GUEST COLUMN: Quintessential Las Vegas Movies

by Kevin Gardner

Sin City. Vegas. Las Vegas, Nevada. It’s a truly unique city, not just in America, but in the whole world. For some, it’s a vacation destination with great food and shows. For others, it’s an adult Disneyland filled with the decadence of gambling, sex, and booze. Whichever way you look at it, Las Vegas is a massively appealing setting for Hollywood movies, from depressing dramas about down-on-their-luck losers to cool portrayals of suave sophisticated and high rollers. Here are five truly iconic movies set in the desert layover that became a symbol of the best and worst of America.

2021, Column, Editorial, GUEST EDITORIAL, Home MediaDon ShanahanOctober 31, 2021Comment

GUEST COLUMN: 31 Halloween Movies For Every Night of October

by Kevin Gardner

Since October is one of the months with 31 days, there is plenty of opportunity to get into the Halloween mood before the big night itself. Here are suggested movies for every one of those nights and there is something for everyone from the truly terrifying to the cute and funny.

2021, Column, Editorial, GUEST EDITORIAL, Home MediaDon ShanahanOctober 31, 2021Comment

GUEST COLUMN: 5 Top Movies About the High School Experience

by Devin Caldwell

High school is a rite of passage throughout the world. Not everyone has the exact same experience, but everyone experiences high school, which makes a movie about it instantly relatable. For some people, high school represents the glory days; for others, it was a complete horror show. Nevertheless, no matter what your experience was like, there is a movie that accurately represents it.

2021, Column, Editorial, GUEST EDITORIAL, Home MediaDon ShanahanOctober 31, 2021Comment

GUEST COLUMN: 4 Positive Messages From the "Dumplin'"

by Devin Caldwell

Dumplin' is a 2018 film from Netflix based on the 2015 novel of the same name. It tells the story of a plus-size teenage girl from Texas named Willowdean Dickson, Will for short, who has a strained relationship with her beauty-queen mother. The mother is disappointed in Will's size and only refers to her by the nickname "Dumplin'." Lucy is Will's aunt and kindred spirit who encourages her niece in a love for Dolly Parton music.

2021, GUEST EDITORIAL, Editorial, Column, Independent FilmDon ShanahanOctober 31, 2021Comment

MOVIE REVIEW: Eternals

The grandiose convergence of mythic themes is all the talk of Eternals. It not so softly preaches the specialness of the planet and its people in the larger realm of existence where the exchange of energy at the end of one life begins another. Such heady motivations, coupled with heroism, is a lovely core away from the usual costumed good vs. evil throwdowns, but it’s very, very profuse, complete with all of the intergalactic gibberish in between.

2021, 3 STARS, ADVANCE MOVIE REVIEW, MOVIE REVIEWDon ShanahanOctober 29, 2021AMC River East 21Eternals, Chloe ZhaoComment

MOVIE REVIEW: Last Night in Soho

All of the nimbleness from swimming in time-bending nightmares gets washed away by a present with little mystery to match. It’s odd to call an Edgar Wright film somewhat slow in pacing, yet here we are feeling drag when the pizazz is either turned off or soured by the ickiness. A level of extra oomph and shock is missing for the viewer. What was sensationally painted to linger doesn’t get the fullest chance to stain and sear more than just pretty clothes.

2021, 3 STARS, ADVANCE MOVIE REVIEW, Independent Film, MOVIE REVIEWDon ShanahanOctober 28, 2021AMC River East 21Comment

GUEST COLUMN: All About 1993's "The Washing Machine"

by Emma Wilson

At the time of production, the movie's director Ruggero Deodato expresses his disappointment about the film. He talks about how the movie was produced too fast hence raising some challenges with casting. He believes that the casting did not get done correctly, and the casts that appeared in the movie were not the correct group to portray the movie's intimacy. He expresses his desire to have a better group of actors do the film.

2021, Column, Editorial, GUEST EDITORIAL, Home MediaDon ShanahanOctober 26, 2021Comment

GUEST COLUMN: Essential Tips for Writing a Script or Screenplay

by Susan Melony

Writing a screenplay or script is an essential part of making a film, and it’s the foundation that’s going to determine the quality of what you’re able to produce. There aren’t secrete formulas or structures to follow, no matter what you might have been taught up to this point. The only real formula you need to remember, which isn’t really a formula at all, is to keep it simple. The following are some basic, fundamental tips to create a script or screenplay that can be turned into something that plays out beautifully on the screen or stage.

2021, Column, Editorial, GUEST EDITORIALDon ShanahanOctober 26, 2021Comment

MOVIE REVIEW: The Harder They Fall

Readying its eager and loose dramatic license, the opening message of The Harder They Fall begins with “While the events of this story are fictional…” and changes to proclaim “These. People. Existed.” fading in one word at a time with those table-slamming periods. Consider that an emphatic shout to be heard that is louder than any broken bone or gunshot that follows in this Netflix release. The indignation seething from this movie is warranted and gladly received.

MOVIE REVIEW: Dune

All can be asked in a simpler way. Can the melodramatic be made mythic and can the gaudy be made truly grand? Do that and you’ve got the fans and the newbies. Denis Villeneuve’s Dune moves a great many things in spectacular fashion: sand, swords, aircraft, plots, necks, eardrums, eyelids, and more. For all its triumphant fury, what Dune doesn’t move is the heart. That is the unconquered core barrier that remains unshaken. Golly, do we ever have a jaw-dropping and cold movie!

2021, 3 STARS, ADVANCE MOVIE REVIEW, Chicago Film Festival, MOVIE REVIEWDon ShanahanOctober 20, 2021Music Box TheatreComment

MOVIE REVIEW: South of Heaven

Anyone who’s watched Sudeikis knows the Everyman archetype suits his charm and talent. The independent film South of Heaven from Big Bad Wolves director Aharon Keshales challenges Jason to take a podunk pariah that has been pushed into a corner and unravel him to commit violence to defend himself and the honor of the woman he loves against his better judgment and softhearted morals. It is indeed a very valiant turn within a movie that tailspins wide of the mark behind him.

2 STARS, 2021, Independent Film, Home Media, MOVIE REVIEW, StreamingDon ShanahanOctober 18, 2021Comment

GUEST COLUMN: Why Romantic Comedies Are The Best Option to Make a Funny Weekend

by Kelly Richardson

There are plenty of memes on the internet about weekends being short and not so fun since there's never enough time to do as many things as we want. It's understandable if you feel bad about having only two resting days after spending about five days at work. Some people are even freelancers, so they don't get to spend weekends without working. This lack of long weekends can cause strains in your relationship, especially with Ukrainian brides and other newly-weds that crave attention.

2021, Column, Editorial, GUEST EDITORIALDon ShanahanOctober 16, 2021Comment