Category: Film & TV

Margaret O’Brien: The Bright Side of Hollywood’s Studio System

Commentary It seems like every biography, documentary, and article about Hollywood history explores the dark side of celebrities, the studio system, and the film industry at large. In fact, this focus on the sordid rumors, scandals, and lore is so common that they are no longer shocking; they’ve become the norm! It’s far more shocking…


Top 5 World War II Movies: Of God, Country, Sacrifice, and Freedom

As our country gets further away from World War II, the nation’s collective memory of its importance to our history becomes more ephemeral with each subsequent generation. Memorial Day was first observed on May 30, 1868 in honor of deceased Civil War combatants. The holiday developed greater resonance in the wake of the two World…


‘FBI’ Season Finale Pulled After Texas Deadly Shooting

LOS ANGELES—CBS pulled the season finale of “FBI” after a deadly elementary school shooting in Texas. The network said Tuesday that it will not air the show’s season four finale titled “Prodigal Son.” The decision was made by CBS after a gunman killed at least 19 students at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas. Authorities…


Film Review: ‘Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness’: Satanic Worship or Bad CGI?

PG-13 | 2h 6m | Action, Fantasy | May 6, 2022 Out with the time-loop movies—in with the multiverse movies. The movie term “multiverse” is based on the theory that a network of interconnected dimensions exist in the cosmos, where numerous versions of yourself live alternative lives. As in, when you’re born in this dimension, in a myriad…


Cinema Film Review: ‘Return to the Philippines, the Leon Cooper Story’

1 h 5m | Documentary | 2015   You don’t see a lot of narrative films that cover the many lesser-known battles in the Pacific Theater during World War II. But fortunately, there are some great documentaries out there, such as 2015’s “Return to the Philippines, the Leon Cooper Story,” that shed some light on…


Film Review: ‘Montana Story’: The Uneasy Family Ties That Bind

R | 1h 54min | Drama, Mystery | 27 May 2022 (USA) Had creator and show runner Taylor Sheridan chosen another name for his wildly popular Paramount+ TV series “Yellowstone,” it could have just as easily been “Montana Story.” Like this film with that name, it includes a patriarch with a lot of baggage (emotional and otherwise), siblings with emotional scars, and…


Cinema Film Review: ‘The World’s Most Dangerous Paper Route’

58m | Documentary | 2021   It doesn’t matter what branch of the United States Armed Forces you’re in; being assigned overseas can make you yearn for home…badly. Especially if you’re a young buck and it’s your first time being far away from home. Being in a combat zone on top of that can exacerbate…


Cinema Film Review: ‘No Time to Run’

1h 35m | Drama, Sci-Fi | 2020 As I watched the credits roll at the end of director Eric Williams’s well-made drama “No Time to Run,” I realized that I couldn’t recall a film that so accurately captured the tumultuous gestalt of our modern times. It encapsulates many of the issues that are not only…


My Mom Is a Liar | Short Film

An amazing story about a mother’s unconditional love for her son and how she spends her whole life sacrificing for him until her last breath, showing ironically through her lies to him. When the son finds out in the end, it is the most shocking yet touching moment between the mother and son which guarantees…


A Movie for Memorial Day: 1952’s ‘Above and Beyond’

For many, Memorial Day marks the beginning of summer. We enjoy barbecues, picnics, and pool parties. However, beyond a few American flags in decorations, we often forget this holiday’s origin and meaning. Originally called Decoration Day, the holiday may have begun with Southern women’s decorating graves of fallen Civil War soldiers. In 1868, General John…