There are actually nine Troys. Each one is built on the ruins of the last. Homer’s Troy, which the poet wrote about in The Iliad and The Odyssey, is likely Troy VI, trapped under the ruins of other cities. Watching Absent Now the Dead, an avant-garde travelogue from Hamilton Sterling, now streaming via Laemmle Cinemas,…
Originating from Harajuku, Japan’s kawaii subculture has found its way beyond Tokyo, influencing the rest of the world in its sugary wake. Even so, the notoriously dodgy district of Takenotsuka may be the last place in Tokyo one would expect such as culture to materialize, let alone thrive. Read moreA Guide to The Perfect Bong Joon-ho…
★★★★ Directed by: Martin Venier Read moreA Guide to The Perfect Bong Joon-ho MarathonWritten by: Martin Venier Starring: Zarah Kofler Read moreRobert Stack Finally Solves a Mystery in ‘The Strange and Deadly Occurrence’Film Review by: Jason Knight A young woman (Kofler) is stuck in a life she yearns to be free from. This short, fast…
When Minnesota’s first state hospitals in St. Peter and Rochester became woefully overcrowded, it was clear that another facility was needed to meet the needs of the state’s growing population. Fergus Falls State Hospital opened in 1890, and it’s expansive campus was quickly filled. Read moreA Guide to The Perfect Bong Joon-ho MarathonThe building…
It’s maddening to think “Cherry” gives us two-plus hours to spend with its main character, but we’re still not sure what makes him tick. Directors Anthony and Joe Russo bring buckets of style to their biggest post-“Avengers” project. The results are mixed, to say the least, but we’re given all the proof needed that Tom…
This unusual sculpture composed of bronze was constructed to commemorate the 100th birthday of Paul Keres. Keres, a local legend in the Estonian city of Narva, was one of the top chess players in the world, a career that spanned from the mid-1930s to the 1960s. In 1950, Keres was awarded the title of International…
When Salam Bunyan and his wife, Aseel, opened their Mediterranean restaurant, Tarbush Kitchen, in Boise’s Central Bench neighborhood in late 2019, the Iraqi couple already had a loyal customer base. That’s because the Bunyans, who arrived in Idaho as refugees 11 years earlier, had been in the food business before: First in 2014, as purveyors…
Teenage years are tough. Every generation has its own take on what it means to be a teenager and while many films are usually filled with dreamy, rockin’ nostalgia of that rite of passage where you transition from kid to what you think is an adult, oftentimes it can just be a near-nightmare you’ve yet…
This museum is only advertised on a small billboard one a highway that leads to a much more famous tourist destination in Da Lat, Lang Biang Mountain. Read moreA Guide to The Perfect Bong Joon-ho MarathonDown a dirt road and past the Institute of Scientific Research, one will eventually come across a small building where…
In honor of Women’s History Month, I am happy to present the dynamic female writers for Women Writers Week 2021. We have been featuring their articles and reviews all week, and wanted to acquaint you with each of them in this annotated table of contents. Here are our featured writers in alphabetical order, accompanied by links to…
Musher Tabetha Kopta could hear the cheers and shouts as she neared the finish line. After a weekend of races, she and her team of sled dogs were about to place third overall in the New York State Dryland Challenge—for the dogs, however, it was all about the thrill of the run. Pawn and Lilian,…
Yoshiwara was an infamous red-light district of Edo (today’s Tokyo) that flourished between the 17th and 19th-centuries, extending for around 16 acres during its heyday. A place of extreme extravagance and decadence, the samurai of the Edo period frequented this area seeking romance that was, to quote a contemporaneous expression, “fleeting as a bubble.” Read moreA…
This longest-ever Oscar season has been blessed with an abundance of female newcomers in front of the camera. In fact, I have seen comments saying that the actresses who are likely to compete for a spot on the ballot have outshined many of the actors who are deemed to be in contention. Read moreA Guide to…
I’m an advocate of great cinematic art, but particularly cinema created by women. Women have a sense of storytelling that is unpretentious and unwavering with a sensitivity that sometimes lacks from our male counterparts. Alice Guy-Blaché is a name I’m sure was mentioned during my studies at Howard University, but somehow it escaped me. Guy-Blaché,…
Rain Beau’s End is a film released this year about misunderstandings and acceptance. A lesbian couple adopt a son, Beau, and struggle with his diagnosis of an XYY chromosomal mutation which supposedly leads to violence in men. Beau’s mothers struggle with this diagnosis, which deeply impacts their relationships — both with each other and with…
There are several ways to wreck a moss ball. You might not want to, at first, because they’re quite charming, as far as aquarium accessories go—vivid green and damply hairy, like a Muppet that’s been through the wash. But if you choose to be merciless, you can pick from several modes of attack. You could…
When photographer Dawoud Bey stood with his camera, overlooking the waters of Lake Erie in northeastern Ohio, he felt something unexpected. The acclaimed artist had been working on a project to reimagine the history of the Underground Railroad through shooting the imaginary point of view of a fugitive enslaved person moving through the landscape. Due…
One of the funnier, and more overlooked, things about art is how much timing plays a part in our enjoyment of it. Depending on where we are at the moment — from specific moods, phases of our lives, or even a time as trivial as what time in the day it is — we can…
★★★ Directed by: #IvoVanAart Read moreA Guide to The Perfect Bong Joon-ho MarathonWritten by: #DaanWindhorst Starring: #GenieDeGroot, #KatjaHerbers, #ReinHofman, #BramVanDerKelen, #AchrafKoutet Read moreRobert Stack Finally Solves a Mystery in ‘The Strange and Deadly Occurrence’Film Review by Taryll Baker Columnist and author Femke is flooded with anonymous nasty messages and death threats on social media. One…
“It’s new, but it’s good…” IFC has released the first official trailer for a suy romantic drama from Greece titled Monday, arriving this spring on both VOD + in theaters. “A spark on a Friday can lead to a sizzling weekend fling, but what happens when you get to the inevitable Monday?” The film follows…
According to the records, the first temple in Prambanan was built around the year 850. It is believed that Rakai Pikatan, king of the Sanjaya dynasty Medang Kingdom, had it built partly as a Hindu response to the nearby Buddhist Borobudur, and partly as a marker to commemorate the return of the Sanjaya dynasty to…