GUEST EDITORIAL: Do Actors Eat Real Food in Movies?

by Kevin Gardner

When food is displayed in movies, it often makes your mouth water and signals your brain to browse the kitchen for snacks. Set designers and culinary artists spend countless hours creating food scenes. For large productions, filmmakers may spend several thousand dollars on culinary props and professional chefs. Although much of the food you see on screen is real, some of it is unsuitable for human consumption. Real food does not always appear appetizing on film, and artists use various techniques to improve the food’s look when filming under bright lights.

2021, Column, Editorial, GUEST EDITORIAL, Home MediaDon ShanahanJuly 20, 2021Comment

GUEST COLUMN: 5 Movies That Blend Business and Heart

by Kevin Gardner

The business world is a popular choice for filmmakers and has been for decades. Often films about business deal with the cutthroat nature of the industry and frequently, the bad guy walks away with the spoils. But there are a few rare films that are set in the business world with a message that has more to do with heart and the importance of happiness. These movies teach you that money doesn't buy happiness but also that success doesn't have to darken your soul. According to these films, you just might be able to have it all. In no particular order, here are five great movies about business and the human spirit.

2021, Column, Editorial, GUEST EDITORIAL, Home MediaDon ShanahanJuly 14, 2021Comment

GUEST EDITORIAL: 7 Ways To Spice Up Movie Night

by Kevin Gardner

One of the things that society enjoys doing is watching movies. It's easy to see why: everyone enjoys seeing a good movie now and then. It's a technique for you to keep your brain occupied as you eat excellent cuisine. Instead of always being alone, going to a random movie theater, keeping a poker face, and doing little reactions the entire time, why not spice things up a little by adding some fun? Here are some options for adding a little extra flair to your personal or family movie night.

2021, Column, Editorial, GUEST EDITORIAL, Home MediaDon ShanahanJuly 14, 2021Comment

GUEST COLUMN: Amazing Documentaries Every Art Lover Should Watch

by Emma Wilson

Binge-watching your favorite TV shows on streaming channels might be your hobby for leisure time. But as an art lover, it is pretty significant to watch the documentaries that have won the hearts of millions of people worldwide. Both the storyline and the way of narration in such documentaries can be fascinating. So, here is a list that has been compiled by putting together the must-watch documentaries. Let’s see which ones are the most impressive masterpieces:

2021, Column, Editorial, GUEST EDITORIAL, Home Media, DocumentaryDon ShanahanJuly 14, 2021Comment

GUEST EDITORIAL: How the "Mission: Impossible" Franchise Has Remained Popular

by Kevin Gardner

The Mission: Impossible franchise is a longstanding one, and any long-running series is bound to age over time. However, the general consensus of this venerated film series is that there hasn’t been a bad one in the bunch to date. However, there are still plenty of purists, for example, that hold the original film to be the metric against which the others are measured and inevitably found wanting. Either way, it’s worth taking a look at these to try and understand the lasting success and legacy of the Mission: Impossible franchise.

2021, Editorial, GUEST EDITORIAL, Home MediaDon ShanahanJuly 12, 2021Comment

GUEST COLUMN: Honoring Real-Life Heroes in "Only the Brave"

by Kevin Gardner

In June 2013, 19 out of 20 members of an elite crew of firefighters lost their lives in the Yarnell Hill Fire in Arizona. Only the Brave is a 2017 film based on a factual article about the ill-fated Granite Mountain Hotshots called No Exit, written by Sean Flynn and published in GQ Magazine. The film depicts the fire as well as the events leading up to it and the aftermath. It cost $38 million to make and only grossed $26.3 million, making it a box-office failure. However, it gained critical acclaim for the respect it paid to the real-life members of the Granite Mountain Hotshots and their families.

2021, Column, Editorial, GUEST EDITORIAL, Home MediaDon ShanahanJuly 12, 2021Comment

GUEST EDITORIAL: The Best Movies About Business

by Kevin Gardner

America is a capitalist society fascinated with making money. Therefore, it probably comes as no surprise that so many movies center around starting businesses, making money, selling them off, and all the legal and ethical problems that can arise along the way. Business movies are good for people who like realistic drama and for those looking to learn something about the way the business world works, even if that means learning what not to do.

2021, Column, Editorial, GUEST EDITORIAL, Home MediaDon ShanahanJuly 12, 2021Comment

GUEST COLUMN: The Twists and Turns of "Escape Room"

by Kevin Gardner

If you've ever tried out an escape room with friends, you know how much fun they can be. Have you ever thought about what would happen if the escape room experience went wrong, however? If you love escape rooms and enjoy horror movies, you may want to check out the movie Escape Room on Netflix. This psychological horror film will keep you on the edge of your seat and make you view escape rooms in a whole new way.

2021, Column, Editorial, GUEST EDITORIAL, Home MediaDon ShanahanJuly 12, 2021Comment

GUEST EDITORIAL: The Twists and Turns of "Escape Room"

by Kevin Gardner

If you've ever tried out an escape room with friends, you know how much fun they can be. Have you ever thought about what would happen if the escape room experience went wrong, however? If you love escape rooms and enjoy horror movies, you may want to check out the movie Escape Room on Netflix. This psychological horror film will keep you on the edge of your seat and make you view escape rooms in a whole new way

2021, Column, Home MediaDon ShanahanJuly 11, 2021Comment

GUEST COLUMN: Best Tech Movies of the 21st Century

by Kevin Gardner

As technology becomes more significant to everyday life, it inspires people to tell stories about it. Some of these are celebrations of technological advancements while others are cautionary tales about the dangers of becoming too reliant and letting artificial intelligence take over for the real thing. In either case, tech movies can make for engaging storytelling accessible to all audiences.

Column, Editorial, GUEST EDITORIAL, Home MediaDon ShanahanJuly 11, 2021Comment

GUEST EDITORIAL: Fascinating Facts Behind Movie Props

by Kevin Gardner

Movie properties, more commonly referred to as props, are any object that an actor handles or interacts with on screen. Props are crucially important as they add to the realism of the scene and sometimes have major significance to the plot. However, in many cases, audiences do not pay any attention to the props. This is one sign that the prop masters behind the scenes are doing their job right. A prop should not draw undue attention to itself, distract from the scene, or break the illusion.

Column, Editorial, GUEST EDITORIAL, Home MediaDon ShanahanJuly 11, 2021Comment

What Comes Next for Movie Streaming?

It came as a bit of a surprise to some at the end of 2020 when Warner Bros announced their partnership with HBO Max to deliver the latest big box office releases directly to their online streaming platform as well as seeing cinema release and the first of the big studios to really make the change, but as all facets of entertainment move away from traditional physical locations and more toward online options like casinos here at casinogenie.org or even lately for music festivals as some were forced to offer virtual options this past year.

2021, Column, Editorial, Home Media, StreamingDon ShanahanJuly 9, 2021Comment