Johannes Gutenberg introduced the printing press to Europe after tinkering with the Chinese invention towards the middle of the 15th-century. It would take several more decades before this revolutionary mechanism found its way to the British Isles. It wouldn’t be until the 1500s when the city of York got its first printing press. The street…
Surrounded by crumbling walls and a sprawling English park, the Rusovce Mansion is a decaying example of neoclassical architecture. Read moreA Guide to The Perfect Bong Joon-ho MarathonThere are records of a castle at this location dating back to 1266, but today visitors to the area will only see this once-glorious white mansion constructed between 1840…
★ Directed by: #SamSeen Read moreA Guide to The Perfect Bong Joon-ho MarathonMusic by: #SamSeen, #4R3X Film review by William Hemingway Read moreRobert Stack Finally Solves a Mystery in ‘The Strange and Deadly Occurrence’Soooo…… it’s a head on a table. No wait, hang on, that makes it sound far more interesting and exciting than it…
Just south of Elizabeth City, North Carolina, an impressive structure rises from the shores of the Pasquotank River. The large, silvery dome measures 20 stories tall and nearly a thousand feet wide. While it might look like a futuristic laboratory, this building is actually one of the few remaining structures that were built during World…
It’s time for a dog’s-eye perspective with Stray, the feature debut of director Elizabeth Lo. The streets of Istanbul are filled with dogs thanks to Turkey’s rules regarding the stray population. They live alongside humans but aren’t really domesticated like the canine companions that live in people’s homes, creating an odd dichotomy that plays out…
Olympic Sculpture Park located in Seattle’s Belltown is not far from the famous Space Needle, and a short drive from the famous Pike’s Place Public Market. Read moreA Guide to The Perfect Bong Joon-ho MarathonSculpture Park is nine acres filled with monumental artworks, amazing views of Eliot Bay, and a monolithic work entitled “Wake.” Located…
The Atlas Obscura Podcast is finally here! Join me, Dylan Thuras, cofounder of Atlas Obscura, and our incredible team of reporters and editors, on a daily (Monday-Thursday) exploration and celebration of some of the world’s most wondrous, unexpected, even strange places. With each episode, The Atlas Obscura Podcast is a daily escape, in 15 minutes…
This month’s installment of The Unloved pays long overdue tribute to one of the most fearless filmmakers alive. Bruce LaBruce has been synonymous with boundary pushing and risk-taking for most of my lifetime, and it was high time to pay him tribute. Read moreA Guide to The Perfect Bong Joon-ho MarathonHis new film “Saint-Narcisse” is maybe his best…
In 1909, archaeologists excavating the city of Pompeii uncovered a Roman villa that still contained painted frescoes on the walls of one of its rooms. The artwork depicted the mystery rites of a religious cult associated with Dionysus. Images included scenes of women cavorting with fauns and winged figures, and undergoing ritual ecstasies, dancing, and…
The winners of the HFPA’s 78th Annual Golden Globe Awards, the precursor to the Academy Awards, have been announced tonight at a ceremony held virtually on Zoom + in Los Angeles, co-hosted by Tina Fey & Amy Poehler. It seems these awards get less and less relevant every year, but the winners are still worthy…
★★★★ Directed by: #BearWinterPerreau, #AlexBaróCayetano Read moreA Guide to The Perfect Bong Joon-ho MarathonWritten by: #BearWinterPerreau, #AlexBaróCayetano Starring: #JaydenBoyd, #MarieHeleneBoyd, #JoshuaWhincup, #MelvynRawlinson Read moreRobert Stack Finally Solves a Mystery in ‘The Strange and Deadly Occurrence’Short Film Review by: Emily Davison Adam (Jayden Boyd) is a young boy who hates Santa (Melvyn Rawlinson), so what would…
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 explains how Jackie Chan did the shopping mall pole stunt in Police Story. Without mincing words: Police Story (1985) is the pinnacle of Jackie Chan‘s career. Read moreA…
Welcome to Pitch Meeting, a monthly column in which we suggest an IP ripe for adaptation, then assign the cast and crew of our dreams. In this entry, we’re pitching ‘Kongzilla,’ the perfect ‘Godzilla vs. Kong’ sequel based on the forgotten collectible sculpture from Bowen Designs. Sequels are beasts. Forever tasked with upping the ante,…
Movies allow us to live vicariously through others, act as voyeurs and witness things we’d never see in real life. Richard Linklater’s “Waking Life” lets us eavesdrop on great conversation and live in the mindscape of someone’s dreams. Read moreA Guide to The Perfect Bong Joon-ho Marathon Linklater’s 2001 film is a sublime, one-of-a-kind experience….
★ Stars Directed by: #FilipZylber Read moreA Guide to The Perfect Bong Joon-ho MarathonWritten by: #WiktorPiatkowski, #MarzannaPolit Starring: #AdriannaChlebicka, #MateuszBanasiuk, #AgnieszkaZulewska, #KrzysztofCzeczot, #MiroslawBaka Read moreRobert Stack Finally Solves a Mystery in ‘The Strange and Deadly Occurrence’Film Review by: Alicia Moore “A celebrity journalist and renowned womaniser starts to rethink his life choices after he falls…
Welcome to Saturday Morning Cartoons, our weekly column where we continue the animated boob tube ritual of yesteryear. Our lives may no longer be scheduled around small screen programming, but that doesn’t mean we should forget the necessary sanctuary of Saturday ‘toons. In this entry, we celebrate the new Tom and Jerry movie’s arrival on…
In the clearing of the Côte d’Ivoire (Ivory Coast) forest of Abidjan is the only prison in the world ruled by an inmate—MACA. Far removed from anarchy, the Dangoro named Blackbeard (Steve Tientcheu) stands atop the prison by way of a traditional hierarchy governed by codes, laws, and beliefs. When a Dangoro falls ill, for…
“Death is weird.” Oscilloscope Labs has revealed an official trailer for the indie coming-of-age drama titled Sophie Jones, marking the feature directorial debut of filmmaker Jessie Barr. This premiered at a few film festivals last year, and it’s getting a virtual release coming up soon in March. Inspired by true experiences of grief, girlhood, and…
“Created Equal: Clarence Thomas in His Own Words” disappeared from Amazon’s streaming shelves mere days into Black History Month. The 2020 documentary let the reserved legal mind narrate his own life story, a tale taking him from an impoverished childhood in the segregated South to decades on the Supreme Court. Read moreA Guide to The…
“You are being considered for the amazing opportunity of life.” Another year, another Top 10. Better late than never, as they say! Though this usually happens with me, getting this list out takes a lot of time… It was a tough year to keep writing during 2020, despite watching films all the time. I saw…
Once they reach adulthood, great capricorn beetles, Cerambyx cerdo, have only a brief time left on Earth. The bulk of their lives, which can span several years, is spent as larvae and pupae, boring through wood and nibbling as they go, then hunkering down beneath the bark of sun-warmed oaks until the weather invites them…