End Credits - November 21, 2018 (Widows)

This week's End Credits is going to get heavy. Yes, we will be talking about the passing of a comic book legend, and our review is about a bunch of women trying to get by after the death of their husbands through crime. Also on the heavy side is an interview about the nature of democracy, but maybe we can lighten things up by talking about a pair of well known filmmakers who have just released a new movie.

This Wednesday, November 21, at 2 pm, Adam A. Donaldson  will discuss:

Stan. Last week, we said goodbye to Stan Lee, the man who co-created the Marvel Universe, and who literally became the face of that universe in comics, and on film. Still, the outpouring of grief for the death of Lee hides some of the sketchier portions of his career, portions that involve Jack Kirby and Steve Ditko, Lee's co-creators on characters like the Fantastic Four, the X-Men, and Spider-Man. So how will Lee be remembered after this grieving period is over?

Democracy Now? It seems unlikely that there is no more important question of our time than "Can we stop the worldwide rise of authoritarianism?" But maybe that starts with another question: "What is democracy?" This is a question that's at the centre of What is Democracy? a new documentary by filmmaker and activist Astra Taylor. What is Democracy? played earlier this month at the Guelph Film Festival, and before that, Taylor took the time to give an interview to the Guelph Politicast about the core question of her documentary and the state of politics now.

REVIEW: Widows (2018). Has Steve McQueen gone Hollywood? Maybe. Widows, based on the pulpy novel by Gillian Flynn (also of Gone Girl and Sharp Objects) follows after McQueen's string of complex and dour character pieces like Hunger, Shame, and 12 Years a Slave, and while Widows is another McQueen slow burn, it's also got the gloss and shine that's trademark Tinseltown. Can these two worlds of McQueen exist in one high stakes, high octane package? You might be pleasantly surprised...

Cowboys and Coens. The Coen Brothers new movie, The Ballad of Buster Scruggs, is now available to stream on Netflix, and it looks to be another one of those Coen movies you're going to either love or hate. You know who knows a lot about that? Adam Nayman. The film author and reviewer recently penned a book called The Coen Brothers: This Book Really Ties the Films Together, and though it was released before Buster Scruggs, it might help you understand the Coen ouevre a little better. This is part of an interview that ran on End Credits in September.

End Credits is on CFRU 93.3 fm and cfru.ca Wednesday at 2 pm.