When you think about a Canadian sitcom set in a small rural town with a surprisingly welcoming attitude towards its queer citizens, your mind might automatically zero in on a certain Emmy-winning juggernaut. While true, you’d be overlooking Letterkenny, which I consider a far more accepting and outrageous haven for so many queer characters across... Continue Reading →
In 2020, I reviewed a ton of films along with books, theater, and short films. I ended up seeing way more movies than I reviewed, because I enjoy spending whatever free time I have avoiding maskless COVIDiots while walking my cute doggy. To make up for it, I’ve written capsules for some of the remaining... Continue Reading →
The term “Race Records” describes a time from the 1920s to the 1940s in which Black artists recorded songs for Black audiences. Despite selling well and launching such stars as Bessie Smith and Louis Armstrong, most musicians fell victim to exploitation by white record company management. The late August Wilson wrote about this conflict in... Continue Reading →
Emerald Fennell has already established herself as one to watch with credentials such as published children’s author, second season show runner for Killing Eve, and for her magnetic portrayal of Camilla Parker-Bowles in The Crown. Now let’s add maverick director to this impressive list with her stunning debut, Promising Young Woman, a film you won’t... Continue Reading →
Anyone who knows me well has heard of my utter obsession with all things North Korea. Late at night, I can be found diving deep into Korea-Holes on the internet, reading interviews with defectors, clicking on smuggled-out videos of public executions, or watching documentaries about the Hermit Kingdom. My heart goes out to the population... Continue Reading →
A good friend of mine, who has a disability, often shares with me his opinions of how cinema has looked at the various challenges as something to fix. He speaks about how through ableism, people get categorized as suffering from a disability rather than living with one. Some in the deaf community, for example, consider... Continue Reading →
Ron Howard, for me, has always been a journeyman director. He has navigated through a wide variety of genres, always putting the camera in the right place, getting good performances out of his actors, and producing slick, commercial Hollywood product. He hasn’t accomplished, however, a recognizable voice. Face it, we all can spot a Tarantino,... Continue Reading →
The late great film critic Roger Ebert famously said, “The movies are like a machine that generates empathy.” No other film I’ve seen this year has evoked such empathetic feelings in me than Nomadland. I knew within the first ten minutes of watching Chloé Zhao’s followup to her fantastic feature, The Rider, that I would... Continue Reading →
Most aspiring writers, at one point or another, receive the advice to “write what you know”. Clearly, filmmaker Lawrence Michael Levine has taken that to heart with his tricky, startling, engaging feature, Black Bear. Transposing himself, possibly onto more than one character, Levine has made a film about filmmaking, artistic control, identity, marital fidelity, feminism,... Continue Reading →
Adaptation has been on my mind for most of 2020. As we all have had to isolate from each other and figure out a way to move forward amidst this global pandemic, our ability to adapt has remained a formidable challenge. Although we wear masks, work from home, stay six feet apart, and stream movies... Continue Reading →
