Welcome to How’d They Do That? — a bi-monthly column that unpacks moments of movie magic and celebrates the technical wizards who pulled them off. This entry looks into the breathing television effect in Videodrome. When David Cronenberg directed Videodrome in the early ’80s, he was coming off of a series of fiercely original indie…
★★★★ Directed by: #SandeepVarma Read moreA Guide to The Perfect Bong Joon-ho MarathonWritten by: #SandeepVarma & #EricNduati Starring: #CeceliaZimmerman & #TiffanyLanders Read moreRobert Stack Finally Solves a Mystery in ‘The Strange and Deadly Occurrence’Film Review by: Patrick Foley Wilderness Film Review We’re all being encouraged to spend time outside these days. A walk in the…
For the past two months in Colonial Williamsburg, the living history museum in Virginia, Gowan Pamphlet has stood outside an archaeological excavation, jovially saying hello to passersby. He’s not the original Pamphlet: That one died in 1809, and was the first ordained African American in the United States. This Pamphlet—one of two “actor interpreters” who…
Everybody’s sick to death of hearing about these “unprecedented times”, and nobody more so than film festival organisers. As rising Covid cases started to cancel festivals at the start of the year, festivals were faced with the decision of moving online, or scrapping this year’s edition outright, creating new challenges that may have made films…
Consider Hawaiian pizza: The divisive pineapple-and-ham topped pie is viewed as an abomination by many pizza lovers, including the president of Iceland, who once threatened to ban it. Consider, too, boxed mac and cheese. In a world of wonderful noodle dishes, from silky cacio e pepe to ramen served in a rich broth, Americans dump…
On April 20th, 1968, Enoch Powell stood in front of members of the Conservative Political Centre in Birmingham and gave an oration infamously known as the Rivers of Blood speech. In it, Powell strongly criticised mass immigration and discussed the bill that would introduce the Race Relations Act, widely derided at the time. It was…
“Is that not political?” World of Wonder has unveiled an early trailer for the documentary Wojnarowicz, with a much more provocative full title: Wojnarowicz: F–k You F-ggot F–ker. The film is premiering at the DOC NYC Film Festival next month. Their full description: “Emerging as a distinctive voice in the East Village art scene of…
It was a cold January morning in 2019 when an unfamiliar car rolled into Allendale, a small village nestled within the North Pennines in Northumberland County, England. This wasn’t unusual; in the prior three months the village had seen a fresh influx of visitors, ever since the grand opening of “Neil Cole’s Adventures in Science…
It’s no accident many films and TV shows promote gun control. Yes, most Hollywood activists want more restrictions on the Second Amendment, not less. They’re happy to share those sentiments on awards show stages, social media and press interviews. Read moreA Guide to The Perfect Bong Joon-ho MarathonIt still took a group dedicated to tweaking…
Shirley Jackson was, by most accounts, an odd sort. Her feverish gothic tales such “Hangsaman” or “The Haunting of Hill House” were not exactly considered a reasonable thing for a woman to be writing in the mid-50s. Yet her stories captured and terrified the imaginations of people the world over. For all this, she was…
★★★★ Directed by #CooperRaiff Read moreA Guide to The Perfect Bong Joon-ho MarathonWritten by #CooperRaiff Starring #CooperRAiff #DylanGelula Read moreRobert Stack Finally Solves a Mystery in ‘The Strange and Deadly Occurrence’It takes a certain bravery to cast yourself as a leading man who spends more time talking to his mom and stuffed dog than the…
Constructed during the early 18th-century during the reign of Sultan Ismail bin Sharif, the Kara Prison (or Habs Qara) is a vast subterranean prison in the city of Meknes, Morocco. Its most unusual feature is that it lacked doors and bars, but it’s believed that no one ever escaped. Read moreA Guide to The Perfect…
★★★ Directed by: David Ash Read moreA Guide to The Perfect Bong Joon-ho MarathonWritten by: David Ash Starring: Matt Bailey, Clarence Wethern, Katie Willer, Bethany Ford Binkley, Christine Weber Read moreRobert Stack Finally Solves a Mystery in ‘The Strange and Deadly Occurrence’,,Film Review by: ,,Jason Knight Inner struggles, strong emotions, relationships, romance. There are plenty…
Experiencing Jennifer Sheridan’s unsettling, surprisingly moving debut feature Rose: A Love Story is like watching a very bleak version of Santa Clarita Diet. Where that show (which was glorious and cancelled far too early by Netflix) explored the ‘reality’ of living with a normal person who just happens to be a zombie, Sheridan’s film, scripted…
The island of Cyprus is known for its various offerings of exotic foods and cuisines. Read moreA Guide to The Perfect Bong Joon-ho MarathonNow, tourists and locals alike can marvel at more than 20,000 ways to flavor their food at the Salt & Pepper Museum. Inside is one of the world’s largest collections of seasoning…
October is defined in Webster’s Dictionary as “31 days of horror.” Don’t bother looking it up; it’s true. Most people take that to mean highlighting one horror movie a day, but here at FSR, we’ve taken that up a spooky notch or nine by celebrating each day with a top ten list. This article about…
Yerevan can surprise the occasional visitor with its abundance of public art. One contemporary example is the spider statue in the city’s Charles Aznavour Square. Dedicated to the French Armenian singer Charles Aznavour, this square boasts a number of landmarks, including the Moscow Cinema, the Stanislavski Russian Theatre, and the giant spider. Read moreA Guide…
Located in the mountains southeast of downtown Sochi, Eagle Cliffs (Орлиные скалы – Orlinyye skaly) provides a reasonably easy hiking experience. It’s complete with placid meadows, spectacular views across the Caucasus Mountains, waterfalls, and swimming holes. At the mountaintop is a statue of Prometheus, the Greek hero associated with the Caucasus region. Read moreA Guide to The…
★★★★ Directed by: Pete Docter Read moreA Guide to The Perfect Bong Joon-ho MarathonWritten by: Pete Docter, Kemp Powers, Starring: Jamie Foxx, Tina Fey, Read moreRobert Stack Finally Solves a Mystery in ‘The Strange and Deadly Occurrence’Film Review by Robert Stayte Soul Film Review Pixar’s releases as of late have not been bad by any…
A game will be turned on its head in Free Guy, the latest from director Shawn Levy. Guy was pretty content with his life. He had an okay job, spent time with his best friend, and mostly avoided the gruesome mayhem surrounding him. That is until he encountered a woman he couldn’t let slip by, so…
Completed in 1572, Büyük Han is an exquisite example of Ottoman caravanserai architecture. Documents reveal that its original name was Yeni Han (New Inn). Due to the high number of patrons from Alanya, it became known as Alanyalılar Hanı, but during the 17th-century, a smaller inn was opened nearby. People began referring to the two…