Tag: Social Commentary

The Bikeriders Feels Like a Missed Opportunity

The Bikeriders has been building up buzz since last year, mostly based around the reported performance of Austin Butler coming off the heels of his Oscar nominated turn in 2022’s Elvis. Now, the film finally hits theaters. The…

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I Saw The TV Glow Too Opaque, Niche For Its Own Good

I Saw The TV Glow introduces us to young teen named Owen (Justice Smith) who is shy and timid, living a typical suburban life with his mom Brenda (Danielle Deadwyler) and strict father Frank (Fred Durst). When accompanying…

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Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes Continues The Legacy, Quality of The Franchise

The Planet of the Apes is a beloved sci-fi franchise that was rebooted and reinvigorated beginning in 2011 with Rise of the Planet of the Apes and culminating with 2017’s War for the Planet of the Apes after…

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Civil War Is The Best Anti-War Film In Ages and a Stark Warning of The Monsters Conflict Creates

Much has been made about the release of writer/director Alex Garland’s latest film Civil War. Its appropriateness in these challenging times, what it may say about one side of the political aisle or the other and, now that…

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Shirley Documents The Audacity of Self Belief

Forty-four years before Hillary Clinton’s historic run for President, one Congresswoman had the audacity to try her hand at the biggest political office on the planet. Shirley documents the historic 1972 Presidential campaign of black U.S. congresswoman Shirley…

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Origin: A Hashtag Important Film

Following a critically claimed documentary series on Netflix, director Ava DuVernay returns to the big screen with another look at race and discrimination. Based on the book Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents by Pulitzer Prize winning author Isabel…

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The Book of Clarence Can’t Fully Execute Its Ambitions

Director Jaymes Samuel knocked it out of the park with 2021’s The Harder They Fall making his feature length debut on Netflix to good critical reception and a splash on social media. Three years later, he’s ready to make his first…

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Radical Shows That Sentiment Can Still Be Impactful (Sundance Film Festival)

On the surface, Radical would seem to be too much of the same to be an entertaining film; a sentimental film about a hopeful, enthusiastic teacher that must overcome systemic and administrative obstacles to reach the hard scrabble…

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Fairyland is a Sweet Tale of Recognizing Our Parents’ Humanity (Sundance Film Festival)

As we’re guided through childhood by our parents, we often believe that they have all the answers we would ever need about how to navigate life. They can gain access to things we can’t, explain concepts that elude…

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Shayda is an All-Encompassing Look at Overcoming Abusive Relationships (Middleburg Film Festival)

Shayda follows a young Iranian mother named Shayda (Zahra Amir Ebrahimi) who takes refuge in an Australian women’s shelter with her 6-year-old daughter Mona (Selina Zahednia) as she seeks a divorce from her estranged husband Hossein (Osamah Sami)…

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