LET HIM GO: Slow-Burn Thriller Reuniting Diane Lane and Kevin Costner

LET HIM GO: Slow-Burn Thriller Reuniting Diane Lane and Kevin Costner

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…

The Shropshire Mammoth in Shropshire, England

The Shropshire Mammoth in Shropshire, England

The skeleton of a woolly mammoth was discovered by a woman walking her dog by a nearby gravel quarry in 1986. It was one of the most complete mammoth skeletons ever discovered in the United Kingdom. The skeleton of the adult male was unearthed accompanied by partial skeletons of several juvenile mammoths. Read moreA Guide to…

Sedia del Diavolo in Rome, Italy

Sedia del Diavolo in Rome, Italy

Elio Callistio, a freedman of Emperor Hadrian, would have never imagined that his then fashionable, temple-shaped sepulcher would become popular in Roman folklore. Indeed, as the sepulcher fell to ruins, it strangely started assuming the shape of a great chair or throne. Read moreA Guide to The Perfect Bong Joon-ho MarathonWayfarers and others who maintained…

Great Mosque of Xi’an in Xian Shi, China

Great Mosque of Xi’an in Xian Shi, China

An ancient imperial capital and the eastern starting point of the Silk Road, Xi’an was the first city in China to be introduced to Islam. Today, it has an estimated population of 50,000 Hui Muslims and a total of seven mosques, the most notable of which is the Great Mosque of Xi’an, perhaps the oldest…

Love, Labor, and Human Heat: Francis Lee on Ammonite

Love, Labor, and Human Heat: Francis Lee on Ammonite

Nature may shape the characters of Francis Lee’s rugged, working-class romances, but it’s nurture that ultimately saves them.  Read moreA Guide to The Perfect Bong Joon-ho MarathonIn 2017’s “God’s Own Country,” the Yorkshire-bred writer/director made a powerful first impression with a story, set on his home turf, about the attraction that builds between two young…

HAPPIEST SEASON Trailer

HAPPIEST SEASON Trailer

The holiday season is getting a little more queer with Happiest Season, the latest from co-writer/director Clea DuVall. Abby was stoked about the holidays. She was going to spend it with her girlfriend’s family, meeting everyone for the first time and taking that big step in the relationship. Then she was told that her girlfriend isn’t…

Nisco Museum in Ein Hod, Israel

Nisco Museum in Ein Hod, Israel

Before iPhones, there were DVDs. Before DVDs, there were Walkmans. Before Walkmans, there were cassette players. Before cassettes, vinyl, and before vinyl, Edison wax cylinders. Read moreA Guide to The Perfect Bong Joon-ho MarathonBut according to Nissan Cohen, owner and curator at the Nisco Museum, what came before all of these was by far more magnificent: intricate…

In Nairobi, Young Diners Clamor for Traditional Kenyan Cuisine

In Nairobi, Young Diners Clamor for Traditional Kenyan Cuisine

John Onyango has never been to culinary school, nor did he start his career as a chef in a recognized restaurant or hotel. Instead, he first cooked in a suburban food kiosk, where he served the wage earners who worked in the neighboring schools, market and local Nairobi City Council offices. But that was 25…

Greatland film review

Greatland film review

★★★ Directed by: Dana Ziyasheva Read moreA Guide to The Perfect Bong Joon-ho MarathonWritten by: Dana Ziyasheva Starring: Arman Darbo, Chloe Ray Warmoth, Nick Moran, Eric Roberts Read moreRobert Stack Finally Solves a Mystery in ‘The Strange and Deadly Occurrence’,,Film Review by: ,,Jason Knight So many films have been made that depict life in different…

BIG TOUCH: The Grandest of Small Gestures

BIG TOUCH: The Grandest of Small Gestures

Big Touch contains far more than its diminutive runtime would suggest. A very short-short, the film draws its audience into several small, human moments. Written, directed, and edited by Christopher Tenzis, the film dives into just a few minutes in a woman’s life as she perceives, is perceived, and finally, seems to release perception altogether….

California Is Named for a Griffin-Riding Black Warrior Queen

California Is Named for a Griffin-Riding Black Warrior Queen

California has long been associated with fantasy, but few people know that centuries before Hollywood, it drew its very name from an imaginary kingdom—one ruled by a Black queen. Around 1530, when Hernán Cortés’s conquistadors, amid shipwrecks, mutinies, and the destruction of the Aztec Empire, arrived at the peninsula on Mexico’s western side, they christened…

Freddie Mercury Statue in Montreux, Switzerland

Freddie Mercury Statue in Montreux, Switzerland

This imposing bronze statue on the Montreux promenade features Freddie Mercury striking his iconic pose. Read moreA Guide to The Perfect Bong Joon-ho MarathonThe statue is the work of a British-based Czech sculptor Irena Sedlecka, famous for British public figures, but also for oversized Communist statues dedicated to the working man. Sedlecka first saw Mercury…

The Perfect Beginner’s Guide to Film Noir

The Perfect Beginner’s Guide to Film Noir

Tired of the endless positive energy of our media? Ready for something a bit more gritty and dark as your entertainment? Want a movie that matches your own cynicism about the current state of affairs? Sure you are, because, ya know, not everyone gets good things in life, chum. Read moreA Guide to The Perfect…

KOKO-DI KOKO-DA: A Nightmarish Vision Of Grief

KOKO-DI KOKO-DA: A Nightmarish Vision Of Grief

The twisted terror that can live on at the heart of one’s grief, especially when that grief is over the death of a child, has been the subject of cinematic exploration for many decades. From Donald Sutherland imagining his drowned daughter stalking him on the streets of Venice in Nicholas Roeg’s Don’t Look Now, to…

Morris Frank and Buddy in Morristown, New Jersey

Morris Frank and Buddy in Morristown, New Jersey

A life-size and lifelike painted bronze statue of a man and his dog stand near the Morristown Green in Morristown, New Jersey. The man is Morris Frank, co-founder and first Vice President of The Seeing Eye. The dog’s harness is immediately recognizable as that of an assistance animal. The dog is Buddy, a German Shepherd…

Birthplace of the Pizza Margherita Plaque in Naples, Italy

Birthplace of the Pizza Margherita Plaque in Naples, Italy

The pizza Margherita is considered to be the classic Neapolitan pizza. While it has come to be a famous dish all over the world, some say its story began in a narrow alley in Naples. Read moreA Guide to The Perfect Bong Joon-ho MarathonAccording to the popular legend, the pizza Margherita was invented in 1889…

THE PROM Trailer

THE PROM Trailer

Broadway comes to Indiana in The Prom, the latest from director Ryan Murphy. Based on the Tony-nominated musical of the same name, it’s ostensibly about two queer girls who just want to go to prom together. Problem is that the PTA in their small Indiana town has banned them from doing so, and when some no…

Davenport Pier Beach in Davenport, California

Davenport Pier Beach in Davenport, California

This gem lies right off the Pacific Coast Highway in the town of Davenport, just north of Santa Cruz. Read moreA Guide to The Perfect Bong Joon-ho MarathonThe view from the roadway is inspiring, as visitors will find old pilings of a defunct pier that stretches out into the Pacific Ocean. To get to the…

Our Pick of the Week Explodes With Grief, Understanding, and Blood

Our Pick of the Week Explodes With Grief, Understanding, and Blood

Streaming might be the future, but physical media is still the present. It’s also awesome, depending on the title, the label, and the release, so each week we take a look at the new Blu-rays and DVDs making their way into the world. Welcome to this week in Home Video for November 10th, 2020, including our…