Film & TV

[rating=4.00] It was one of those moments that stopped the world. Images of a smiling girl trickled through the newswires from Pakistan, her bright face heinously juxtaposed by the captions and voices of the reporters that told us Malala Yousafzai had been shot. Her story transcended boundaries of politics, race, and culture as citizens of […]

With each passing year, Hollywood seems more and more prone to shoving new faces and stars down our throat, and too often it becomes harder and harder to keep up. While some of these modern stars are gifted with immense talent (we love you, Jennifer Lawrence!) more often than not, many of these new actors […]

[rating=5.00] “The Good Man” Well, that was… certainly a TV show. The final installment of the first season of a TV show, in fact. All the right pieces were moving, and it was tense (at least the music told you it was), as all the characters abruptly decide to flee their safe zone, retrieve the other […]

Here we are at the very end, after eight days and more than two dozen movies, and a host of other shenanigans, Fantastic Fest closed with a bang, presenting two of its more anticipated films as final screenings its last two nights. These nights brought about a lighthearted video game documentary, a descent into madness, […]

[rating=7.00] The war on drugs fueled violence just south of the border in Mexico offers a wealth of inspiration for anyone looking to craft a taut and nuanced portrayal of cinematic crime. The cartels who vie for power and control of the trafficking routes are notorious for the extremes they’ll go to exert their authority […]

[rating=8.00] By nature, man is a beast who constantly strives to push boundaries. Personal boundaries. Cultural boundaries. Societal. It doesn’t really matter to us. If there’s a line in the sand, we dare to cross it. If there’s a no to be given, some rebel will inevitably scream “YES” in defiance. It’s what makes us […]

[rating=9.00] The isolated man has been a theme of literature since, well, we’ve had literature. The need for connection is so innate that the exploration of its absence offers us a deep and resonating insight into the pathos of the human condition. From Robinson Crusoe to Castaway, the stories of man are littered with tales […]

Inching past the halfway point of Fantastic Fest’s eight-day movie marathon celebrating all things genre, it gives dedicated attendees such as myself a chance to catch up on films that were missed during the opening few days, mostly because I was in another theater, furiously scribbling notes while having my celluloid-loving mind blown. As we […]

[rating=7.00] “Cobalt” Here’s the real problem with Fear The Walking Dead—you can package it with competent acting, camera work, and overall production values, but in not showing us anything new, it’s simply feeding us leftovers. Despite the fact that things seemed to be back on the kinetic side after spending three episodes wasting time with […]

Fantastic Fest is the kind of film festival that is unafraid of pushing the boundaries of style and taste. It’s the sort of place where you can expect sensibilities to be tested for the love of film. Fast approaching the festival’s halfway point, Sunday brought with it a bit of this mindset with the screening […]

The third day marked fewer people in animal costumes (at least at first), and a few more attendees pacing their steps with hungover deliberation. Day three consisted of animation, a VHS autobiography, a dramedy about God’s defiant daughter, and a cathartic study of the confines of civilization. Here’s how the movies in day three stacked […]

The second day of the world’s largest genre film fest, brought with it a longer schedule and an increasingly varied choice of events to Austin, including some held off-campus, away from the festival’s bustling headquarters. It was filled with subtitles, man-children, intergalactic beings bent on the destruction of our planet, gallery exhibits, and one incredibly […]

[rating=7.00] From the mind that brought us The Holiday, Li-Lo’s The Parent Trap, The Father of the Bride series, Private Benjamin, and Baby Boom comes another impossibly adorable film dedicated to the lives of affluent white people. Nancy Meyers has created a world in which lovely, almost magical events are not only possible, but commonplace. […]

It was a day filled with genre-film fun and lots of Christmas cheer (no, really) at the kickoff day for Fantastic Fest 2015. People from all over the world crowded together in and around the theater’s lobby to wait out the collective interims between everyone’s own personal viewing marathon. Day one’s marathon, for me, consisted […]

Austin and festivals go hand in hand. Each spring, the eyes of the world turn to the Texas capitol in search of the next big thing as SXSW takes over downtown. Music is, of course, never in short supply in Austin, but in recent years movies have gained a higher predominance in this bustling college […]

[rating=3.00] “Not Fade Away” I was glancing at Twitter while watching The Emmys last night and I ran across someone criticizing the use of Lou Reed’s “Perfect Day” in an ironic context due to its overuse. While I agreed, I also thought “what program is possibly airing against The Emmys that’s ALSO using a Lou Reed […]

The Emmy’s is sort of like that dweeby cousin you hated spending time with as a kid. You couldn’t talk to them about anything because they immediately run home and tell your aunt everything. You couldn’t play too hard because they were afraid of the sun and too much fun led to an anxiety attack. […]

[rating=7.00] The allure of Mount Everest is almost mythical. The world’s tallest mountain has captivated explorers and thrill seekers for time immemorial with its elusive summit, first reached in 1953 by Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay. Its awe is matched only by its treachery, with over 250 deaths attributed to the beast; most recently, in […]

[rating=6.00] The story of James “Whitey” Bulger is one of the more fascinating true crime tales of the last forty or so years. As a low level, South Boston, Irish mobster, Bulger gained a notoriety for ruthless violence, cunning strategy, and illicit money making in his rapid ascent as the head of Boston’s Winter Hill […]

There’s been a plethora of Steve Jobs biopics since his unfortunate death. The good news is Michael Fassbender has taken over the duty of portraying the man that the world almost forgot, and Danny Boyle is at the helm as director. The bad news is there’s another Steve Jobs bio-pic coming out. Aptly titled Steve […]