Biopics are tricky. Just ask 2019 Oscar winning films Green Book and Bohemian Rhapsody. For the former, the issue is telling the tale of a Black musician through the lens of his White companion. For the latter, the writers reconstructed… Read More ›
Musical
Inconvenience turns to opportunity in the musical “Stuck”.
In 2008, writer Riley Thomas premiered his musical Stuck at the La Costa Theatre in Chicago, Illinois. From there, it moved to off-Broadway in 2012 before being commissioned as a film in 2016. With screenings taking place at festivals as… Read More ›
“Swing Kids” celebrates the promise of freedom.
Films are often more than an escape from your lives or a distraction from politics, family, friends, or whatever ails you. Even hidden within the most harmless looking story is a thematic nugget propelling everything forward, desperately asking the audience… Read More ›
It’s the details which keep “The Ballad of Buster Scruggs” on key.
Marking their 18th feature, The Ballad of Buster Scruggs feels like the epitome of the Coen Brothers. It’s as if someone might want to introduce the Coens’ work to someone who’d never seen a single one of their films before… Read More ›
Bittersweet musical comedy “Unlovable” is far from it.
Ugly. Unworthy. Unlovable. These words burn inside us, whether they possess any truth or not, turning to ashes every semblance of self-worth we own. For some, it’s enough to recognize the strength within themselves to prevent true psychological destruction; however,… Read More ›
“Bohemian Rhapsody” – It’s a kind of tragic.
In all of our lives, there are things which sum up everything about us. Whether it be a poem, a picture, a book, a film, or a song, these things become emblematic of who we are at our core. These… Read More ›
Do your soul some good and let your “Hearts Beat Loud”.
Contained within director Brett Haley’s little indie darling, Hearts Beat Loud, resides an indomitable, overflowing joy. It’s unexpected, wondrous, and bound to fill your soul up until it, too, overflows. Sweet without being saccharine, loving without being profane, pure without… Read More ›
“La La Land” Is A Celebration of Dreamers and Mad (Wo)Men
In the summer of 2015, writer/director Damien Chazelle (Whiplash) absconded with Oscar nominees Emma Stone and Ryan Gosling for a few weeks to film a song-and-dance film in the heat of L.A. Audiences finally got a glimpse of this secret… Read More ›