As a writer, my comfort zone is putting my thoughts on paper and hitting publish, but there’s truly nothing like having a conversation with a fellow film nerd. In this case, joining fellow NCFCA member Cameron Allison on his The… Read More ›
Netflix Original
Meet Me at the Movies – Reflections, Regrets & Redemption: “Jay Kelly” Review.
There are few greater joys than having the chance to chat with friends about a movie. To roll it around, turn it over, and discuss it – to see what the other sees, even if they disagree. It’s been a… Read More ›
Noah Baumbach’s dramedy “Jay Kelly” utilizes the language of cinema to interrogate the regrets of a life lived.
How does one define success? Not only is this a deeply personal question, it shifts and changes based on age and experience (to name a few factors). My children would define success as unlimited game time and Halloween candy with… Read More ›
Heart, humor, and baloney flow throughout the poignantly funny and earnestly heartfelt family adventure “In Your Dreams.”
Dreams are incredibly powerful. Whether we experience them awake or asleep, our dreams shape our reality by imagining what could be. It may manifest in our minds as talking stuffies, personified num-nums, or twisted versions of those closest to us,… Read More ›
HERE WE GO! Detroit’s favorite detective returns to Beverly Hills in “Axel F.”
Actor Eddie Murphy’s been experiencing a wonderful resurgence lately between exploring new stories (Dolemite Is My Name (2019)) and revisiting old ones (Coming 2 America (2021)), each time reminding audiences why we’ve loved being entertained by him for ages. Now,… Read More ›
Open Dialogue with “Scoop” actors Gillian Anderson and Billie Piper.
Gillian Anderson and Billie Piper join Noel T. Manning II today on Open Dialogue to chat about their roles in the Netflix film Scoop. Scoop follows the true story of BBC producer Samantha McAlister’s journey into landing the legendary 2019… Read More ›
Doc “The Antisocial Network” demonstrates the devastating repercussions of focusing on the lulz and forgetting to touch grass. [SXSW]
“I reject your reality and I substitute my own!” – From the film The Dungeonmaster (1984) and *not* Adam Savage There’s a fairly popular video and text meme which starts with a reminder that it costs nothing to be kind… Read More ›
Action thriller “Damsel” eschews fantasy tradition in favor of kicking ass.
Period/fantasy films offer opportunities to view the current world through a different lens. If you lived in a world of orcs, goblins, and magic, what role would you play in the greater hierarchy? If you existed at a time of… Read More ›
The Criterion Collection releases a fifth Guillermo del Toro edition with his co-directed adaptation of “Pinocchio.”
In a world in which streamers rarely release their films on physical formats and legacy studios are beginning to delete finished films (either for tax purposes or to just remove from servers), there’s something truly wonderful about the relationship developed… Read More ›
David Fincher’s comic adaptation, “The Killer,” struggles to balance psychological discord with physical action to deliver on expectations.
Director David Fincher isn’t afraid to take on adapting other people’s worlds to create his own. He got his start directing music videos for the likes of Paula Abdul, Rick Springfield, Aerosmith, and A Perfect Circle, before tackling films like… Read More ›
In a period of uncertain times, “Nimona” celebrates the rejects.
“Fear makes the wolf bigger than he is.” – German proverb. In the stories we tell, if there’s a hero, there’s a villain, someone for the bold and courageous to conquer; otherwise, how are they to be bold and courageous?… Read More ›
“Extraction 2” goes harder and further than before in an action-packed thrill ride where the stakes are not only higher, but far more personal.
“Into every generation a slayer is born …” – Buffy the Vampire Slayer intro Steve McQueen. Carl Weathers. Michelle Yeoh. Sigourney Weaver. Danny Trejo. Jet Li. Gerard Butler. Milla Jovovich. Bruce Willis. Keanu Reeves. These are but a few of… Read More ›
Open Dialogue with “Florida Man” actors Edgar Ramírez and Abbey Lee.
In this edition of Meet Me at the Movies: Open Dialogue, Thomas Manning sits down with Edgar Ramírez and Abbey Lee to discuss the new Netflix limited series Florida Man. They discuss their previous personal experiences with the state of… Read More ›
“Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio” may not have you wishing upon a star, but it’s exploration of identity and love will resonate nonetheless.
Since its publication in 1883, Italian author Carlo Collodi’s The Adventures of Pinocchio has been adapted on paper and for stage and screen many times. The most well-known, of course, being the 1940 Walt Disney animated adaptation. It’s a story… Read More ›
With “Glass Onion,” it’s not a Rian Johnson whodunit, it’s a Rian Johnson hediditagain.
2019’s surprise of the holiday season was writer/director Rian Johnson’s Knives Out, a whodunit that takes all the hallmarks of the great mystery writers and gave it his own spin. First, there’s the rich family where motive is everywhere and… Read More ›
Director Rian Johnson’s “Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery” maintains the magic of the absurdist mystery in this setting outing. [Film Fest 919]
Three years ago, Rian Johnson’s humble follow-up to …let’s just say, polarizing… Star Wars: The Last Jedi came out in the form of Knives Out. Unlike said film set in a galaxy far far away, the consensus on Knives Out… Read More ›
Keep the beat whenever and however you like with “Vivo” on home video.
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 ›
The Cine-Men, Episode 71: Favorite Netflix Originals.
With the release of The Gray Man on Netflix, your Cine-Men hosts, Darryl and Douglas, decided to go through the deep Netflix catalogue to identify three of their favorite Netflix Originals. Despite common conception, this task proved harder than anticipated. In… Read More ›
It’s just another Thursday in the star-studded action-thriller “The Gray Man” from directing duo the Russos.
Directing team the Russos (brothers Joe and Anthony) are no strangers to adapting works for cinema. If their work on 2014’s Captain America: The Winter Soldier wasn’t enough to gain your attention, their directing of the end of the Marvel… Read More ›
Writer/director Bong Joon Ho’s Netflix Original “Okja” receives a Criterion home release worthy of the Best Superpig.
Before writer/director Bong Joon Ho would go on to win Best International Feature, Best Director, and Best Picture for his film Parasite (2019) at the 92nd Academy Awards, Bong Joon Ho was awarded Best Motion Picture in the Foreign Language… Read More ›