Columns

You’ve got to sympathize with people who set out to learn English. The well documented pitfalls of our mother tongue can be summed up by this waggish, head-spinning advice to those who try: “English is difficult. It can be understood though through tough thorough thought.” And how to explain to an English-language newcomer that a […]

Most of this year’s Academy Awards contenders were widely available when the nominations dropped earlier this month. The exception? Florian Zeller’s The Father, which picked up six nods to put it in a multi-way tie for the second-most. While it has played in theaters for about a month, Zeller’s film is now available for online […]

The buglers of spring have arrived, and after our confining winter of the pandemic, not a moment too soon. They showed up in full dress uniform, the dissonance of their music welcome because in this season they play Reveille, not autumn’s Taps.   I refer to the redwing blackbirds, in their lava-black finery, shoulders aflame […]

With everyone preoccupied on whether movie theaters will survive the pandemic, it’s easy to miss the streaming revolution happening right beneath our feet: Netflix and Hulu aren’t the game’s only big-money players anymore. Knowing this town ain’t big enough for all of them, the new kids on the block are making plays for our attention, […]

Continuing their experiment in the world of digital releases, Disney has made their new animated film Raya and the Last Dragon simultaneously available in theaters and on their streaming service, Disney+. Raya marks the second time they have released a movie using Premier Access, which requires a one-time $30 fee on top of a Disney+ […]

Live concerts are coming soon, but until then, it’s another big weekend for streaming music. Check out some of our favorites below. Friday: Rock-N-Relief is a two-night virtual concert organized by Linda Perry to benefit “Core Response.” Performers include Foo Fighters, Sheryl Crow, Deadmau5, Sammy Hagar & The Circle, Gavin Rossdale and more. Click here for […]

I am not someone who pays more than cursory attention to the Golden Globes, but to address one of its many controversies before the ceremony tomorrow: Minari, regardless of the high volume of spoken Korean, is an American film. Its nomination in the Foreign Language category struck a nerve for many, and with good reason […]

Want to support your favorite artists during the pandemic? Here’s our weekly roundup of some of the best live streaming concerts this weekend. Check ’em out! Friday: “Cayamo in the Round” is streaming live Friday starting at 7PM with Molly Tuttle, Tommy Emmanuel, Steve Poltz and Paul Thorn. Details here. Friday: Amy Helm is streaming […]

If you’re someone who follows the world of cinema, you’ve heard of Nomadland – this staple of best-of-2020 lists from Chloé Zhao became the first film to ever win the top prizes at both Venice and Toronto and has smashed the awards circuit so far. Yesterday, it finally became available for public viewing, releasing simultaneously […]

With Judas and the Black Messiah, writer/director Shaka King takes on the difficult project of making a movie about a man who would balk at his own protagonism. Telling the story of Fred Hampton (Daniel Kaluuya), chairman of the Black Panther Party’s Illinois chapter in the late ‘60s, as a more typical biopic would betray […]

Malcolm & Marie, the newest Netflix release from writer/director Sam Levinson, will get a lot of attention from critics. Not because of its ascending stars or its black-and-white cinematography, which might be the usual reasons, and not even for being completely conceived, written, and shot mid-pandemic. No – critics will write about Levinson’s movie because, […]

One of the few entertainment outlets not to have their 2020 output disrupted by the pandemic, Netflix looks to continue their dominance in 2021 by releasing at least one new movie every week, with 71 titles already scheduled and a few more festival pickups likely on the way. While these will run the gamut of […]