Inside the entertainment business, industries switch. When we look back at the phonographic market, it is changing. For example, independent artists, a small percentage of the pool then, could live throughout their CD sales and concerts at small gigs. It is a reality that changed completely. Today, streamers’ royalties do …
Comedy is one of the great cultural forces. It is, in many ways, the great equalizer. In the hands of a talented performer, comedy speaks truth to power, whether that means mocking our leaders or finding commonality in the human experience. It’s the latter of these that filmmaker Neil Berkeley’s …
There is a reason you’ve probably never heard the name Linda Perry. The singer/songwriter has spent her life hiding from the spotlight, hiding from shame and her perfectionism, but mostly hiding from herself. She is best known for being behind the vocals of 4 Non Blondes and their 1992 mega-hit …
In the mid-1980s, Andrew McCarthy starred in a number of highly successful teen films. You’ve probably heard of at least two of them: St. Elmo’s Fire and Pretty in Pink. He and several other young actors were positioned at exactly the right time and place to create a cultural moment. …
In the first minutes of They’re Here, we meet Cookie, a sympathetic old lady from New York who enthusiastically talks about her past experiences with Unknown Flying Objects (UFOs). She answers the directors, Daniel Claridge and Pacho Velez, saying she was taken fourteen times, only in her current home. Cookie …
Wide shots of roads with purplish skies over them. We see that mainly during the sunsets, as Nesa Azimi’s cameras portray. She takes us on a journey throughout the United States railroads and gas stations alongside the female truckers in business. In the first minute of DRIVER, the director introduces …
Some TV shows and films are part of our formative process as children. Those programs that mothers would put the TV on for their kids to watch while they have to do something else, but those media pieces worked almost as nannies for them. The most prominent example of this …
In May this year, streaming service Apple Music started listing the 100 best albums. The albums were judged by Apple Music’s team and a commission of invited producers, artists, and industry professionals. Shockingly, The Beach Boys’ 1966 Pet Sounds was considered the 20th best of all time, below newer albums. …
The Blue Angels is the latest documentary from Paul Crowder. The film follows the elite U.S. Navy and Marine Corps pilots as they train for a year of the high-flying aerial arts. In 2022, the long-awaited sequel to Top Gun was finally released after multiple scheduling moves due to the …
Survival: A basic instinct that is innate in all animals on Earth. The desire to keep living and pushing ourselves to impossible limits is one of our core motivations, even in the face of seemingly insurmountable forces. It’s this unwavering resilience that makes these stories so inspiring because as humans, …
With their new documentary Carol Doda Topless at the Condor, directors Marlo McKenzie and Jonathan Parker explore the obscure celebrity of the first woman to ever go topless in a live show. The film covers the atmosphere and tone of the early 60s and Broadway Street in San Francisco. In their …
Judee Sill is the musical icon that time has forgotten. A new documentary from filmmakers Andy Brown and Brian Lindstrom seeks to change that. LOST ANGEL: The Genius of Judee Sill is the definitive history of the female vocalist and musician. Sill was a transformative artist but also had a troubled life that tragically ended too …
The so-called Wild West is having a fashionable moment: Beyonce’s newly released Cowboy Carter, Almodovar’s Strange Way of Life, Scorsese’s Killers of the Flower Moon – even Barbie’s iconic outfit for the real world in Gerwig’s film – show that cultural collective fascination with the fashion and mindset of the Old West are far from exhausted. The Outside Circle: A Movie of …
My introduction to Steve Martin was probably in The Muppet Movie, but I fell in love with him through a copy of The Three Amigos that my parents had recorded during a free HBO weekend. I have not come close to seeing his full filmography – potential goal for 2025, maybe? – but his comedy …
Documentaries hold a unique position in the realm of storytelling, possessing an unparalleled ability to captivate and inspire audiences. They have the power of offering an in-depth look into real-life experiences and issues. However, creating a documentary is one of the toughest tasks to do in the entertainment world. Moreover, …
The Scottish comedian Janey Godley is from Glasgow, so of course a new documentary about her life would be the closing gala of the Glasgow Film Festival. But when a person’s life has been as troubled as Ms. Godley’s, a documentary needs to address those troubles directly instead of letting circumstances do the …
oudCryptocurrency has been on the rise in the past few years. With the introduction of Bitcoin and Ethereum, many people are turning to this interesting new currency to get rich quickly. However, with the latest trends and technology, whether AI or cryptocurrency, there’s always a gray area regarding moral standards …
A must-watch for anyone who has ever picked up a controller or sat in front of a computer screen, Half-Life: 25th Anniversary Documentary, directed by Secret Tape’s Danny O’Dwyer, takes you on a journey through the history of one of the most influential video games of all time, Half-Life. Produced in high definition and featuring …
Lila Schmitz is a talented filmmaker and director behind the Irish music documentary The Job of Songs. The story centers around the musicians in Doolin in County Clare, Ireland. It’s a beautiful and layered look at this small community of musicians, their traditions, and the humanity that infuses them. We chatted …
Netflix’s This is Pop docu-series is a fascinating look at the history of pop music and how it has evolved over the years. The episode, The Boyz II Men Effect, is a must-watch for any Philadelphian or recovering Philadelphian. Music as a snapshot of the times The episode has some work to do …