Oscar-winning filmmaker Spike Lee became the 34th recipient of the American Cinematheque Award during a two-hour virtual ceremony held yesterday, January 14th, and I couldn’t agree more with their choice of recipient. Lee was a filmmaker greatly admired and championed by my late husband, Roger Ebert, and I shared his admiration of Lee. I have…
★★★★★ Written & Directed by: #MarcellusCox Read moreA Guide to The Perfect Bong Joon-ho MarathonStarring: #StephenCofield, #DavidChattam, #KimberlyChristian, #CharlzWilliams, #RashadHunter Short Film Review by Taryll Baker Read moreRobert Stack Finally Solves a Mystery in ‘The Strange and Deadly Occurrence’A young sketch artist visits a renowned psychiatrist as his life begins sprawling out of control after…
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 they shot the locust swarm scene in Terrence Malick‘s Days of Heaven. Terrence Malick and cinematographer Néstor Almendros wanted Days of Heaven to feel like a…
Nearly four and a half decades since its release, Larisa Shepitko’s 1977 film The Ascent remains a crowning achievement like no other. Shepitko additionally helmed the films Wings (1966), Beginnings of an Unknown Era (1967), In the 13th Hour of the Night (1969), and You and Me (1971), but the Soviet director’s career was tragically cut short in a…
Every father is a bundle of contradictions. But in Ira Sachs, Sr.’s case, the contradictions are more extreme than most. Filmmaker Lynne Sachs tries to make sense of them—up to a point—in “A Film About a Father Who,” an unraveling of her family’s complicated history, drawn from footage that she’s been gathering between 1984 and the…
“So we did it – actually moved in together… Scary, isn’t it?” “Terrifying.” Indeed it is… Strain Pictures has debuted this “fun little horror short film” titled Burnt, both written and directed by British actor Danny Morgan. A young couple move into a new home and find a little gift leftover by the previous tenants….
“There’s no one up there… Your mind is just playing tricks on you.” Lionsgate has revealed a second trailer for the indie psychological thriller Fear of Rain by filmmaker Castille Landon. A girl with schizophrenia struggles with the terrifying hallucinations as she begins to suspect her neighbor has kidnapped a child. The only person who…
★★★ Directed and Written by: #TommyGillard Read moreA Guide to The Perfect Bong Joon-ho MarathonStarring: #TomGreaves, #NiallKiely Film Review by: Alex Matraxia Read moreRobert Stack Finally Solves a Mystery in ‘The Strange and Deadly Occurrence’From the opening shot, Shuttlecock is about much more than badminton: the sound and sight of sweat dripping from the tip…
In The Simpsons Movie, there is a funny and profound moment when Grandpa Simpson has a frantic and prophetic religious experience, and Homer is asked to do something about it. He flips through the pages of the Bible and says, “This book doesn’t have any answers.” For people who read the Bible as a straightforward…
In December 2018, the Black Sea was experiencing a pattern of various storms. The Rio cargo ship was navigating the waters when the crew encountered one of these massive storms. Calls for assistance were made to port in nearby Novorossiysk. Read moreA Guide to The Perfect Bong Joon-ho MarathonHowever, due to the weather conditions, the rescue…
When Trisha Costello bought the Talkeetna Roadhouse 25 years ago, she was given three things: the deed, a set of keys, and a sourdough starter that the previous owner said dated back to 1902. The year-round population of Talkeetna, Alaska, hovers around 900 people, but in a normal year, Costello’s crew churns out hundreds of…
The “inspired by true events” label on a film should give audiences pause. It usually means a heaping helping of fiction along with a smattering of truth. Yet the core of “One Night in Miami” actually happened. Read moreA Guide to The Perfect Bong Joon-ho MarathonThat in and of itself is remarkable. Sam Cooke, Jim…
St. Mary’s Well is a quiet and hidden place of sanctity, right in the middle of a busy suburb of Newcastle upon Tyne. Unless visitors know exactly where to look, it’s easy to miss the unassuming footpath that serves as a short-cut between The Grove and Reid Park Road. That’s where visitors will see the…
For the more than two million people that visit Edinburgh every year, it’s an opportunity to explore the many historical sites the city has to offer. Others come for business, while some reunite with friends and family. There are also around 35,000 students who arrive in Edinburgh every year to attend the half dozen universities…
With a title like a pulpy crime novel and characters reminiscent of Sex Education, Teenage Bounty Hunters isn’t far off from the “high school drama with higher stakes” TV trend. Its protagonists, teenage twin girls who act their age and almost look it, fall into bounty hunting by accident. They quickly find that they’re pretty…
When visitors enter this shop, they are immediately greeted by the owner and the brilliant mind behind Novis Mortem Collective. Novis Mortem is a curiosity shop filled with natural history. Read moreA Guide to The Perfect Bong Joon-ho MarathonInside the shop is a wide selection of pinned insects such as beetles, jeweled flower mantis, bright…
The owner and curator of this private collection, Janusz Parulis amassed this amazing ensemble of everyday items now crammed into this tight space. The collection contains around 20,000 items, which are displayed haphazardly across the museum. However, this unique display adds to the museum’s charm. Read moreA Guide to The Perfect Bong Joon-ho MarathonParulis has a…
Those teaser images from “WandaVision” weren’t lying. The Disney+ series is the classic sitcom we never saw, a loving ode to TV’s past that suggests a very different MCU future. Read moreA Guide to The Perfect Bong Joon-ho MarathonConfused? You won’t be alone after sampling the show’s first three episodes. What happens next is anyone’s…
In the late 19th century, life along the shore of Brooklyn’s fetid Gowanus Canal was the stuff of nightmares. The stench emanating from the 1.8-mile-long slash of stagnant water was awful enough to penetrate people’s dreams. Take Stephen Mooney. In 1889, the unwelcome smell shook him from sleep, and compelled him to shut his window…
Kang Kyung-ja opens the door of her home on the island province of Jeju, South Korea, with a smile on her face. After offering me a cup of barley tea, she unfolds a piece of paper to sing me a song she’s written. Ieodo sana, ieodo sana, ieodo sana Read moreA Guide to The Perfect…
“It’s just too gray… I’m sitting here and I’m just thinking, when are we going to see Mars?” This lovely, poetic animated short film is worth a watch to bring a smile to your face. The Moon’s Not That Great is about an astronaut who embarks on a voyage to the Moon. When she returns,…