T he first “Kingsman” movie looked terrible. I would have guaranteed that it was going to be a brain dead and facile recreation of the tropes that made the James Bond franchise a success. In truth, it was an action packed and hilarious spy thriller that actually ended up being better than Bond’s newest adventure, […]
Film
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Hell is Other People
mother! is Aronofsky’s masterpiece
I f I didn’t need to come home and write this review, I would have walked out of “mother!” and purchased another ticket for it instantly. Hell, for the next few weeks I want to buy a ticket to “mother!” before sneaking into whatever else I have to review. I won’t because that’s not cool, […]
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The Spy Who Shoved Me
American Assassin has a “special” set of skills
T here was a period in my life in which I was going through a bad breakup, so the only books I read had to have at least five sequels or I wouldn’t waste my time. I figured I could dive deep into some fictional character’s world without having to think about my own sad, […]
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Gabriel James Edwards, Filmmaker and Composer Speaks About BendFilm
In the run-up to BendFilm, a word from a local film lover
IT’S ALL ABOUT THE STORY Gabriel James Edwards, Filmmaker and Composer, Ghost Village Films “I was a senior in high school when I first encountered James Stewart’s Elwood P. Dowd in the movie “Harvey.” This was a formative film. I was fascinated by Elwood’s complete delight in life and people, a pure and nonchalant embrace […]
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We All Float
IT comes for the children
T he first time I read Stephen King’s “IT” I was 12 years old, which is basically the same age as the seven members of the self-proclaimed Losers Club. As a chunky nerd more comfortable reading a Stephen King book than running around on the playground, I connected to Ben Hanscom, the obese bookworm at […]
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Why BendFilm? As the fest nears, a word from a local film lover.
Michelle Haynes Alvarado; Owner and Director at Wahoo Films
“E arly in my career, I thought I knew everything. I was fortunate enough to work for National Geographic, land a production job at one of the best aquariums in the country, and even snagged Best of Show at the EPIC film festival. I felt ready to make my own feature documentary. Age 24, I […]
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Of Vice and Men
“Good Time” is a rough one
I magine if Harmony Korine (“Gummo” & “Spring Breakers”) and Gaspar Noé (“Enter the Void” & “Irreversible”) decided they wanted to remake “Of Mice and Men,” “Dog Day Afternoon” and “After Hours” during an acid trip at a rave in the 1970s, but then figured they would just combine them into one movie and have […]
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Oceans 7-11
Soderbergh makes a triumphant return
D o you have a critic you hate so much that you instantly know what your opinion of a film will be just by yours always being the instinctive opposite? My least favorite film critic is Rex Reed, who has actually walked out of movies in the first 20 minutes and then had the gall […]
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Blood on the Snow
Wind River chills to the bone
I ‘m not sure if this is a description someone has used before, but if not, I would like to coin it now: In describing films like “Fargo,” “A Simple Plan,” “In Order of Disappearance, “The Snowman,” “Wind River” and the rest of the genre of red blood on white snow in a darkly humorous […]
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A Post-Apocalyptic Primer, in Honor of the Great American Eclipse
Do you know where your pillows are?
L et me get this out of the way up front: I don’t think we’re gonna die in a hail of nuclear fire from North Korea, and the eclipse is going to be over sooner rather than later. With that said, I also have some pretty good ideas for my post-apocalyptic future… just in case. […]