There’s a lovely little old-school manual typewriter in “Martin Eden,” director Pietro Marcello’s adaptation of Jack London’s semi-autobiographical novel. The protagonist of the title sits behind the mechanical device while transferring his innermost thoughts to the page. As Martin (Luca Marinelli of “The Old Guard”) hammered away at the keys, I was reminded how much…
“Any comic who says they’ve never bombed onstage, they’re not being real about what we do.” – Cedric the Entertainer Read moreA Guide to The Perfect Bong Joon-ho MarathonSome fathers and sons bond through sports. Some bond through fishing. Some bond about books, cars, opera. It doesn’t matter, as long as bonding happens! In “The…
“I don’t know where all the bad blood came from…” Circle & Square Films has released a promo trailer for The Letter, a doc from Kenya that is screening at film festivals this fall. This originally premiered at the IDFA Doc Festival last year, and is still looking for a release – but this trailer…
On a warm day in February 2018, a nimble 63-year-old named Oumarou Alim leads the way through the dramatic stone caves of Mount Djim, a rocky peak in the Central African nation of Cameroon. Holding up an arm with a flourish, he declares that this cave “holds the traces of those who came before us.”…
“If we kidnap you, and forbid you to sleep, what happens with your mind?” Epic Pictures has released an official US trailer for a dark psychological thriller titled Sleepless Beauty, from Russian filmmaker Pavel Khvaleev. It just premiered at the Imagine Film Festival, and arrives on VOD in the US in November. A girl named…
Martin Scorsese’s World Cinema Project began in 2007, with a commitment to restoring and releasing films from parts of the world where filmmaking was difficult for political and cultural reasons. While some of these restorations resulted in films or at least works by filmmakers who had been recognized, some never would have found their way…
At the Gold Mining Camp Museum in Goldvein are two enormous relics from Virginia’s gold mining past. Few realize that Virginia was one of the first states in which gold was discovered. In 1782, Thomas Jefferson discovered a four-pound rock containing gold ore along the Rappahannock riverbank. Read moreA Guide to The Perfect Bong Joon-ho…
The word “timely” has gotten a hell of a workout over the last several years. That’s what comes of living on a knife’s-blade moment in history. We balance, teetering, on a thin slip of stability, diamond-sharp and diamond-precious. At such times, stories cannot help but take on new resonance. Yet in this moment, in which…
“We can never go back again, that much is certain. The past is still close to us. The things we have tried to forget and put behind us would stir again, and that sense of fear, of furtive unrest, struggling at length to blind unreasoning panic—now mercifully stilled, thank God—might in some manner unforeseen become…
Of course “Battlefield Earth” is celebrating its 20th anniversary in this craptastic year. 2020 has thrown a lot our way: a pandemic, economic shutdowns, a draining presidential election and now a retrospective edition of John Travolta’s signature stink bomb. Read moreA Guide to The Perfect Bong Joon-ho MarathonYou’d be hard-pressed to find any real “Battlefield…
“You can hear him, can’t you? Squirming his way into your thoughts.” Surprise! 20th Century Studios has released an official trailer for a supernatural horror movie The Empty Man, set for release next weekend (in one week). This is the first bit of marketing we’ve seen for this movie, which is still getting a nationwide…
★ Directed by: #JonathanHawes Read moreA Guide to The Perfect Bong Joon-ho MarathonWritten by: #JonathanHawes Cast: #MattHawes Read moreRobert Stack Finally Solves a Mystery in ‘The Strange and Deadly Occurrence’Film Review by: Amelia Eilertsen Hairball is a strange piece of film. It reminds me of those jarring, edited photographs of the razor in the eye…
There is still a little time left – and Pixar has yet to release their highly anticipated feature Soul, which will likely be in contention – but Wolfwalkers is almost certainly the best-animated film of the year. The third in the unofficial folklore trilogy from Irish studio Cartoon Saloon, it is brimming with charm, wonder,…
Yarra Bend Asylum first opened in 1848 as the first permanent institution in Victoria designed for the treatment of the mentally ill. Prior to the construction of Yarra Bend, the mentally ill were often imprisoned in jails across the region. Read moreA Guide to The Perfect Bong Joon-ho MarathonThese institutions were often referred to during…
Character actors aren’t celebrated in the press despite delighting viewers whenever they appear on screen. They’re finally getting their due in a funny, fascinating online video series called “People Who Never Get Interviewed But Should.” Read moreA Guide to The Perfect Bong Joon-ho MarathonHosted by veteran standup comedian and actor Brian Scolaro, the videos stream…
“We got one option – we fight.” Paramount has released a trailer for an emotional and gritty drama about brothers titled Jungleland, the latest from talented filmmaker Max Winkler (of Ceremony and Flower). A reluctant bare-knuckle boxer and his manager / brother must travel across the country for one last fight to pay off a…
“Amy! No!” Paramount has debuted one final promo trailer for the movie Love and Monsters, formerly known as Monster Problems, launching direct-to-VOD this weekend – skipping theaters entirely. This is directed by the South African filmmaker behind Five Fingers for Marseilles previously. Seven years after the Monsterpocalypse, Joel along with the rest of humanity, has…
Pons Fabricius is a bridge located along the Tiber river in Rome. It connects the eastern shore of the Tiber Island to the mainland. This makes it one of only two bridges in the city not connecting the two banks of the river, the other being Pons Cestius west of the small island. Read moreA…
Liam Neeson once again plays a man with a very particular set of skills—safecracking and bombmaking among them—in “Honest Thief,” a no-frills, low-thrills version of the kind of gritty action picture that has marked the veteran actor’s late-stage career. Read moreA Guide to The Perfect Bong Joon-ho MarathonThese movies can be gripping and visceral, as…
“David Byrne’s American Utopia” is a joyous expression of art, empathy, and compassion. It is the intersection of two artists—Spike Lee and David Byrne—who have been interrogating how we connect through art for decades. Thirty-six years ago, Byrne and the Talking Heads made one of the best concert films of all time in Jonathan Demme’s…
In Cooper Raiff’s disarming, deceptively simple “Shithouse,” the lonely Los Angeles freshman Alex resembles the college version of Michael Cera’s Evan from “Superbad.” With a pair of wide-set, innocently vulnerable eyes, he walks through the campus and life looking like he’s just trying to figure stuff out, instead of playing it cool like most guys…