Movie talk

  • Another US Trailer for Absurd Russian Sci-Fi Spectacle ‘Cosmoball’

    “The game is more dangerous than it may seem.” Well Go USA has released an official US trailer for the extra absued, epic Russian sci-fi CGI spectacle called Cosmoball, made by famed producer Dzhanik Fayzi. We posted an international trailer for this a few months back. The film follows four athletes with the rare ability…

  • Sundance 2021: Interview With Director Maisie Crow Of AT THE READY

    Border control in the United States has been a topic that often triggers heated discussions in recent years. Fuelled by a (former) president who constantly incited hateful ideologies in his public remarks, any discourse on the subject often feels highly politicized. In Maisie Crow‘s At the Ready, political messaging takes a backseat to the much more…

  • Where to Watch the Movies of the 2021 Sundance Film Festival

    Congratulations to the Sundance Institute for a successful virtual film festival with a near-impeccable screener platform. We can’t wait to get back to seeing films on the big screen in Park City, but if we ever have to do this thing remotely again, we know we’ll be in good hands. The special circumstances of the…

  • The 17-Year Cicada Swarms of Brood X Are Coming This Summer

    This story was originally published in The Guardian and appears here as part of the Climate Desk collaboration. Billions of cicadas that have spent 17 years underground are set to emerge across large areas of the eastern United States, bringing swarming numbers and loud mating calls to major towns and cities. Read moreA Guide to…

  • Sundance 2021: ON THE COUNT OF THREE

    (trigger warnings: suicide, depression, suicidal thoughts, trauma, assault.) There’s one moment in Jerrod Carmichael‘s directorial debut, the dark bromance comedy On the Count of Three, where one character utters a line that will undoubtedly resonate with everyone who’s had suicidal thoughts before. “Not waking up tomorrow,” he says. “It’s the most beautiful thought I’ve had…

  • Sundance 2021: MARVELOUS AND THE BLACK HOLE and LAND

    The following two reviews come from first time feature film directors, which seems to be a trend at this year’s Sundance Film Festival. Both Marvelous and the Black Hole and Land capture the intricacies of grief, with Kate Tsang and Robin Wright, respectively, tackling rather difficult subject matter in very different ways. There isn’t one…

  • Funivia del Colle (Kohlerer Bahn) in Bolzano, Italy

    Funivia del Colle (Kohlerer Bahn) is an aerial lift connecting the city of Bolzano with nearby Monte Pozza, known locally as Colle. The lift starts at an elevation of about 853 feet (260 meters) and reaches the village of Colle di Villa at an elevation of over 3,000 feet (1,100 meters). The trip takes a…

  • Feuermelder in Berlin, Germany

    Outside the Schloss Bellevue stands a red pillar that many confuse with a postbox. The pillar is actually a feuermelder, essentially a public fire alarm station. Read moreA Guide to The Perfect Bong Joon-ho MarathonThese old fire alarms date back to a time when having a landline inside your house was considered a luxury. These stations were utilized…

  • Witch’s Hat Pavilion in Reading, Pennsylvania

    Although now the site of hiking trails open to the public, Neversink Mountain in Reading, Pennsylvania, was once the site of a complex of exclusive hotels. In warm months, wealthy vacationers arrived from New York and Philadelphia by a train that went right up the hillside, drawn by the prospect of escaping summer in the city…

  • FRENCH EXIT Trailer

    A family must adjust to a new life in French Exit, the latest from director Azazel Jacobs. The film follows Frances and Malcolm Price, a previously wealthy mother and son who have burned through the family inheritance. They’re so low on funds that they take an offer to stay at a small apartment in Paris, but…

  • The Blacksmith Turning Decades of Chinese Bombs Into Kitchen Tools

    For the first 20 years of his life, Wu Tseng-dong lived in a war zone. Growing up on Kinmen Island, a small Taiwanese territory four miles off the coast of mainland China, bombs were a constant threat. “It was terrifying. We were always panic-stricken,” Wu says. “We had to scout out places to hide when…

  • The Dazzling Robin Williams Role We Missed

    Great performances are worth seeking out in great movies, obviously, but what about bad ones? Would you watch a lousy movie in order to witness a single, stellar performance? Is it worth our time, for example, to revisit “The Lonely Bones” to see Stanley Tucci’s justifiably Oscar-nominated work in Peter Jackson’s failure of a literary…

  • What Does the Title ‘Esquire’ Mean, Anyway?

    The minor debate over First Lady Dr. Jill Biden’s title, which came up shortly after her husband’s election, may seem completely ridiculous and insulting, which it is, but it’s also the latest in a line of kerfuffles relating to how people in power in the United States present themselves. The extensive intricacies of British titling,…

  • Sundance 2021: Karen Cinorre’s ‘Mayday’ Film Fights the Patriarchy

    Mayday, mayday! It’s time to fight the patriarchy! One of my favorite premieres from the 2021 Sundance Film Festival is this gritty war film Mayday, written & directed by filmmaker Karen Cinorre making her feature directorial debut. There are many, many films being made these days about fighting the patriarchy and the power of modern…

  • Sundance 2021 Report 2: HOW IT ENDS, EIGHT FOR SILVER & MAYDAY

    With my second report at this year’s virtual Sundance Film Festival, I found myself even more impressed than I had been so far. All three of the films resonated in different ways, generally combining awe, curiosity, and a sense of fulfillment. As always, thank you, creators and festival runners, for instilling the power of film….

  • Sundance 2021: Cusp, Street Gang, Philly D.A.

    One of the best films of this year’s Sundance Film Festival was also one of its most controversial, the haunting and powerful “Cusp” from directors Parker Hill and Isabel Bethencourt, who won an award on Tuesday night from the jury for Emerging Filmmaker. “Cusp” is a tough watch, a film about how difficult it is…