At 3:00 a.m. on September 30th, Ryan Carney, a paleontologist and epidemiologist at the University of South Florida, was in a celebratory mood. It was the 159th anniversary of the first paper published on feathers from Archaeopteryx, a Jurassic-era dinosaur. When paleontologists first unearthed an Archaeopteryx in 1861, Charles Darwin’s The Origin of Species was…
When people talk about filler episodes for “The Mandalorian,” they mean something like this week’s “Chapter 11: The Heiress.” The emotions are particularly hollow here and the action scenes are fairly rote, with both elements being overshadowed by the bits of story that will be remembered far more during later episodes. But it finally shows us more Mandalorians, especially…
The term “staith” is used in northeastern England to describe a ship or boat loading structure. They are usually served by rail lines and contain loading chutes for bulk minerals. Read moreA Guide to The Perfect Bong Joon-ho MarathonDunston staiths is a 19th-century coal loading structure on the River Tyne near Gateshead, England. From here,…
★★ Directed by: Robert Gulassarian Read moreA Guide to The Perfect Bong Joon-ho MarathonWritten by: Robert Gulassarian Starring: Fresno Phinx, Lawrence Bill, Alicia Kapudag Read moreRobert Stack Finally Solves a Mystery in ‘The Strange and Deadly Occurrence’,,Film Review by: ,,Jason Knight A crime thriller! Gangsters, guns, beatings, profanity and dark humor! Fresno (Phinx) is a…
The Climb is a marriage comedy about two men who don’t fully realize that they’re married to each other. Sure, it’s a buddy film in the vein of something like Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, and I certainly wouldn’t argue that the provisional marriage between these characters is necessarily romantic or sexual. But, The…
Pinova Vila was once a palace and one of the most beautiful buildings in Zrenjanin. Read moreA Guide to The Perfect Bong Joon-ho MarathonThe building was constructed in 1894 by Leon Štegervald. However, it was later purchased by surveyor Paja Pin, hence the building’s namesake Pinova Vila (Pin’s Palace). Various elements of Romantic period architecture…
The Museo station of the Line 1 of the Naples Metro is one of the line’s many “Art Stations,” but, contrary to the other stops, this one also hosts a special area of the National Archaeological Museum of Naples. Read moreA Guide to The Perfect Bong Joon-ho MarathonIn this area, called “Stazione Neapolis,” from the…
Like a natural pearl resting on a teal velvet bed, Hormuz Island lies a few miles off the coast of Iran, at the mouth of the strait of the same name. From its strategic perch where the Persian Gulf and Gulf of Oman meet, this 16-square-mile island was once a splendid historic trading port, described…
Movie marketing can be a brutal task, made worse by the films themselves. “Come Away” offers a prime example. The film piggybacks on not one but two beloved children’s stories but feels as grim as the darkest Afterschool Special. Drinking Gambling Death Torture Read moreA Guide to The Perfect Bong Joon-ho MarathonAre we having fun…
Bromma Blocks is actually a massive shopping center consisting of several large concrete buildings stacked side by side. The placement of the buildings seems a bit odd and the gigantic metal gates are unusual for a shopping center. Read moreA Guide to The Perfect Bong Joon-ho MarathonThe buildings were once part of the Bromma Airport…
Surrealism and realism, regardless of the complementary nature of the words, are two broadly contrasting concepts in art. While realism urges for art’s compliance and accuracy with the real world, surrealism, on the other hand, ignores the precision, dwells into the subconscious, and emphasizes the depths of human imagination arising from reality. In a similar…
More than 20 years after the murder of Guidarello Guidarelli, a Cesare Borgia official, at Palazzo Monsignani in Imola, the sculptor named Tullio Lombardo dedicated this incredible masterpiece to the unlucky knight in 1525. Read moreA Guide to The Perfect Bong Joon-ho MarathonDuring the centuries following the monument’s creation, it became legendary across the globe. According to…
★★★★ Directed by #SachaPolak Read moreA Guide to The Perfect Bong Joon-ho MarathonWritten by #SachaPolak #SusieFarrell Starring #VickyKnight Read moreRobert Stack Finally Solves a Mystery in ‘The Strange and Deadly Occurrence’,,Film Review by ,,Hope Madden There is an unerring authenticity about the slice of life that is Dirty God. Co-writer/director Sacha Polak sugar coats nothing,…
Well, that was awkward. Everyone knows this uncomfortable feeling. When something strange happens in public and you feel really, really awkward and just want to run away and hide. Awkward is a fun animated short film made by the very talented Ukrainian animator Nata Metlukh – it’s only 3 minutes of amusing awkward animation goodness….
“The Climb” director Michael Angelo Covino gave co-star Gayle Rankin an excuse to make her stern character more likable, less threatening. She wouldn’t have it. Read moreA Guide to The Perfect Bong Joon-ho Marathon“I want to embody this character. Women make mistakes and women do f***ed up things, too,” Covino recalls Rankin saying. “The only…
There is no need for propaganda films anymore. The internet provides the platform for the political manipulation that had previously been designated to cinemas by ministries of propaganda. Film is still used as a political tool, not least in India and the US, but what happened to the fascinating notion of filmmakers of considerable quality…
In our Color Code column, Luke Hicks chooses a handful of shots from a favorite film in order to draw out the meaning behind certain colors and how they play into both the scene and the film as a whole. For his fourth entry, he digs into the Safdie brothers’ Uncut Gems. Uncut Gems is a…
Our friends at Seed & Spark are featuring everything from an animated documentary to a romantic comedy for the month of November. Whether it’s something with quirky characters or quantum physics, there’s always intriguing campaigns for indie shorts and features to discover! DRAGONFLY Dragonfly (2020) – source: Julia Morizawa Writer-producer-director Julia Morizawa (JesusCat (or How…
On the seventh story of a Japanese tower block, an uncomfortable negotiation is underway. Behind a check-in desk, a hand extends through a heavy felt curtain and feels around for a credit card on the counter. Finding nothing, it quickly withdraws, and after a hidden, whispered kerfuffle, a receptionist emerges awkwardly into the windowless lobby….
Richard Luke Concanen was a Catholic prelate born in Ireland in 1747. He completed his studies in Italy and served various roles in several churches. Read moreA Guide to The Perfect Bong Joon-ho MarathonThanks to his friendship with the Archbishop of Baltimore, he was able to secure permission to establish a Dominican province in the…
Although Kevin Costner comes from a fairly substantial lineage of modern westerns, it might be the shared context of Costner and Diane Lane from Man of Steel providing the most meaningful background to Let Him Go. Don’t get me wrong. These movies have nothing to do with one another. One was Zack Snyder‘s gargantuan DC…