A romantic drama set along the English coast, the stylistic setting and poignant performances found in “My Policeman” leave audiences with a beautiful message about finding love and coming to terms with our innermost identity.
When it comes to the royal family, the public has a long history of holding the wrong people accountable, primarily women. The only way this will be solved is by learning to change the narrative that men can break rules while women cannot.
Olivia Vizethann, Staff Writer
• September 29, 2022
UNCW’s theatre department is kicking off the fall season with their first production, “Kindertransport.” Diane Samuel’s 1993 play takes place in three different time periods, following the life of young Eva, a German child who is sent to a foster family in England to escape the Nazi regime.
Despite the recent drama stirred among the cast of “Don’t Worry Darling”, Olivia Wilde’s newest feature remained an anticipated release. With the director of “Booksmart” and a star-studded cast behind it, it seemed to guarantee excellence. However, the final product is not quite the powerhouse thriller that moviegoers anticipated. The film’s disjointed writing falls apart by the conclusion, failing to capitalize on its own potential.
Annamarie Geosits, Photography Editor
• September 24, 2022
As Olivia Wilde prepares for her sophomore feature film directorial debut with “Don’t Worry Darling,” she aspires to match, or even surpass, the extremely positive audience reaction from her first feature, “Booksmart.” However, despite Wilde’s artistic credibility, the discourse following the film’s premiere at the Venice Film Festival, both public and critical, primarily concerns the drama between the main cast and director rather than the content of the film. Although there is no specific person to blame for the complete mess that was this film’s premiere, the different scandals all lead back to one common factor: Olivia Wilde herself. Although she could be to blame for the spectacle, one can't help but wonder if it would all be as big of a deal if the director was a man.
HBO Max’s “Tokyo Vice” takes us into late 1990s Japan, where the Yakuza presence affects the way policemen investigate crime and an American reporter’s efforts to write the truth. The series is based on the 2009 memoir of the same name by journalist Jake Adelstein, the first non-Japanese reporter for one of Japan’s largest newspapers, the Yomiuri Shimbun. Serving as the pilot’s director and executive producer, filmmaker Michael Mann makes a return to television after a long absence. A master of crime drama, Mann implants his distinctive procedural style and noir elements into the series. Based on its first three episodes, “Tokyo Vice'' is one of the most stylish and clever crime shows to grace streaming this year.
Set on the dreary, haunting moors of England, this story features a twisting roller-coaster ride of events and secrets that cannot help but pull the audience in, only to keep them in the dark. Early uncertainty in the show is reminiscent of Hitchcock's mysteries such as Rebecca, with all the beauty, class and attitude of society women in Brontë’s classic novel Jane Eyre.
The Seahawk’s staff writers Eriq Dixon and Boyce Rucker share their own predictions for the 2022 Oscars. Being impassioned film-watchers, their dialogue promotes the deservance of respective films, performances, screenplays and their cultural significance. They focus here on the “Big Five” award categories, including Best Picture, Best Actor, Best Actress, Best Screenplay (Original or Adapted) and Best Director, in making their predictions.
“Deep Water” is an underwhelming and unfulfilling thriller that offers no suspense or closure. It’s hard to invest in when its characters and story fall flat. The film drowns in mediocrity as it fails to capitalize on the opportunities to make it strong, particularly in Affleck and de Armas.
Netflix’s specialty generally lies in creating a marketable series that pulls viewers in with compelling leads and a great premise, though there is the occasional misfire. Based on the 2018 novel of the same name by Karin Slaughter, “Pieces of Her” is an eight-episode series released to Netflix on March 4, 2022, starring Toni Collette as a mother whose past catches up with her. There is a strong presence in Collette, along with an intriguing, albeit overdone, premise. These elements are enough to generate excitement for the series. However, the show’s convoluted plot and a slow buildup prevent it from being an eventful watch.
Season two’s first episode quickly gave us plenty to look forward to for several weeks. Elements such as Rue’s (Zendaya) relapse, Nate (Jacob Elordi) and Cassie’s (Sydney Sweeney) faulty entanglement and Cal’s (Eric Dane) self-realization drove us to speculation every week. “The Theater and It’s Double'' gives us our best look at Lexi yet. If Nate & Cassie’s relationship is the MVP subplot of the season, then Lexi’s (Maude Apatow) play is like a stealth plane that surprises us and elicits so many emotions within the hour. While this episode does not have much plot progression until the end, it offers a lot to analyze as the characters see themselves through Lexi’s play.
Kiley Woods, Photography Editor
• February 19, 2022
This play was brought to life with modern costumes that relate heavily to each character’s personality and a simple set that depicts trees and vines in a way that makes them appear to be right out of a nightmare. The plot is hard to follow, and the dialogue is beyond comprehension, unless Shakespeare's language comes easily to you. This show ponders what it is like to be taken by fear itself. It is a commentary on the connections that are built between characters who have nothing in common other than their proximity to one another while stranded on an island, or perhaps they are just under the mystical island's control.
