Surprisingly, last year turned out to be the best year for films in recent memory. From lovingly crafted indies such as “Lady Bird” to the challenging and eye-popping spectacle of “War for the Planet of the Apes” — 2017 gave us some all-timers. Obviously, it’s too soon to tell whether 2018 will be just as […]
Jared Rasic film reviews
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Top 10 Films of the Year
An amazing year, at least in film.
This is the hardest it has ever been for me to come up with a Top 10 Films list. The year 2017 will be remembered as the finest year for cinema of the new century (alongside 2007, which brought us “There Will Be Blood,” “No Country for Old Men” and “Zodiac,” among others). This year […]
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The Best of Pop Culture
Top Ten shows of 2017
This week in a very special May the Source Be With You, we’re sharing some of our favorite things over the past year. It’s December. We make lists in December. It’s just how it goes. In Pod We Trust: There are so many podcasts now that’s it’s genuinely impossible to listen to them all. I […]
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Return of the Space Wizards
"The Last Jedi" defies expectations
Audiences are going to hate “The Last Jedi” because of “The Force Awakens.” Even though “TFA” gave us interesting new characters including Rey, Finn, Kylo and Poe, it was still designed specifically (and expertly) around capturing an audience’s nostalgia. The story for “TFA” was so similar to “A New Hope” that it almost plays as […]
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May the Source be with you: Binging in America
Politics, Brawls and The Evil Dead
Welcome back, everyone! It’s time to dive back in to all things bingeable. In Pod We Trust: “Pod Save America” has been on a roll since its inception in January. Its levelheaded, yet blisteringly hilarious look at the current occupants of the White House is just enough to keep the most panicked progressive sane. Four […]
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The Room with a View
Oh, Hai James Franco
There’s this word that I love which I never use because when I do I sound like a pretentious ass. The word is schadenfreude, which basically means taking pleasure in someone else’s misfortune. Unless you’re a full-blown sociopath, schadenfreude comes when witnessing someone who has either wronged you or someone you care about “getting what […]
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Play Through the Pain
Three Billboards paints a darkly hilarious picture
I am not what you would call an unbiased observer when it comes to the work of Martin McDonagh. He’s responsible for my favorite play ever written, “The Pillowman,” which I’ve driven several hours to see performed live and also directed locally. I’ve seen his show “A Behanding in Spokane,” on Broadway during its original […]
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Life Lessons
Three Movies to Be Thankful For
I’m thankful for movies. I know it’s a pretty silly thing to say when there are so many things that are much more important in the grand scheme of things. Sure, I’m also grateful for my friends and family and health, but cinema has the capacity to change how I view the world and exist […]
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The Coldest Blood
Truman Capote’s legacy lives on—and a local man makes
an appearance in the new documentary
“I didn’t want to harm the man. I thought he was a very nice gentleman. Soft spoken. I thought so right up to the moment I cut his throat.” — Perry Edward Smith It was a crime that shocked the country to its core when it happened. The United States wasn’t a more innocent place […]
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Training Day
A Classic is Given New Life
I t isn’t always a bad thing to be old fashioned. Sometimes that can be deemed an insult when describing music, movies or any kind of art that doesn’t break any new ground—but when describing Kenneth Branagh’s take on Agatha Christie’s “Murder on the Orient Express,” it’s definitely a compliment. Christie’s novel from 1934 has […]