Peckerwood Manor

While watching Lee Daniels' new movie, "The Deliverance," I was struck by the three lead actresses, Glenn Close, Andra Day and Demi Singleton, by how believable they were as a troubled, but close-knit, family. In one key scene, Close, the matriarch, tends to her adult daughter's hair, played by Day, and in turn, Day tends to her pre-teen daughter's hair, played by Singleton, while they all half-watch "Valley of the Dolls" on TV and chat about their day. It's a brief, near-throwaway scene, but it felt so real, so casually lived-in, that it almost seemed documentary-like - but much fuller, juicier, as much of this movie is before the horror kicks in.  This one haircare scene, I think, exemplifies why "The Deliverance" works so well, even with its minor missteps. The actresses, especially Close and Day, give masterful, but not showy, performances; they're relaxed in their characters' skin in a way few actors are. Likewise, Daniels'...

Domestic violence, sexual assault, skid-marked undies! These are just a few of the dangers which some straight men perpetrate and possess according to a series of TickTwat viral memes in which women declare that they'd rather spend time in the woods with a bear instead of an unknown man - since a bear will only kill and eat them. They mean a literal bear, not a ghey bear, who'll only binge-watch "Housewives" with them or take them out for cocktails and titters.  Hilariously, some straight men are missing the point entirely: that women naturally need to be on guard because there's no way of knowing what an unknown guy might do. Duh! Instead, they feel "demeaned" and "attacked." Some have even huffily noted, "There is not enough context to answer this question!" believing that they're being all smarty-like and sagacious.  Predictably, these same men are now labeling those who choose the bears as "man-haters," along with a ...