Publications

November 19, 2024

‘Wicked’ Review—Jon M. Chu’s Wickedly Electric Adaptation is Just What We Need

It’s been a long, winding, Yellow Brick Road to get to the film adaptation of the smash Broadway musical Wicked, based on the Gregory Maguire...

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November 19, 2024

Goofy Goobers Forever: Celebrating 20 Years of ‘The Spongebob SquarePants Movie’

Everyone remembers the first movie they ever watched in a theater. For many, this core memory can be directly referred to as what made them f...

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November 18, 2024

‘Red One’ Review: A Christmas Film Devoid of Any Christmas Spirit

To put it plainly, Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson has had a lackluster career. Most of his recent films are just versions of himself in different ...

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November 14, 2024

'Bird' Review: Andrea Arnold’s Raw yet Fantastical Coming-Of-Age

After taking an eight-year break from helming feature films, English filmmaker Andrea Arnold returns with Bird, a fantastical coming-of-age d...

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November 13, 2024

Horror Reimagined: Top 5 Best and Worst Indian Horror Movies

2024 belongs to the horror genre. There have been many interesting movies, sequels, and brilliant new supernatural amalgamations of complicat...

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November 12, 2024

'Look Back' Review: The Life-Affirming Tragedy We Need

What is the point of creating art? What is there to do when something you love so much doesn’t love you back? It’s an ever-pressing question,...

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November 8, 2024

*CIFF 24* ‘The Piano Lesson’ Review: Malcolm Washington Captures the Spirit of August Wilson in Ethereal Adaptation

August Wilson’s poetic command of language and storytelling is nothing short of legendary within the theatre world. Since Wilson’s death in 2...

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November 7, 2024

Top 15 Movie Musicals

Movie musicals have never been a sure thing, but in our current movie landscape, they feel more hit or miss than ever. In 2024 alone I’ve wit...

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November 6, 2024

Zemeckis’ ‘A Christmas Carol’: Uncanny Mess or Frightening Classic?

Most audiences remember at least one version of Charles Dickens’ holiday ghost story A Christmas Carol. From Muppet to Barbie-themed adaptati...

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November 5, 2024

*CIFF 2024* ‘Here’ Review: Zemeckis Continues Downward Spiral with Schmaltzy, Gimmicky Dramedy

30 years ago, director Robert Zemeckis changed the landscape of American cinema with Forrest Gump — the fictional story of a man (played by T...

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November 5, 2024

Unmasking Longevity: The Lasting Impact of 'The Incredibles' in a Superhero-Weary World

Nowadays, if someone so much as utters the phrase "superhero film,” you are bound to hear at least one person sigh. A genre that reached heig...

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November 4, 2024

*NOFF 2024* Recap: Southern Films and Filmmakers Highlight New Orleans-based Program

Last week, I attended the New Orleans Film Festival in person and virtually. While the Oscar-qualifying festival boasted some high-profile fi...

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November 1, 2024

'The Brutalist' Review: An Exemplarary Meditation of America's Institutes

From the damp, crowded, darkly lit hull of a ship – like Pinocchio confined inside the stomach of Monstro – The Brutalist (2024) opens on an ...

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October 31, 2024

‘The Shadow Strays’ Review: Maximalist Martial Arts

When you break down a story, there’s always a component of good versus evil. If you’re looking for an action flick, the best of this genre ta...

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October 30, 2024

'Timestalker' Review: Alice Lowe Should Be Your Next Obsession

To quote Charli XCX, it really is so confusing sometimes to be a girl. The film industry seems aware of this reality, producing movies like C...

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October 29, 2024

'Saw' Twenty Years Later: Jigsaw’s Silly Little Games Live On

After ending the twentieth century with a brief slasher revival, sparked by the 1996 release of Scream,  the horror genre, in Hollywood, at l...

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October 28, 2024

*NOFF 2024* ‘Rebel Nun’ Review: Homecoming Screening in New Orleans Highlights Nun’s Legacy of Fighting the Death Penalty

Sister Helen Prejean has fought the death penalty for decades — but when a new documentary that screened on October 20 at the New Orleans Fil...

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October 25, 2024

In Defense of Rob Zombie’s ‘Halloween’ Duology

We all know the story: on an eerie Halloween night, little Michael Myers stabs his older sister Judith to death and is committed to a sanitor...

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October 23, 2024

*CIFF 24* ‘The Seed of the Sacred Fig’ Review: Mohammad Rasoulof’s Radical Portrait of a Family Unraveling

There is a specific fig species that falls on existing tree branches and roots as seeds. When it blooms, it wraps itself around the tree and ...

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October 23, 2024

‘Taste the Revolution’ Premieres, Nearly 25 Years After Filming, at New Orleans Film Festival

Over several days in 2001, swaths of would-be revolutionaries swarmed a borrowed estate in Utica, New York, to hold their first “World Summit...

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October 22, 2024

‘Woman of the Hour’ Review: A Killer Win For Anna Kendrick

The most interesting true crime stories are those in which a killer is someone the average person wouldn’t expect. They're the relatable, cha...

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October 22, 2024

*CIFF 2024* ‘Memoir of a Snail’ Review: Adam Elliot Molds an Existential Treasure for the Ages

Snails are not often thought of as essential animals, but they possess many unique qualities. When snails feel threatened, they retreat into ...

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October 21, 2024

The Making of a Star: The Power of PR, Propaganda, and Prowess in Ranbir Kapoor's Career

I was 13 when Bachna Ae Haseeno, produced by Yash Raj Films featuring Ranbir Kapoor, was about to be released. The chatter was about how Rish...

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October 18, 2024

“The Feeling That The Time For Doing Something Has Passed” Review: Expert Use of Irony to Showcase the Mundane

After months of anticipation, I finally caught Joanna Arnow's latest feature, The Feeling That the Time for Doing Something Has Passed, which...

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October 17, 2024

'Saturday Night' Review: A Frenetic, Yet Unforgettable Night

October 11, 1975. The start of something new - something big, was imminent. NBC debuted the now long-running sketch comedy series Saturday Ni...

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October 16, 2024

5 Movies to Watch Before the End of 2024 

2024 saw an exciting blend of movies worldwide. From horror evolving as quite an interesting genre to sequels nearly as exciting as the prequ...

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October 15, 2024

‘Piece by Piece’ Review: Williams Wants You to Win in an Uplifting, Crowd-Pleasing Documentary

Pharrell Williams wears many hats in the entertainment industry. He’s a singer, songwriter, producer, rapper, fashion designer, influencer, m...

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