Mars Ep. 2: Understanding Sacrifice
For the first astronauts who attempt to break the bonds of gravity and start a colony on Mars, sacrifice is an important concept. Perhaps we can learn from them.
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AFIFest – Animation Sandwich
Yesterday I had a really interesting sandwich: a dark brooding film from one of my favorite Romanian directors placed between two animated films.
Westworld & Trump, Optimism & Hope
i’m highly optimistic about HBO’s new hit show,?Westworld ? (if you’ve not seen it, imagine a sort-of sci-fi, cyberpunk Western, steeped in J.J. Abrams style cerebralism and cliffhangery; a deliberately paced show full of sweeping panoramic shots, shootouts, sex, robots (rinse, recombine, repeat), acting clinics put on by a superb cast (Anthony Hopkins can do…
Morris from America: Keeping it Real
When Curtis Gentry (Craig Robinson) relocates to Germany to get a new job, while still recovering from the death of his wife, the culture shock reverberates through his whole system. That system primarily includes Mo (Markees Christmas), his thirteen-year-old son who believes he will become the next big rapper … but now finds himself struggling…
Imperium: The Violence of Words
In Imperium, Daniel Radcliffe’s FBI agent Nate Foster traces some Caesium-137 (a deadly substance used in dirty bombs) to Hopewell, Virginia. Radcliffe’s transformation from nerdy analyst who gently gets through to a jihadist, to race-baiting skin head is exemplary acting. But this is not for the faint of heart – and Harry Potter fans will…
Nerve – Are You a Watcher or a Player?
Henry Joost and Ariel Schulman are the creators of?Catfish, as well as two?Paranormal Activity?films. In their latest,?Nerve, they return to the world of social commentary and criticism of our society’s obsession with social media. Vee (Emma Roberts) is a high school senior who can’t bring herself to tell her mother that she wants to leave…
College of William & Mary’s Ashley Miller on Superheroes, Stories, & Success
What happens when you gather the minds behind films like L.A. Confidential, Thelma & Louise, Groundhog Day, Guardians of the Galaxy, The Silence of the Lambs, In the Name of the Father, and Apollo 13? You get a stunning set of interviews about what it means to tell stories, change culture, and create new ways…
The Night Of – When Murder Meets Perception
Naz Khan (Riz Ahmed, Jason Bourne, Rogue One), a Pakistani-American college student, takes his father’s taxicab to a party but he never makes it there. When a mysterious woman (Sofia Black D’Elia) gets into the cab at a stoplight, he finds himself engaged in a night of danger and seduction. And then the next morning,…
Priceless: An Interview with Joel Smallbone
The name may not be immediately recognizable, but Joel Smallbone is a writer, producer, and singer for the Grammy Award-winning band For King and Country.? He?s working on a new role these days – actor – in an upcoming film called Priceless (release date: October 14).? The subject matter is one that promises to cause…
Birth of a Nation: Race, Power, & the Interpretation of Scripture
This year?s Oscar frontrunner, Nate Parker?s The Birth of a Nation takes its name from D.W. Griffith?s 1915 KKK propaganda film but instead dramatically portrays the historic story of Nat Turner. Through Turner?s story, the audience encounters a powerful struggle over race, humanity, purpose, and Scripture in the film that Parker wrote, directed, and now…