MOVIE REVIEW: Dirt Music

For anyone over the age of five-years-old who doesn’t have “The Gravel Foot” anymore, we know not all natural surfaces are easy and lush. The sensation of each pace toughens and prepares the heels and toes for the next one. Such is life as well. The literal and figurative barefoot steps of the characters from Tim Winton’s celebrated novel have tread over the hard grounds of loss and regret. The developed calluses mix with the ever-present dirt for messy lifestyles. Any songs present croon to that lamentation. Alas, the titular melodies advertised to break down the melodrama blow away weakly with the wind.

2020, Independent Film, Home Media, MOVIE REVIEW, Streaming, Video on DemandDon ShanahanJuly 17, 2020Comment

MOVIE REVIEW: The Old Guard

Charlize would be the one to tell Queen to take their romantic sweetness and shove it with harshness. That tone and timbre works just fine for the Academy Award winner who has been cementing this attitudinal career niche for the better part of a decade. Based on Greg Rucka’s 2017 Image Comics graphic novel featuring the art of Leandro Fernandez, The Old Guard combines its own brew of created legends intersecting modern settings and compulsions. Like its lead, The Old Guard has a toughness completely devoid of anything trite. The narrative screws might not be the tightest, but its aim is deadly enough to draw you in.

2020, 3 STARS, ADVANCE MOVIE REVIEW, Home Media, MOVIE REVIEW, Streaming, Video on DemandDon ShanahanJuly 8, 2020Comment

COLUMN: Top 10 Fascinating Netflix Movies and Documentaries about Business and Entrepreneurship

Many educationists have come to find increasingly innovative methods to deploy teaching methodologies. It is essential to know that education is basically defined as the process of facilitating the acquisition of viable knowledge and information which professionals and students can deploy and implement in their real situations. This opens a whole new avenue where popular forms of entertainment, such as educational movies and films, can be used to deliver a way of experiential learning that can help people to learn valuable lessons.

2020, Column, Editorial, GUEST EDITORIAL, Home Media, LIST, SPECIAL, StreamingDon ShanahanJuly 2, 2020Comment

INFOGRAPHIC: 6 Classic Bond Car Chases: Where Was He Really Going?

In the early James Bond movies, a technique known as rear window projection, or “driving a desk” was used to show a scene in the background of a stationary car (normally in a studio) to make it appear as though the car is in the middle of a high-speed car chase. This was due to the fact there were many places that it was practically impossible to take a full film crew, such as Times Square or other busy urban areas, due to the costs and restrictions in place at the time.

2020, Column, Editorial, Home Media, Infographic, Social Media, SPECIALDon ShanahanJune 24, 2020Comment

GUEST COLUMN: Five Best Movies for the First Date

by Sandra Manson

There is a well-known expression about how much depends on the first impression. Imagine this situation: you met a charming girl on the NaughtyDate website, and you find out that she is a pleasant and sweet companion. Now you need to invite her to a first date, but what is the best way to arrange a meeting? A great option would be a movie. This approach has important advantages - firstly, for about two hours, you practically do not have to talk. Of course, you will discuss the moments of the film, but this is an interesting topic for conversation. Moreover, after the end of the film, you will already have a reason to talk. Secondly, you can understand if your partner likes such a pastime. Thirdly, just enjoy a good movie and teach aesthetic pleasure.

2020, Column, Editorial, GUEST EDITORIAL, Home Media, LIST, Social Media, SPECIALDon ShanahanJune 19, 2020Comment

MOVIE REVIEW: Miss Juneteenth

Willed by Beharie’s solid lead, this small film is a gratifying drama fit for the holiday of its namesake. This feature writing and directing debut of Channing Godfrey Peoples (TV’s Queen Sugar) is an absorbing and honorable celebration of traditions, futures, culture, and family free of harsh judgment and wrongly-placed stereotypes that would have come from disingenuous sources. Miss Juneteenth has as much sincerity as it has struggle. The worthy themes ring true for a positive and willing audience that can pause looking down on pageants and see the bigger preparatory importance.

MOVIE REVIEW: The Departure

There is an almost teenage-level of absurdity to it all by the time the finger-pointing sparks conflict. Too much torrid steam in The Departure is off-screen and too little rancor coalesces and festers to truly shock. Within its establishing transitions, the film drops a suggestive cover of “Where Did you Sleep Last Night?” but the whole movie is more Leadbelly than Nirvana with dramatic edge and execution.

2020, ADVANCE MOVIE REVIEW, Independent Film, Home Media, MOVIE REVIEW, SHORT FILMS, Streaming, Video on Demand, 1 STARDon ShanahanJune 12, 2020Comment

MOVIE REVIEW: Da 5 Bloods

In the same way this website touts “every movie has a lesson,” every movie also has its politics. Academy Award winner (damn, that sounds great to read) Spike Lee is never shy about his level of challenging civics, nor should he be. His movies are his earned and rightful rostrums. Stitched with the electrified barbed wire of echoed history, Da 5 Bloods is infused with warranted politics that make it more than its retirement adventure and war movie ingredients. With stern strength in this Netflix release, the rants of old men give way to the treatises of ghosts.

COLUMN: 5 Best College Movies Worth Watching

College life is surely interesting and very dynamic. However, sometimes you just need to sit and relax, watching some good movies. But what if you often fail to choose the best movies and are disappointed with the modern cinema? We are here to help! Discover the list of the best movies that will give you tons of unforgettable emotions.

2020, Column, Editorial, GUEST EDITORIAL, Home Media, LIST, SPECIALDon ShanahanJune 10, 2020Comment

MOVIE REVIEW: The King of Staten Island

The “semi” in front of the “semi-autobiographical” label for Pete Davidson’s quarter-life crisis movie memoir The King of Staten Island is both ambiguous and chancy. Formally, the prefix is meant to signify “half” while it often means “partially,” “incompletely,” and “somewhat.” The adjunct is fitting. At its fullest and best, Judd Apatow’s newest comedy coming to VOD on June 12th is a collection of half-hearted beats and half-witted mischief. That’s it. Just half.

MEDIA APPEARANCE: Interview on "The Delicious Story" hosted by Sherry Borzo

Recently this spring, I was a discovered and flattered interview subject of the Des Moines, Iowa-based Sherry Borzo and her The Delicious Story podcast. It is a program that “features interesting people sharing memorable meal stories, and the magic that happens when we gather around the table.” She found one of my reviews and wanted to learn more about my site and story. It was a very enjoyable chat on life, movies, food, and more. Enjoy this great conversation and check out her eclectic and lovely podcast!

2020, CIC, Home Media, Media Appearance, Podcast, Social Media, SPECIALDon ShanahanJune 8, 2020Comment

COLUMN: The History of Prince Adam and Grayskull

Too many of us, our favorite childhood memories surround the fantasy world that we saw in comic books and cartoons. They ignited our curiosity and made us feel like we could be like them. It was the great things that they could achieve and their humble origins that made us look beyond the everyday troubles of being a kid. One of the most beloved and popular cartoons of the 80s and 90s is He-Man and the Masters of the universe. It is a fan favorite and continues to be a part of the hall of fame in terms of pop culture masterpieces. They’re even making a new movie with a fresh, all new cast. As much as we love the characters, how much do we really know? Do we really know the origins of Prince Adam? What exactly is Grayskull? Here we will explore the character of prince Adam from He-Man and the Masters of the universe, as well as the origins of Grayskull.

2020, Column, Editorial, GUEST EDITORIAL, Home Media, Social MediaDon ShanahanJune 8, 2020Comment