Photo Credit: Parisa Tag
Anna and the Apocalypse R
This low-budget musical horror film debuted at the 2017 Fantastic Fest film festival in Austin, Texas. Set during the holidays, the film waited a year to obtain a December release. High school student Anna (Ella Hunt) is ordinary and bogged down in teen drama when her town becomes infected by a zombie plague. The film’s gaudy yuletide décor adds a humorous layer, while its songs (frequently sung over bloody carnage) cover topics like adolescent disappointment. Utilizing small ensembles for its musical numbers, Anna offers a selection of humble charms that invite viewers to rethink both the zombie and musical genres.
Mary Queen of Scots R
This latest film to illustrate the life of Mary Stuart, Queen of Scots, shows her to be an ambitious 16th-century royal. Queen of France at 16, Mary (Saoirse Ronan) is first cousin to Queen Elizabeth (Margot Robbie), her lineage suggesting a potential claim to Britain’s throne. King Henry VIII’s daughter, Elizabeth, a Protestant, refuses to marry, because she doesn’t want a man beside herself on the throne. Mary enjoys Roman Catholic support, causing Elizabeth to feel increasingly threatened, especially since Mary insists she is the rightful queen of both Scotland and France. Conspiracies and fear within each court imperil both thrones. The film is adapted from John Guy’s Queen of Scots: The True Life of Mary Stuart, which won the 2004 Whitbread Prize for biography.
