The film blogosphere can’t get enough of Gina Carano. That’s not a good thing for “The Mandalorian” star. Carano, an MMA fighter turned actress, appears to lean to the right, politically speaking. She’s questioned the accuracy of the recent election vote totals, refused to follow the trans community groupthink and spoke out for free speech….
Andong Hahoe Folk Village is a traditional Joseon Dynasty village home to the Ryu clan of Pungsan, and harkens back to the 16th-century. An important relic of Korean culture, this village was designed in Joseon period-style architecture and is home to many folk traditions. The village is organized around the geomantic guidelines of pungsu and is…
★★★★ Directed by: Ambrose Smoke Written by: Ambrose Smoke Starring: Lauren Engels, Jonathon Sawdon, Benita Katende, Paula Isiegas Film Review by: Jason Knight Angie (Engels) is intelligent, hardworking and determined. She got a job at a well-established corporation and is doing very well. However, in order to move up the career ladder, she must first…
Sometimes a film’s trajectory from inception to viewers can impact expectations. Let’s just say that the list of worthwhile movies that sat on the shelf for years and were the dumped into theaters with almost no promotion and no critics screenings is incredibly short. So while it’s nice to say that we approach all films…
While episode two is a big upgrade from season 13 of RuPaul’s Drag Race’s premiere, there were really only three big takeaways: 1) Tina Burner has a copyright on the color combination of red, orange, and yellow; 2) Gottmik’s storyline is allowing the show to widen its scope in a positive way as drag becomes more…
In 1966 during the Vietnam War, Tran Van Lai, a politician, brought a house at 287/70 Nguyen Dinh Chieu Road in District 3 of what was then Saigon. Over the next few months, he constructed a secret cellar without the knowledge of his family. He used the secret hideaway to store weapons that would be used in the…
In 1916, West Virginia established a system of fire towers that were located on various mountain peaks throughout the state. By utilizing a chart and telephone system, employees were able to quickly pinpoint forest fire locations that helped increase response times. The earliest towers were wooden structures. They were later replaced with steel or stone…
In his backyard in Kerala, India, Vinod Sahadevan Nair, 60, grows bananas and plantains and rears chickens and ducks. Situated as it is in an agrarian region, abutting the biodiverse Western Ghats, his farm may seem typical. But a walk through his four acres reveals bananas growing in every conceivable shape, size, and hue: from…
With Exam, writer-director Sonia K. Hadad and co-writer Farnoosh Samadi expose the familial and cultural demands that an Iranian teenager must confront over the span of 15 suspenseful minutes. Exam is a riveting short film about a teenage girl named Sadaf (Sadaf Asgari) who lives in Iran. The film follows Sadaf over the course of…
Usually, looking at public art is a fairly passive experience. Often, viewers are completely forbidden from directly interacting with art, much less changing how it looks entirely. But Show Your Stripes by Jim Conti, a glittery piece of public art above a vacant San Jose storefront, is different. It’s pretty enough to look at as-is, when…
Deep in the Lost Coast of Northern California, one stand of peculiar redwood trees survived multiple logging efforts that cleared most of the old-growth in the surrounding forest. Salty ocean air and frequent harsh ocean winds through Shady Dell are thought to have caused these trees to fracture repeatedly but remain alive, and the broken…
It’s January 2021 and I’m reminiscing on the future of Black British filmmakers and their current state in the film industry. Coming off the back of Steve McQueen‘s Small Axe anthology and films like Blue Story and His House which made waves last year, I hope we’re just about on the precipice of seeing a…
Pies can be finicky. Overwork the dough, and the crust won’t flake. Too-liquid filling can hesitate to set, or ooze out of the tin. Most people, as a result, stick to the pies they know how to make, or simply buy them from the store. But Stacey Mei Yan Fong, a Brooklyn-based baker, has invented…
Queerly Ever After is a bi-monthly column where I take a look at LGBT+ films that gave their characters a romantic happily-ever-after. There will be spoilers. Also, don’t forget to buy your Queerly Ever After merch right here. In Different For Girls, former school friends Paul Prentice (Rupert Graves) and Kim Foyle (Steven Mackintosh) reconnect after…
★★★★ Directed by #AlexKnapp Written by #AlexKnapp Starring #AlexKnapp #OliviaLuccardi Film Review by Brandon Thomas The opening minutes of Go/Don’t Go hint at a burgeoning relationship drama. Shy boy meets an outgoing girl. Girl draws the boy out of his shell. Hints of electricity crackle as they find themselves engrossed in conversation. The parts are…
There’s a chance the year’s Best Picture Oscar winner could feature non-English speaking leads … again. The Asian drama “Minari” led the way with six nominations from the Colo.-based Denver Film Critics Society, followed by five nominations for “Nomadland” and “The Trial of the Chicago 7.” [Editor’s Note: This reporter is chair of the DFCS]…
One of my favorite animals on this planet is the pink flamingo. From their fabulous pink color to their simultaneously elegant yet awkward posture, courtesy of their lanky legs and necks, they are like no other creature on Earth, and I find that fascinating. So, naturally, I was thrilled to hear about Spanish filmmaker Javier…
This exhibit is located across the street from the Palm Springs Art Museum in a large courtyard. Easy to overlook, these sculptures of babies appear to crawl through the dirt and along the walls of the sandpit. These ten, unique sculptures are intended to be a statement on the influence of big tech and data…
