, that calls to mind the pilot of “Killing Eve.” In “Killing Eve,” we first meet assassin Villanelle (Jodi Comer) in an ice crea...

‘Cursed’: Netflix’s New Fantasy Series Is ‘Game of Thrones’ For Teens [Review]

Lena Wilson

July 17, 2020 10:24 am

Reviews, Television

Netflix has plumbed the depths of teen TV. They have shows about autistic high schoolers and British sexuality and a girl who can explode football players with her brain. But they don’t often venture into full...

Hulu’s ‘Love, Victor’ Is A ‘Love, Simon’ Spin-off Brimming With Care And Charm [Review]

Lena Wilson

June 17, 2020 4:05 pm

Reviews, Television

When “Love, Simon,” Greg Berlanti’s rom-com about a closeted kid in Atlanta, debuted in 2018, it did so as the first-ever gay teen film from a major studio. As such, it had roughly 150 years of straight cinema...

‘Betty’: HBO’s ‘Skate Kitchen’ Spin-Off Is An Imperfect Start To Skater Girl Magic [Review]

Lena Wilson

April 29, 2020 1:24 pm

Features, News, Reviews, Television

In the first episode of “Betty,” HBO’s new half-hour show about girl skaters, guys’ girl Camille (Rachelle Vinberg) and the helpful Janay (Dede Lovelace) are walking through Manhattan in search of Camille’s st...

Eliza Hittman Never Rarely Sometimes Always

Director Eliza Hittman On The Intricate Feminism Of ‘Never Rarely Sometimes Always’ [Interview]

Lena Wilson

March 31, 2020 12:40 pm

Interviews, News

While the COVID-19 pandemic has led to a boom in binge-watching, a slew of films destined for theatrical release still hang in the balance. Eliza Hittman’s latest Sundance award-winner, “Never Rarely Sometimes...

‘Westworld’ Season 3: Fembots Have Feelings Too [Review]

Lena Wilson

March 15, 2020 7:11 pm

Features, Reviews, Television

"Westworld" has a woman problem. Not the show, the place: the HBO hit’s eponymous, fictional theme park where the wealthy can cavort with lifelike cyborgs (“hosts”) in an idyllic Western town. In Westworld, fe...

‘Swallow’ Director Carlo Mirabella-Davis Talks Body Horror And Telling A Story Of Female Trauma As A Male Director [Interview]

Lena Wilson

March 14, 2020 12:54 am

Features, Interviews, News

“Swallow,” currently in limited release from IFC Films, marks a confident narrative feature debut by filmmaker Carlo Mirabella-Davis. Thirty-nine and a lover of the medium since he begged his parents to let hi...

In ‘Swallow,’ Haley Bennett Is Not An Object—She’s Devouring Them [Interview]

Lena Wilson

March 5, 2020 1:45 pm

Interviews, News

Haley Bennett’s been long overdue for acting accolades. Consistently arresting in smaller roles – like her turn in “The Girl on the Train” – she just needed to find a leading role meaty enough to showcase her ...

‘The Invisible Man’: A Well-Crafted Horror With Some Very Visible Flaws [Review]

Lena Wilson

February 27, 2020 9:45 am

Features, News, Reviews

In many modern horror movies, things are aggressively didactic. Baddies are bad, heroes are good; audiences – in their perceived inability to assign morality or allegiance to a story on their own – are dumb. T...

Author Lena Wilson