The inaugural New Works Virtual Festival, founded by actors Kevin Pollack with Bart Shatto and Jim Auld, kicked off on December 5th and is now running through Christmas Day. It features twenty plays performed online by acclaimed performers and artists. All of the festival’s proceeds will go to The Actors Fund, the 501 (c)(3) charitable organization supporting performers and behind-the-scenes workers…
The Itria Valley in Puglia, Italy, is pockmarked by conical, stone structures, many of them fitting naturally into the fields where farmers built them centuries ago. Near the picturesque village of Locorotondo, one of these trulli stands out for its thick walls and the date of 1559 imprinted near the entrance. Believed to be its date of…
Brokeback Mountain is not a landscape film. Rather, it’s a film that begins in the great outdoors, specifically the beautiful, idyllic mountains of Wyoming, but does everything it can to warn the viewer that it is not, in fact, your typical romantic, grandiose landscape film. Instead of being shot as a classical landscape, these western…
This month, Gastro Obscura is sharing the recipes and stories behind amazing holiday dishes and drinks from around the world in the ongoing series “Home-Cooked Holidays.” On chilly nights during World War II, a potent elixir known as Moose Milk filled the stomachs and soothed the souls of Canadian soldiers. This rich batch cocktail usually…
★★★★ Directed by: King Louie Palomo Written by: King Louie Palomo Starring: Flora Gasser, Mercedes Cabral, Azmyth Jake Tanabe Hernandez ,,Film Review by: ,,Jason Knight A mother and her child are visiting grandma. Nene (Gasser) is an elderly woman who lives by herself and enjoys painting. Her daughter (Cabral) and her grandson (Hernandez) travel a…
Director Vladislav Kozlov’s new film, Immortalist, tackles nothing short of the universal dread of mortality. The legendary Franco Nero plays Paolo, who is dying of terminal cancer. His grandson Max (Jeff DuJardin), an anti-aging company attorney, is determined to save his beloved “Papa” by means of cryonics—the low-temperature freezing of corpses in special canisters in…
“As you see now there’s nothin here any more.” Did you know there is a historic horse culture in Dublin, Ireland? This acclaimed short doc film Saoirse is about “some of the men who genuinely care about their horses as they struggle to keep the remnants of the culture alive.” Better description from Nowness: “Award-winning…
On a tiny atoll in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, a remarkable rehabilitation project is playing out. Palmyra Atoll—used as a U.S. military base during World War II—has no permanent human residents, so its exceptionally fertile environment has become an ideal laboratory for understanding how tropical ecosystems are impacted by invasive species: in this…
Latina filmmaker, Stella Hopkins, from Colombia, embarked on the creative experience of a lifetime when helming her directorial debut, “Elyse,” a new psychological thriller co-starring her husband, Oscar-winner Sir Anthony Hopkins. Lisa Pepper stars in the titular role of a troubled woman whose memories and hallucinations become indiscernible from one another, as her life gradually unravels….
Crossing the Streams is our monthly look at all the offerings hitting the big streaming services each month, and this time we’re checking out the new Shudder arrivals for December 2020. This month’s titles include A Good Woman is Hard to Find, Luz: The Flower of Evil, a bevy of giallos, and more! The list…
Sports at the center of a film or show have never really caught my attention. If you never have been in that specific athletic world, it’s quite hard to relate to the character’s drive to just win and become the best. It all comes off a bit shallow in my eyes, especially from a storytelling…
“You can never make a good instrument from bad wood,” says Nazih Ghadban, an oud maker in Ras Baalbek, a small town in Lebanon’s Bekaa Valley. “But you can make a bad instrument from good wood.” Ghadban reaches for one of the instruments hanging on the wall in his workshop, which is not far from…
Cancel Culture earned its toxic nickname. Celebrities and average citizens alike suffer at its hands, even if the latter doesn’t often generate headlines. That reality makes news outlets who preface the phrase with “alleged” or “so-called” guilty of propaganda. Cancel Culture exists. It’s real. It hurts plenty of people, and who knows how many more…
When thinking of the holiday season, thoughts of eggnog, mistletoe, and presents are nestled below the tree, wrapped in the imagination and spirit of Christmas. For many, it is the chance to see the ones they love, while for others it is the chance to bring good will to all. For the youngest of citizens,…
Don’t head all the way out to Newgrange, Co. Meath without taking Knowth into account. Both these Neolithic passage tombs are located in the Boyne Valley, and comprise part of the Brú na Bóinne World Heritage Site. Constructed by local farmers in 3,200 BCE, the introduction of agriculture meant they could live at a location…
Dun Dornaigil, which is sometimes referred to as Dun Dornadilla, are the impressive remains of a drystone roundhouse known as a broch. The structure sits just above the Strathmore River. Broches can only be found in Scotland and usually date back more than 2,000 years. Many researchers believe these massive roundhouses were defensive structures. Other opinions suggest…
The National Museum of San Matteo (Museo Nazionale di San Matteo) is a hidden-gem that is about a 15-minute walk from the Leaning Tower of Pisa. The Museum features a rich collection of works from historic ecclesiastical buildings in the city and Province of Pisa. The works span from the early Middle Ages to the 16th-century….
