With the exception of one film of his in recent years, and regardless of your opinion on him as a filmmaker, a new Christopher Nolan film releasing in theaters always feels like an event the scale of which we simply… Read More ›
history
“The Iron Prefect” finally gets the spotlight thanks to Radiance Films.
“Filmmaking is also nation making.” – Pasquale Squitieri, via Domenico Monetti The Iron Prefect (1977) is a nearly perfect limited edition out from Radiance Films. Previously screened in the United States and released on DVD as I am the Law,… Read More ›
Enjoy Stephen William’s dramatic biographical adaptation “Chevalier” at home now.
We may never know the stories we don’t know. That seems like an obvious statement, a philosophical quandary with a seemingly apparent answer. Except, it’s far more complicated than that because, as is often the case, what we don’t know… Read More ›
“The Space Race” empowers a long-buried piece of NASA’s history. [Tribeca Film Festival]
“Black history is American history. We forget it at our peril.” – Charlie Bolden, former NASA astronaut and administrator October 1st, 1958, NASA officially began operations working to break free from Earth and into orbit. It would be nearly 25… Read More ›
“Scarlet” soars on red romantic wings.
The hope found in love is the only hope we have, or at least, that’s what Pietro Marcello‘s Scarlet (2023) seems to be saying. This French period piece is firmly rooted in the cynical positivity of the meta-modernist era. Everything… Read More ›
Stephen Williams’s “Chevalier” may just incite curiosity about all the other stories we don’t know.
It should come as little shock these days how diminutive our knowledge of the world and our place in it really is, not in a celestial sense, but in the very real, tangible historical terrestrial way. Especially in the United… Read More ›
Explore every nook of “299 Queen Street West” with Sean Menard’s new documentary. [SXSW]
If you grew up in Canada, specifically Toronto, the address 299 Queen Street West most likely held a special place in your heart as more likely than not you either fought your way through the pandemonium of crowds OR you… Read More ›
The lesser-known aftermath of World War II is brought into the light thanks to director Mizuho Nishikubo’s “Giovanni’s Island,” now available from GKids Films and Shout! Factory.
Acts of aggression always come with unintended consequences. On the smaller scale, as when my children fight, it could be that the toy they’re fighting over takes a break for a bit and neither gets to use it. On the… Read More ›
Neither too preachy nor too dramatic, “Jesus Revolution” is a heartfelt, inspirational revolution worth joining.
In desperate, confounding times such as the times we’re living in today, the most arduous of questions begs itself to be pondered: What happens when the message of faith and hope can’t reach today’s generation of tomorrow’s future? Directors Jon… Read More ›
Open Dialogue with “Emancipation” actor Charmaine Bingwa.
In this edition of Meet Me at the Movies: Open Dialogue, Thomas Manning talks with actress Charmaine Bingwa about her performance as Dodienne in the Antoine Fuqua-directed film Emancipation, starring Will Smith. Bingwa speaks about the powerful emotional journey of… Read More ›
David Mesfin’s documentary “Wade in the Water” inspires audiences to dive deep into the lesser known history of African aquatic culture. [Santa Barbara International Film Festival]
When it comes to surfing and aquatic culture, where does your first thought go? Whom do you see? If you’re like this reviewer, you may think of Gidget (1959), Blue Hawaii (1961), Bikini Beach (1964), Point Break (1991), Blue Crush… Read More ›
Mark Cousins’s latest documentary “The Story of Film: A New Generation” examines and connects the last 11 years of cinema.
In Jordan Peele’s brilliantly layered Nope (2022), the lead characters are described as relatives to the jockey depicted in the first ever moving picture, Eadweard Muybridge’s 1878 silent short film The Horse in Motion. That film was constructed of several… Read More ›
Witness the joy and strength of sisterhood in Gina Prince-Bythewood’s “The Woman King,” available on home video now.
The title of Gina Prince-Bythewood’s latest film alone is enough to inspire strength, courage, and bravery. The movie itself, The Woman King, lives up to the inspirational connotations of its name. Set in West Africa in 1823, the story focuses… Read More ›
Johannes Grenzfurthner’s experimental supernatural horror “Razzennest” is a disquieting sensory experience that’ll leave you stunned.
Satire is a sticky wicket requiring expert balance to nail. Films like Paul Verhoven’s RoboCop (1987) and Starship Troopers (1997) are as frequently misunderstood for their analysis of corporate greed and nationalism as Fight Club is (film (1999) or novel)… Read More ›
Open Dialogue with “The Trial of the Chicago 7” cinematographer Phedon Papamichael.
Phedon Papamichael is a master cinematographer working with the likes of James Mangold, Alexander Payne, Gore Verbinski, Jon Turteltaub and more. On this episode of Open Dialogue, Papamichael offers an in-depth look into the making of Aaron Sorkin’s The Trial… Read More ›
Explore the legend of pre-Civil War hero Shields Green via new home release “Emperor.”
The truth is often less exciting, less inspirational than fiction. My presumption for this is not because the truth lacks power, but that our individual imaginations build up ideas until they are larger than any one person or concept. It’s… Read More ›
Strong performances and unique direction put you in the thick of the attack on “The Outpost.”
For roughly 12-hours in October 2009, the soldiers deployed to Combat Outpost Keating, located within a valley of the Afghanistan mountains, engaged in a firefight with Taliban fighters. Later called The Battle of Kamdesh, the engagement was deemed the bloodiest… Read More ›
Funimation’s live-action manga adaptation “Kingdom” is available on home video now.
Prior to hearing about the 2019 limited theatrical release of director Shinsuke Sato’s (Inuyashiki) Kingdom, I had no awareness of the 2012 anime or the 2006 manga. Coming into the film blind, I only knew that the story involved treachery,… Read More ›
Manga adaptation “Kingdom” is not just for the fans, but for adventure-seekers everywhere.
For the uninitiated, watching the trailer for director Shinsuke Sato’s (Inuyashiki) Kingdom will be confusing and potentially befuddling. Frankly, it’s just a whirlwind of content as text lays out the plot amid rapid images from the film all while “Wasted… Read More ›
Documentary “Who Will Write Our History” examines the past as it cautions about the future.
On January 27th, 1945, the Soviet Red Army liberated those individuals the Nazis had imprisoned at Auschwitz-Birkenau, the largest concentration and death camp in operation. In recognition of that act, the United Nations established International Holocaust Remembrance Day in 2005… Read More ›