Spooky season is upon us, so it’s the perfect time to revisit the camp and comedy of ’80s cult classic The Monster Squad. Dracula believes the creatures of the night should rule the world, and he’s enlisted a cadre of creeps to aid the cause. Can a plucky pack of prepubescents stop the monsters before […]
Spooky season is upon us, so it’s the perfect time to revisit the camp and comedy of ’80s cult classic The Monster Squad. Dracula believes the creatures of the night should rule the world, and he’s enlisted a cadre of creeps to aid the cause. Can a plucky pack of prepubescents stop the monsters before […]
The spread of COVID-19 across the globe has left no part of our lives untouched, not the least of which is our viewing habits. Streaming services have gone from content delivery platforms to public services as we discover that self-quarantining can result in lots of time to finally whittle down our watchlists. Everyone’s viewing needs […]
In movies, as in life, it was quite a year of highs and lows. These are our favorite films of 2017. Get Out As social commentary, as a horror movie that connected with an incredible amount of people, as a directorial debut for Jordan Peele—any way you look at it, Get Out was a huge […]
At first, the biggest surprise move made by Marvel was placing fan favorite (yet far-fetched) Thor on equal footing with the iconic Iron Man and Captain America in its Cinematic Universe. Now we accept the character’s presence as a given. Then the studio defied expectations by establishing phase two of its master plan with new-to-film […]
Historic and heartwarming (Loving). Family-friendly and inspiring (The Eagle Huntress). Searching and shocking (The Promise), romantic (La La Land) and jaw dropping (Liv Ullmann, Werner Herzog and Shirley . .. that’s right, MacLaine)—if it boasts more than 125 films, and way too many admiring modifiers to choose from, it’s the 2016 Virginia Film Festival, screening […]
Always Shine Writer-director Sophia Takal’s psychological thriller Always Shine is a thoughtful exploration of the performative nature of all social interactions, whether between actor and director, business and customer, individual and society and even between supposed best friends. Beth (Caitlin FitzGerald) and Anna (Mackenzie Davis) are both actresses living in Los Angeles who have had […]
Fred Ott, a magnificently mustachioed employee at Thomas Edison’s lab in Menlo Park, was known among his colleagues for his comedic sneezes. On January 7, 1894, Ott sneezed in Edison’s Black Maria studio in West Orange, New Jersey, in front of a camera operated by William Heise. Two days later, on January 9, film director […]
The lead-off film at this year’s Virginia Film Festival (Nov. 3-6) is remarkable in its story and its timing. As we look out from our fledgling blue state to the country’s contentious societal landscape, the nasty presidential campaign to be decided on Tuesday and the glaring Supreme Court vacancy, director Jeff Nichols syncs up history […]
The ensuing oil spill following the explosion and sinking of semi-submersible Mobile Offshore Drilling Unit Deepwater Horizon in 2011 devastated states along the Gulf Coast for years to come. It was the worst natural disaster—and largest corporate settlement—in United States history. But before the constant media coverage, before the horrendously painful hearings in which BP […]
On the surface, Disney’s Queen of Katwe is a feel-good, fact-based movie whose familiarity is part of its charm. Based on the life of Ugandan chess prodigy Phiona Mutesi, the film, directed by Mira Nair (Monsoon Wedding, Mississippi Masala), confidently navigates the Disney underdog formula, yet finds personal and occasionally political depth in its subject’s […]