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True/False Review: Alien Island Examines UFO Sightings During the Pinochet Regime
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Chile went through political turmoil in the 1970s when Augusto Pinochet became their president. With the Pinochet regime already in power and ending civilian rule in 1984, UFOs were hovering above the sky. One day, radio jockeys Cristina Carvelli, Daniel...
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THE COMPLEX FORMS: Watch This Trailer For Italian Sci-fi Drama
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There is an ancient villa where desperate people have the opportunity to solve their fate by selling their body to a mysterious entity in exchange for money. When enormous, centuries-old creatures emerge from the deep woods surrounding the villa, a...
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Sound And Vision: Garth Jennings
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In the article series Sound and Vision we take a look at music videos from notable directors. This week we look at several music videos by director Garth Jennings. If you ask me who my favorite music video director is,...
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Introduction to Women Writers Week 2024
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When Chaz Ebert invited me to become an editor at rogerebert.com, she said it was her plan to have at least half of the reviews and articles on the site written by women. I was thrilled to be a part...
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Vote for Neuro(diversity): On the 20th Anniversary of Napoleon Dynamite
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I revisited Dustin Hoffman’s extraordinary performance as the autistic Raymond in “Rain Man” (1998) and for the first time noticed how many shots are from Raymond’s point of view: the play of light and shadow on a diner floor, the...
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How Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves Adapts the Un-Adaptable
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In the lexicon of modern pop culture, few board games have made as many film/TV appearances as Dungeons & Dragons, Gary Gygax and David Arneson’s tabletop roleplaying game. From “Stranger Things” to “Community” to “Futurama,” TV shows have had their...
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Why Closer Still Matters Two Decades After Its Release
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In the mid-2000s, when adult dramas still reigned supreme, director Mike Nichols decided to adapt another play. Back in 1966, he began his career as a Hollywood director with a critically acclaimed adaptation of Edward Albee’s “Who’s Afraid of Virginia...
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How Poor Things Subverts the “Born Sexy Yesterday” Trope
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(This article contains spoilers for Yorgos Lanthimos’s “Poor Things”) If you’ve been following some of the discourse on TikTok or watching recent interviews with Emma Stone, you might be tempted to dismiss Bella Baxter, the character Stone plays in Yorgos...
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David Lynch’s The Straight Story & Playing Catch-Up
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I stayed away from David Lynch’s filmography for a long time. The assumption was that his work would dig under my skin, restless and unsettling. My first experience watching his work was accidental. My husband and I used to have...
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Feeling Seen by Sometimes I Think About Dying
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Rachel Lambert’s “Sometimes I Think About Dying” examines the doldrum life of a 30-something office drone named Fran, played by Daisy Ridley, who is profoundly shy. She scrolls through spreadsheets and returns home to play sudoku and consume cottage cheese....
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