Off the west coast of Florida, the Gulf of Mexico is filled with schools of white mullet, silvery-gray dolphins, and tiny stingrays. Sea birds soar above the water looking for their next catch. And among the lively seascape near the city of New Port Richey, eight wooden structures stand tall above the waves. These unusual…
A couple tries to survive being forgotten in Little Fish, the latest from director Chad Hartigan. Emma and Jude were well on their way to a beautiful life together when a strange virus hit humanity. Once infected, the person loses their memories in bits and pieces, the details of their past falling away. Jude contracts the…
The Gion district of Kyoto is a famed hanamachi—”flower town”—where numerous geisha establishments stand next to one another. Traditionally, the geishas of Kyoto entertain guests through dancing and conversation (or flirtation) at high-end restaurants called o-chaya, or “teahouses.” The most notable in the district may be the Ichiriki, an exclusive, invitation-only club. Established in the late 17th…
Many megalithic monuments have been associated with legends of giants, the Dwarfie Stane in Orkney is no exception. Except this megalith is only six feet tall and has a unique moniker. Carved out of a block of Devonian Old Red Sandstone, the Dwarfie Stane is a glacial erratic and chambered tomb dating back many millennia,…
The Church of San Domenico Maggiore is one of the largest and most important religious buildings in Naples. While the baroque interior of the church attracts the attention of most tourists, the sacristy hides many secrets. Inside the sacristy, the balcony is adorned with 42 sepulchers of various members of the Aragonese royal family. They…
Disney assembled a dream team to protect us from our problematic past. The Mouse House recruited 11 organizations to ensure its back catalogue in no way upsets modern viewers. Think GLAAD, Define American and IllumiNative, among the listed groups on its “stories matter” web site. The effort seems noble, but it only highlight the folly…
“That’s where we had to take a stand.” Madman Films in Australia has debuted the first official trailer for Girls Can’t Surf (also known as The Side Show), a fantastic surfing documentary from filmmaker / surfer Christopher Nelius (Storm Surfers 3D). It’s the 1980s and the world of professional surfing is a circus of fluro…
★★★★ Directed by: Richard Corso Written by: Richard Corso, Kareem Kamahl Taylor Starring: Gabe Combs, Asha Bee, Mandy Groves ,,Film Review by: ,,Jason Knight This short film noir was inspired by the sixties French New Wave Cinema and the American cop movies of the seventies. Two young women named Lulu (Bee) and Jules (Groves) are…
Every cinematic depiction of Robin Hood is a reflection of its era. Consider: The Technicolor glory of the definitive 1938 Errol Flynn version The risk-taking 1976 “Robin and Marion” with Sean Connery and Audrey Hepburn The fondly remembered 1977 Disney cartoon The extremely-of-its-time, 1991 “Robin Hood-Prince of Thieves” The failed 2018 re-telling, the wannabe franchise-builder…
Iconic historian Timuel Black is turning 102 on Monday, December 7th, 2020, and will be celebrated with a special drive-by car parade organized by the University of Chicago Civil Knowledge Project and the Alumni Association. Mr. Black is a true Chicago treasure: historian, veteran, social scientist and political activist, scholar, teacher, civil rights leader and jazz…
★★★★ Directed by: #RolfinNyhus Written by: #RolfinNyhus Starring: #RichardStephensonWinter, #ChrisAnderson, #RyanLaccohee Film Review by Lucy Clarke Greasy spoons are embedded in British culture. Although they’re just a cheap and cheerful café to get a plate of chips or a full English from, you can’t think of a greasy spoon café without thinking of the spam…
Welcome to Movie DNA, a column that recognizes the direct and indirect cinematic roots of both new and classic movies. Learn some film history, become a more well-rounded viewer, and enjoy like-minded works of the past. This entry recommends movies to watch after you stream David Fincher’s Mank on Netflix. Let’s start off by stating that…
Nearly a century ago, a new hotel at the corner of Main and Bank streets was the talk of New Port Richey, Florida. The Hacienda Hotel was a luxurious building with pink stucco walls and a sprawling courtyard. In the decades since it was built, the Hotel has played host to movie stars, served as…
Crossing the Streams is our monthly look at all the offerings hitting the big streaming services each month, and this time we’re checking out the new Amazon Prime arrivals for December 2020. This month’s titles include a drumming movie that’s not Whiplash, a suspenseful female riff on Lord of the Flies, and more! Amazon Prime…
Amigo Bob Cantisano, instantly recognizable with his waist-length dreadlocks and handlebar mustache, can often be found searching for treasure in the California mountains. But he’s not looking for the gold which drew droves of miners to the area in the mid-1800s. Instead, Cantisano hunts for what those early migrants left behind—a trove of long-lost crops,…
Crews squelching their way through sewer systems in cities around the world sometimes find that they’re not alone. Their headlamps and flashlights occasionally fall across fellow creatures—rats scampering through the filth, or bugs, or even amorous amphibians. Some Victorian-era Londoners circulated stories about feral swine thriving down in the damp, and New York City residents…
★★★ Directed by: E.B. Hughes Written by: E.B. Hughes Starring: Denny Bess, Reyna Kahan, Mark Borkowski, Don Striano, Ron Rey ,,Film Review by: ,,Jason Knight A man has just been released from prison. Can he leave his criminal past behind and become a better person? Max (Bess) has finished a prison sentence and has returned…
Ladies and gentlemen, David Fincher is back. After the release of Gone Girl in 2014, the Fight Club, Se7en, and Zodiac director took a 6-year-long break to executive produce the Netflix show Mindhunter (which he also directed a few episodes of), but the legend has finally returned to gift us with another cinematic jewel. From the…
When Mongolia closed its borders earlier this year due to the pandemic, Marinel de Jesus was organizing an all-female trip there and filming the annual winter migration of nomadic families in the Altai Mountains. She focused her documentary work on female Kazakh herders, from the country’s largest ethnic minority. “While doing research on the Kazakh…