At the beginning of last year’s holiday season, I was lucky enough to see Waitress: The Musical in theaters. This movie is the big screen version of the Broadway production. It features music and lyrics by Sara Bareilles and was adapted for Broadway (and thus the movie screen) by Jessie Nelson. The musical is based on …
Mr. & Mrs. Smith (2024) is a mix of danger, action, and romance that packs a punch. It’s a unique take on the genre, the spy version of a group project from hell with your crush, and is a ton of fun to watch. Mr. & Mrs. Smith is billed …
Tom Tykwer’s Run Lola Run (Lola Rennt) opened the doors for many short but effective action scenes where its protagonist had a set amount of time to get from point A to point B, only for them to be stuck in innumerable (and preposterous) situations that would slow them down. That’s also …
If you were to do a Family Feud-style survey and ask a hundred people who the greatest movie director of all time is, you undoubtedly would get Alfred Hitchcock’s name on the board. Steven Spielberg would be up there, possibly even Stanley Kubrick as well. I cannot say where he would place, but without much doubt, Martin …
In 2019, Lulu Wang took the world by storm by capturing the complicated dynamics of a family in The Farewell. The poignant story about love, sentiments, and culture went on to touch everyone’s hearts and made Wang a household name. Although the filmmaker showcased her impeccable directing skills with the title above, her latest venture, Expats, is …
The Lobster, directed by Yorgos Lanthimos and written by Lanthimos and Efthimis Filippou, is the most interesting film regarding modern relationships. It takes a look at dating and gives it a dystopian twist. The film is an absurdist dry comedy set in an alternative world where single people go to a place called The Hotel. …
The Kitchen, now out on Netflix, is an impressive first effort at feature directing for Academy Award-winning Actor Daniel Kaluuya. Alongside British filmmaker Kibwe Tavares, this creative pair, who direct together in their feature debut, have brought a new socio-political gritty drama in a fantastical world set in the not-so-distant future. There are …
Brando with a Glass Eye, from filmmaker Antonis Tsonis, recently premiered at the Slamdance International Film Festival in Utah. In 2023, indie movies such as Past Lives, All of Us Strangers, and Anatomy of a Fall enthralled everyone with their superb storytelling that first had the world’s eyes on them at film festivals. All these films went …
Method acting goes to the extreme in the Greek drama Brando with a Glass Eye. Starring Yiannis Niarros in a star-making performance and written and directed by Antonis Tsonis, this is compelling drama just had its worldwide premiere at the Slamdance International Film Festival. “Once you overcome the one-inch-tall barrier of subtitles, you …
Describing Ava DuVernay’s Origin to an average moviegoer may prove complex, especially concerning its opening moments, where Isabel Wilkerson (Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor) listens to a recorded phone conversation with the police and the assailant who murdered Trayvon Martin (Myles Frost). DuVernay and cinematographer Matthew J. Lloyd recreate this tragic moment in American history chillingly, with Isabel listening attentively to …
J. Robert Oppenheimer (Cillian Murphy) is the focal point of the new film Oppenheimer from writer and director Christopher Nolan. It is the story of the top mind behind the Manhattan Project, known as “the father of the atomic bomb.” Most everyone knows the Manhattan Project was an operation the United States …
In 2014, HBO stunned everyone with Matthew McConaughey and Woody Harrelson’s epic crime thriller True Detective. Apart from winning several awards, the series became a scintillating hit among viewers. However, the series failed to mesmerize viewers with the subsequent two entries in the anthology, and people asked whether this show should continue. Considering everything, there’s …
Both 2013 and 2014 were years of incredible loss for me. My mother was diagnosed with ALS and died from complications related to that. I went through a divorce. I suffered a stillbirth at 35 weeks of pregnancy. It felt like at every turn, there was something to grieve. The …
Ava DuVernay is one of the filmmakers who never shies away from showing impactful stories on the big screen. The director floored everyone with Selma, which is considered one of the most well-crafted biopics of recent times. Meanwhile, she delivered hard-hitting projects such as 13th and When They See Us to let everyone know the ugly …
Rugby isn’t a sport we get much of here in America, but it’s one of the primary sports people enjoy watching in other countries. In the early 1970s, a group of rugby players from Uruguay boarded a plane from Montevideo, Uruguay, to Santiago, Chile, for a rugby match. In the …
Slow Horses, now in a third season on Apple TV+, is one of my new favorite TV shows. It’s been a long time since I’ve found a show that has grabbed my interest and hasn’t left my mind since I finished it, so this show is exhilarating. Slow Horses is adapted from a book …
I live in West Virginia, right in the heart of Appalachia. I love my state, but I don’t always love the way that the people who live here have been portrayed in the media. Poverty porn, like what was featured in both the book and the film Hillbilly Elegy, reduces the …
Examining the actions of ordinary individuals in extreme situations is a well-worn trope in film. 2018: Everyone is a Hero, a 2023 Indian Malayalam-language survival drama film by director Jude Anthany Joseph, subverts this trope with compelling storytelling that captures human stories and explores human resilience, community, and sacrifice. I went into …