In this edition of Open Dialogue, Thomas Manning chats with Bella Ramsey and Andrew Scott about their roles in Catherine Called Birdy, a medieval coming-of-age comedy directed by Lena Dunham. Clips are used by permission for review, interview and media… Read More ›
There’s no right or wrong way to make a feel-good movie. But there are certain elements that will make one feel-good film much more successful and enjoyable than another. Feel-good films require precise storytelling techniques and a little extra wow-factor… Read More ›
There are some films that define the era of the ‘80s in cinema. You’ve got dramedies like The Breakfast Club (1985), aviation action in the form of Top Gun (1986), revealing the lack of safety in dream via A Nightmare… Read More ›
In this conversation, EoM contributor Thomas Manning speaks with cinematographer Alan Gwizdowski about his work on Honk for Jesus, Save Your Soul. Gwizdowski provides technical insight on the unique visual and narrative style of this film that combines mockumentary elements… Read More ›
“Oh, I like murder.” Agatha Christie’s The Mousetrap Act I, Scene 1, Page 11 Murder mysteries are a staple of storytelling. Whether set upon a stage, in print, broadcast on your television, presented on the silver screen, or in your… Read More ›
As long as there are children who grow into adulthood via adolescence, there will always be coming-of-age stories. They may not be indicative of your experience, but they will speak to the universal ideas of growing up, shifting from an… Read More ›
As a child of the 1980s, I was witness to all kinds of bullying toward nerds, dorks, and geeks. If it wasn’t happening in front of me (or to me), then it was happening on-screen. You’d think a film like… Read More ›
If you’re an adult of a certain age, when you hear the name “Fletch,” you immediately think of Chevy Chase. Across two films, Fletch (1985) and Fletch Lives (1989), audiences watched the fast-lipped investigative reporter find his way into and… Read More ›
There’s a romantic notion that “there’s someone for everyone,” and it isn’t just for the lovesick or lovelorn. This very much applies to the arts where something you create may not be for a wide audience, but that doesn’t mean… Read More ›
Heist films come in all shapes, sizes, and flavors. There’s the family comedy (The Bad Guys (2022)), the musical drama (Baby Driver (2017)), the superhero action comedy (Ant-Man (2015)), the save-yourself drama (Widows (2018)), the zombie survival action drama (Peninsula… Read More ›
The creator of the View Askew Universe (or View Askewniverse), writer/director Kevin Smith, is as well-known for his indie movies as he is for his comic book writing, his podcasting, and his television directing. All of it is possible because… Read More ›
In this conversation, EoM contributor Thomas Manning speaks with director John Barker and actors Jaques De Silva and Shamilla Miller about their film, The Umbrella Men. An official selection for the 2022 Toronto International Film Festival, The Umbrella Men is a South African… Read More ›
Writer/director/actor Jack Eve’s last project was the Agatha Christie-like Bees Make Honey, a film which demonstrated the artist’s ambition as a storyteller. It’s big in terms of cast, costumes, and sets, not the mention the murder mystery script. In July… Read More ›
Anthologies either in television or in film deserve a special place in Hell, in my personal opinion. Now that is an incredibly bold statement, but if a story is being told and two thirds of it are fantastic, but then… Read More ›
Sometimes there are movies that are just several ideas thrown together culminating to create something sort of cohesive. Most of the time when movies do that, there is nothing even remotely salvageable and it’s just a hot mess. Other times,… Read More ›
No matter what, all things end. What remains in their wake are the stories of their existence. With those tales, anything can live forever. Before the written word, the oral tradition kept histories alive and, now, with media channels that… Read More ›
The recent go-to writer for making a family film, especially one with music, is Lin-Manuel Miranda. He’s not just the mind behind global phenomenon Hamilton, he’s the lyricist behind Moana (2016) and Encanto (2021). It makes sense, then, that if… Read More ›
Whether it lands with the general public or not, there’s nothing like a big swing in art, something that extends itself perhaps farther than it should go, never quite breaking its own rules as it bites off more than it… Read More ›
Being a man sucks and this is why the patriarchy needs to go. Society, at least in America, subscribes to the idea that being a man requires a certain toughness, a rigidity, an emotional distance from things happening around them…. Read More ›
Working in a trade is a lot like parenting. Not the tantrums or conflict portions, necessarily, but the guidance and cultivation that comes from helping to develop something into its best self. In director/co-writer Pierre Pinaud’s (On Air) new film… Read More ›