It’s just so sad. A somber tone hangs over Hulu’s very good “Under the Bridge” like a weighted blanket, dragging everyone down into the Canadian ground. It’s a show about characters who carry trauma and are forced into a situation in which they have to watch people work through their own life-changing situations, too. It’s about those rash decisions that young people sometimes make that they can never get back. There have been attempts at true crime stories about the systemic problems in youth culture that often discards children that society deems unwanted, and there have been dozens of stories of bullying, but this one feels more empathetic than almost all the others.

Continue reading ‘Under The Bridge’ Review: Riley Keough, Lily Gladstone Ground Heartbreaking True Crime Mini-Series at The Playlist.

Who killed Reena Virk? The teenager’s murder and subsequent investigation are at the heart of the new crime series “Under the Bridge.” Hulu’s limited series adapts  Rebecca Godfrey’s book about the crime, a case that would shock Canada during the late ’90s. 29-year-old wunderkind writer/director Quinn Shephard heads up the project, also acting as executive producer. The multi-hyphenate previously helmed the dramedy-thriller film “Not Okay.”

READ MORE: The 70 Most Anticipated TV Shows & Mini-Series Of 2024

Lily Gladstone leads the cast as Cam Bentland, an officer tasked with unraveling the case.

Continue reading ‘Under The Bridge’ Trailer: Riley Keough & Lily Gladstone’s New Hulu Crime Series Arrives  April 17 at The Playlist.

In this episode of The Discourse Podcast, we talk to actor Dylan O’Brien, who you may know from his many stand-out roles in MTV’s “Teen Wolf,” “The Maze Runner” films,” Love and Monsters,” and much more. He’s currently out promoting his latest film, “Not Okay,” from Writer/Director Quinn Shephard (“Blame”).

Continue reading ‘Not Okay’: Dylan O’Brien On Working With Zoey Deutch, Influencers, Superhero Fan-Casting, & More [The Discourse Podcast] at The Playlist.

Toward the close of Quinn Shephard’s “Not Okay,” the film introduces a cheeky and somewhat clever visual: an “online shaming support group.” After Zoey Deutsch’s Danni Sanders faces a societal reckoning for building her public profile on an easily provable falsehood, she seeks solace with a group of real-life influencers who have faced various degrees of backlash, controversy, and cancellation. Among the assembled are fashionista best-dressed (who caught flak from her fans for taking a partnership with Amazon that many felt flew in the face of her pledged goal of sustainability), TikToker Josh Helfgott (whose privilege came into question over participating in a Zoom call for Black History Month), and popular streamer Rocco Botte of Mega64 (who became embroiled in scandal after an ex-girlfriend accused him of grooming).

Continue reading ‘Not Okay’ Review: A Half-Baked Cancel Culture Thinkpiece With A Warped Moral Compass at The Playlist.

Gonzo social media satire has become one of the most crowd-pleasing subgenres in the last few years. From Eugene Kotlyarenko’s rideshare horror show “Spree,” which, in spite of a pandemic-hampered box office run, gained considerable notoriety back in 2020, to Adam McKay’s acclaimed disaster-comedy “Don’t Look Up,” which set a new record for the most viewing hours in a single week on Netflix and went on to get four Academy Award nominations.

Continue reading ‘Not Okay’ Trailer: Zoey Deutch Fakes An Instagram Trip Leading To Major Consequences at The Playlist.

Back in 2012, a documentary was released titled “The Woman Who Wasn’t There.” The film follows the true story of a woman who became one of the most outspoken survivors of 9/11. However, it was eventually revealed that she actually wasn’t there during the terrorist attack. That basic premise carries over in the upcoming dark comedy film, “Not Okay.” 

READ MORE: Searchlight Sending 3 Films Straight To Hulu This Summer Including New Ones Featuring Emma Thompson & Zoey Deutch

As seen in the teaser for “Not Okay,” the film tells the story of an aspiring influencer who has the idea to pretend she was in Paris during a terrorist attack to raise her social media clout.

Continue reading ‘Not Okay’ Teaser: Zoey Deutch Pretends To Be A Survivor Of A Tragedy In Searchlight’s Upcoming Film at The Playlist.

PARK CITY – Gay coming of age stories are seemingly back in vogue. Last year, Sundance unveiled “Call Me By Your Name” and “Beach Rats.” In March 20th Century Fox will release “Love, Simon” and there are at least two other gay-themed high school films this critic knows of that didn’t make the Sundance cut this time around. One film, however, was selected to screen at this year’s festival and it was Desiree Akhavan’s “The Miseducation Of Cameron Post,” which had its world premiere on Monday.

Continue reading Chloë Grace Moretz In ‘The Miseducation Of Cameron Post’ [Sundance Review] at The Playlist.

At this year’s Tribeca Film Festival, 22 year old filmmaker Quinn Shepard made a breakthrough with her blistering and ferocious take on high-school dynamics, particularly those between teenage girls. In her first feature length film, “Blame,” she showed a deft hand in filmmaking, creating a world both familiar and completely her own, while managing to find sympathy for all of the characters involved. It’s an empathetic and intriguing picture that promises a talent to keep an eye on in coming years.

Continue reading ‘Blame’ Trailer: A Taboo Relationship Sparks Rumor & Suspicion at The Playlist.

In “Blame,” the startlingly confident debut film by precocious 22-year-old Quinn Shephard, the 2017 Tribeca Film Festival receives its true breakout of the year, while also serving as a brutal reminder as to why you couldn’t pay me to be a teenager again.

Abigail (Shephard) is returning to school after a year away following a very public breakdown. An easy target for bullies, especially mean girl Melissa (Nadia Alexander), Abigail finds reprieve after she’s cast in the leading role in the school production of Arthur Miller’s “The Crucible,” a feeling compounded when she catches the attention of her teacher, empathetic Jeremy (Chris Messina).

Continue reading ‘Blame’: 22-Year-Old Filmmaker Quinn Shephard Becomes One To Watch With Her Startling Debut [Tribeca Review] at The Playlist.