By Tom Moore It’s actually remarkable that there haven’t been many attempts to bring the story and personality of Julia Child to life outside of Meryl Streep’s performance in “Julie & Julia”, a couple PBS specials, and Julie Cohen and Betsy West’s 2021 documentary given her infectious spirit and pivotal impact. Child’s presence on television has made people absolutely fall in love with food and … Continue reading TV REVIEW: HBO Max’s Julia
Year: 2021 Runtime: 97 minutes Director: Michael Dowse Writers: Kevin Jakubowski (screenplay by/based on the novel by) Actors: Neil Patrick Harris, Winslow Fegley, Steve Zahn, June Diane Raphael, Che Tafari, Max Malas, Bellaluna Resnick By Tom Moore As a huge fan of “A Christmas Story” and an avid gamer, HBO Max appeared to be delivering the kind of Christmas movie I didn’t even know I … Continue reading In Their Own League Advent Calendar: 14. 8-Bit Christmas
Year: 2021Runtime: 126 minutesDirector: Shaka KingWriters: Will Berson, Shaka King, Kenneth Lucas, Keith LucasStars: LaKeith Stanfield, Daniel Kaluuya, Danielle Fishback, Jesse Plemons By Morgan Roberts There are many important figures who have been lost to history. Slowly, cinema has started to educate audiences about a number of humans purposefully misplaced by time and white supremacy. In “Judas and the Black Messiah” (2021), one such figure’s … Continue reading Review: “Judas And the Black Messiah”
By Joan Amenn If there was any cinematic solace to be had for me in 2020, it was Misha Green’s “Lovecraft Country.” COVID-19 became symbolized in the supernatural horror of the series while the injustices of this year were echoed in the experiences of the characters in the 1950’s. As producer, writer and director (of the episode, “Jig-a-Bobo”) Green brought the issues that were flashing … Continue reading Surviving 2020: Watching “Lovecraft Country”
“Stockton on My Mind” explores the youngest Mayor of Stockton, CA and his uphill battle to heal the city in the current political landscape. Continue reading Review: Stockton on My Mind
Found this gem almost by accident on HBO and immediately fell head over heels for it. “We’re Here” is about real-life stories with 3 drag queens – Eureka (David Huggard), Shangela (D.J. Pierce) and Bob the Drag Queen (Caldwell Tidicue) who traverse small-town America where they have residents from each town participate in a one night only drag show. Continue reading Review: We’re Here -Taking Pride Down The Drag Road
HBO Max launched at the end of May, and while some aspects of the new streaming service may have been too ambitious, the anchoring series, “Love Life” was perfectly timed.
Sam Boyd’s “Love Life” centers on Darby (Anna Kendrick) as she finds and loses love over the course of a decade of her life. We see her fall in love with future Bernie Bro Augie (Jin Ha), have brief encounters with the likes of Danny Two Phones (Gus Halper), and date an older man Bradley (Scoot McNairy). Continue reading Review: “Love Life” and the Human Connection
In Their Own League 