In the Autumn of 1819, the body of a 15-year old girl was found floating along the estuary of the River Shannon. Through a police investigation, it was discovered that her death was orchestrated by her recently eloped husband John Scanlan, who was a few years her senior. Ellen Hanley was orphaned at an early age and…
Atop Prospect Hill Park in Somerville, Massachusetts stands a 34-foot tall, four-story granite tower constructed in 1903. Soldiers fighting in the Revolutionary and Civil Wars camped on Prospect Hill. It’s said that George Washington ordered the raising of a Grand Union Flag on the site on January 1, 1776. By the turn of the century, the monument…
It’s the perfect time for a heist in Locked Down, the latest from director Doug Liman. Now we’re getting the pandemic content started. Sure, we’ve has some smaller productions rush out, but this is our first big affair, one with A-list stars and glitzy locales conceived, produced, and released during the pandemic. Aren’t we living through…
In the 11th century, the Normans built a motte-and-bailey fortification on the coast, opposite a castle in Abergwyngregyn across the Menai Strait, suggesting the castles engaged in coastal communications. Named after a local river, it was a fortified structure built on raised ground, and you can stroll through what remains of the site today. Originally the castle was…
Editor’s note: To give you a chance to get to know our writers better, we’ve asked them to respond to some questions. Here’s Carlos Aguilar. Read his work here. THE MOVIE LOVE QUESTIONNAIRE 1. Where did you grow up, and what was it like? I was born and grew up in Mexico City, a massive…
Situated on the Swedish west coast, Tjörn is the country’s 7th-largest island. Like the rest of Bohuslän during the summer, the island hosts tourists from around Sweden, Norway, Denmark, and Germany. However, what many visitors don’t know is that a little further inland in Pilane resides a very unique sculpture park. The park features a…
The basement of Laura Holder’s 1925 bungalow looks like many others in her Milwaukee neighborhood. Dappled sunlight streams through glass-block windows onto an assortment of exercise equipment and her husband’s woodworking tools. An unfinished corner houses the washer and dryer and a second fridge and freezer. But instead of meat and leftovers, Holder’s basement freezer…
★★★ Directed by #YelitaAli Written by #SophieMax Staring #SophieMax #KajaChan Film Review by ,Matthew Sawyer The Whole Truth mostly takes place during an ABE interview as Mallory (Max) tries to get the truth, the whole truth, out of Jenny (Chan) about what has happened between her and her teacher. This film tackles a major problem…
“You’re a doctor. You know exactly where feelings get you.” Greenwich has released an official US trailer for a Hungarian romantic drama called Preparations to be Together for an Unknown Period of Time (originally Felkészülés meghatározatlan ideig tartó együttlétre in Hungarian). This premiered at the Venice Film Festival in the Venice Days sidebar last year….
The Spanish Inquisition ended in 1834. Its junior partner in crime, the Portuguese Inquisition, finished in 1821. So should we still be interested in Inquisitions today? Unfortunately, the answer is yes. There is too much evidence that the ugly spirit of the Inquisition lives on. Today’s cancel culture comes down hard on those it views…
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 Hulu arrivals for January 2021. This month’s titles are light on new movies, but they still include plenty of old favorites from Stephen King, the 90s, Mike Myers, and…
Ten years ago, Martin Scorsese and Fran Lebowitz collaborated on “Public Speaking,” a documentary film where the author espoused her philosophies. The Netflix series “Pretend It’s A City” reunites the New York duo for more of the same. Across its seven episodes, the director converses with the author about all manner of things that irritate…
This article is part of our 2020 Rewind. Follow along as we explore the best and most interesting movies, shows, performances, and more from this very strange year. In this entry, our chief film critic shares his picks for the best films of 2020. Wanna feel old? 2020 was just last year. It was a rough one all…
“This is it! This is where the coin wanted us to go.” Netflix has unveiled the official trailer for a teenage adventure movie titled Finding ‘Ohana, set on Hawaii’s island of Oahu. This kind of looks like a Hawaiian remake of The Goonies, with over-saturated sets and mesmerizing pirate-treasure locations. A summer in rural O’ahu…
“My Start Story,” an original campaign featured throughout the day on the national digital broadcast network, START TV, showcases the stories of strong women. A different voice is featured every day, accompanying the network’s programming, and those who have been filmed thus far can be found here. The prestigious interview subjects include trailblazing comedian Carol Burnett, Olympic gold…
The L.A. Times served up a sweet ode to Netflix’s “Cobra Kai” before pulling out the long knives. The feature story let stars Ralph Macchio and William Zabka, along with the creative team behind the series, break down how they continued the “Karate Kid” story for a new generation. The article shares how the show…
Welcome to Saturday Morning Cartoons, our weekly column where we continue the animated boob tube ritual of yesteryear. Our lives may no longer be scheduled around small screen programming, but that doesn’t mean we should forget the necessary sanctuary of Saturday ‘toons. In this entry, we celebrate the arrival of Batman: The Animated Series on…
One movie can make an unknown comic a star. That’s always been true, but the maxim got a workout in 1986. Aussie comic Paul Hogan, who starred in a Benny Hill-esque show but had little name recognition stateside, crashed America’s box office with “Crocodile Dundee.” Hogan stars as Mick Dundee, an Australian who wows, then…