Since it was torn down on November 9, 1989, segments of the Berlin Wall have made their way all over the globe, from Singapore to New York, Reykjavik, Culver City, Las Vegas, Seattle, and, though few seem to be aware of it, St. Petersburg, Florida. These slabs, which come from the eastern side of the…
“Raya – this isn’t the world I want you to live in.” Disney has debuted another new full international trailer for Disney Animation’s Raya and the Last Dragon, their exciting new adventure comedy arriving on Disney+ and in theaters this March. We just featured the Super Bowl spot over the weekend, and they’re finally showing…
The discovery of gold at Ballarat in 1851 sparked Victoria’s famous gold rush of the 1850s. This led to the most significant event in the evolution of the state of Victoria, the mass migration of people from across the globe to the region hoping to strike it rich. It’s believed that at the height of…
For years whenever China told Hollywood to jump, the industry had but one answer … how high? Studios drooled over China’s vast theatrical marketplace, with millions of movie goers eager to watch American popcorn franchises like “Fast & Furious.” And they did just that while filmmakers followed the country’s strict rules at every step. Adding…
To visitors walking uphill within Tsarevets Fortress to Ascension Cathedral, the structure looks like any medieval church, following a Byzantine design and topped with crosses. But the interior is unlike that of any other Christian building. Read moreA Guide to The Perfect Bong Joon-ho MarathonIn the fifth century, the hilltop was already the site of…
A man tells a story like his life depends on it (because it does) in Night of the Kings, the latest from director Philippe Lacôte. The young man wasn’t sure what to expect from La Maca, but he sure wasn’t expecting storytime. The isolated prison is run by the prisoners themselves, so when he arrived…
There is an intense polarity at the heart of Italian cinema. On one side is art about the working class and on the other is forbidding, luxurious moving frescos of unspeakable wealth and privilege. Because of this, the cinematographers who were there to coin the language of modernism in the Italian cinema had to become equally…
The original Tin House facade was crafted by Ottawa tinsmith Honoré Foisy in the early 1900s to showcase and advertise his tinsmithing business. Read moreA Guide to The Perfect Bong Joon-ho MarathonFoisy adorned his home, then-located at 136 Guigues Avenue, with galvanized iron sheet metal that he painstakingly molded into rosettes, pediments, and other architectural embellishments…
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 February 9th, 2021! This week’s…
Crossing the Streams is our monthly look at all the offerings hitting the big streaming services each month, and this time we’re checking out the new Amazon Prime arrivals for February 2021. This month’s titles include a film from the creator of The Magicians, a double feature from Jackie Chan, and more! Amazon Prime Pick…
Ninja Thyberg‘s feature directorial debut, Pleasure, is the kind of cinematic experience that shakes you at your core in a way that only good filmmaking is able to do. With a breakout performance from newcomer, Sofia Kappel, the film uses the adult entertainment industry as a vessel to explore society’s often fractured understanding of ambition…
At the biannual Genting World Lion Dance Championship in Malaysia in 2018, a series of 21 poles, ranging from four to eight feet in height, lined the arena. On top of each one was a platform 12 inches in diameter. Suddenly, a pale blue Chinese lion with a white fur trim jumped up onto the…
In the opening sequence of Pleasure, we linger on a black screen as intimate sounds from a porn set play in the background. This is followed by an operatic choral interlude, which so perfectly ascribes the duality of Ninja Thyberg’s striking examination of the adult entertainment industry. Bouncing between the idea of business versus pleasure,…
As Sundance wraps up, I was able to watch four more films that are completely unlike one another. Not just in story, but tone and presentation. In this report, I was able to watch a sweet dramedy, a truly spectacular drama, and a strange documentary that makes you question reality. Lastly, I finished with a…
Filmmaker Interview by Chris Olson Your film, Princess, has been selected for the BFI Future Film Festival. Why did you want to be a part of this event? EK: The opportunity to showcase princess alongside other young filmmakers – we’re only 16-25 for a while! I’ve also had a couple of friends screen their film…
A bad sequel feels like an act of betrayal. The question isn’t ‘why did they make this (the obvious answer — money)’ but, ‘how could they make something so rotten?’ Read moreA Guide to The Perfect Bong Joon-ho MarathonIt’s been 25 years but I’m still smarting over Tim Pope’s “The Crow: City of Angels,” easily…
If you’re a fan of mind-mending science fiction, then you should probably know writer/director Mike Cahill. Part of a trio of filmmakers to emerge from Georgetown University, their unusual and quite frankly cloistered development means their projects don’t follow traditional Hollywood formulas. Cahill himself burst onto the scene with 2011’s Another Earth, a movie co-written…
The exterior of this indie theater is eye-catching enough, a multicolored marquee attracts visitors, but it’s the inside that’s truly an exceptional work of art. The walls are decorated to resemble a Mayan temple, complete with glyphs and native-themed patterns as far as the eyes can see. Read moreA Guide to The Perfect Bong Joon-ho…
“Do you see where we are? We’re in hell right now!” Gravitas Ventures has released an official trailer for Necropath, a deranged maniacal horror from filmmaker Joshua Reale. The award-winning film, created with the thought of what happens to the movie monsters who wander freely during extreme pandemics, is available to watch on VOD services…
The Carnforth Coke Ovens, are a group of five beehive coke kilns alongside the Lancaster Canal in Carnforth. Read moreA Guide to The Perfect Bong Joon-ho MarathonDuring the 1800s, coal was brought up the Lancaster Canal from the Lancashire coalfield by barge. Once put into the kilns, the coal was converted into industrial coke. These five beehive-shaped…
There are lots of reasons to move a rhinoceros. In Namibia, where one-third of the world’s 5,500 black rhinos live, conservationists must strategically relocate the animals to sustain local populations and encourage genetic diversity. Sometimes rhinos are moved to national parks, where they can be protected from poachers who relentlessly pursue their valuable horns. Others…