INFOGRAPHIC: Disney Originals vs. Live-Action Remakes: Which is better?

We love our animated Disney classics—but the live-action interpretations have been met with mixed feelings. A more cynical person might say Disney is afraid to get creative with new stories, and these films are a terrific money-grubbing ploy. But at HowtoWatch.com, we wanted to see how fans and critics felt these remakes live up to the originals. HowToWatch brought in fan ratings from IMDb and critic ratings from Metacritic for the original animated films and their live-action reimaginings. After giving fan and critic ratings equal weight, here’s how the movies compared.

2019, Column, Editorial, Infographic, LIST, Social Media, SPECIALDon ShanahanAugust 6, 2019Comment

GUEST EDITORIAL: 9 Iconic Movie Soundtracks to Learn on the Piano

Behind every great film is a meticulously planned soundtrack. Good soundtracks can make mediocre films unforgettable and bad ones can undermine stellar writing and performances. A soundtrack can build tension, establish characterization or even be part of the plot. Being nerds who spend most of our time in our basements, the folks at Jellynote LOVE a good soundtrack as it combines the two things we enjoy most in the world: music and living vicariously through other people. To celebrate the importance of the film soundtrack, they’ve compiled a list of our favorite soundtracks of all time and provided sheet music so you can have a go at playing them!

2019, Editorial, LIST, SPECIAL, Social MediaDon ShanahanAugust 6, 2019Comment

INFOGRAPHIC: Drive to a Kill: The most deadly James Bond vehicles and drivers

With a new James Bond film around the corner, the 25th in the iconic super-spy series, the folks at Leasing Options looked back over the entire franchise and delve into the stats to see which film, actor and most importantly, car, was the most deadly. To do this, they’ve been through all the Bond films multiple times and totaled how many kills, crashes and explosions, among other things, were caused by 007 whilst behind the wheel of a vehicle. Leasing Options have compiled all that data into one handy interactive piece called, Drive To A Kill. So, what did they discover when looking back through the films?

2019, Column, Editorial, Infographic, LIST, Social Media, SPECIALDon ShanahanAugust 3, 2019Comment

EDITORIAL: How game developers use movies to attract players

Many conglomerate corporations have piggybacked on hypes that accompany the latest blockbuster film throughout the years from supermarkets, to clothing companies, home-ware stores and many, many more. In fact, in the UK alone, 8 out 10 people own a promotional product of some kind from a business, so it’s not surprising that the Slot game industry have jumped on the film industry bandwagon to promote their slot games and keep people coming back again and again, even when they keep losing money. Let’s take a further look into how the slot game industry are utilizing movies to promote slot games

2019, Column, Editorial, Social Media, SPECIALDon ShanahanAugust 3, 2019Comment

MEDIA APPEARANCE: David Ehrlich's IndieWire Critics Survey on July 29, 2019

THIS WEEK'S QUESTION: What is the best Quentin Tarantino movie and why?

Friends and followers of my work and opinions on social media know that I differentiate “favorite” from “best.” Favorites are personal and very subjective. The things that are best tend to have a few more objective qualities and victories going for them. Sometimes a movie is both. For Quentin Tarantino, that’s not the case for me, but it’s close. My personal favorite is Jackie Brown. I love seeing what QT does within the boundaries of material that’s not his own, which, for me, shows more range that his absolute best self-made stuff. The best-of-the-best, though, is still an easy pick.

Independent Film, Media Appearance, Social Media, SPECIAL, 2019Don ShanahanJuly 30, 2019David EhrlichComment

MEDIA APPEARANCE: David Ehrlich's IndieWire Critics Survey on July 22, 2019

THIS WEEK’S QUESTION: What is the best ever horror performance and how did it leverage the genre to accomplish something that might not have been possible in a more grounded type of film?

Horror is not my cup of tea, coffee, cocktail, or even water, and I didn’t see Midsommar which inspired this week’s survey question, but I have dipped my toe in enough good and classic horror to pick out a great performance or two. I’ve seen no one unravel under the fictional stresses better than Mia Farrow in Roman Polanski’s Rosemary’s Baby.

Independent Film, Media Appearance, Social Media, SPECIAL, 2019Don ShanahanJuly 23, 2019David EhrlichComment

COLUMN: 5 Upcoming Epic Movies To Watch This Summer

It is again that time of the year when you are trying to take a break from the heat and look for a way to cool off. While some people enjoy drinking cocktails at the pool or escaping in the mountains, there is no doubt that cinema lovers just like you, are constantly refreshing their Netflix pages. Now that you have already watched the Avengers: Endgame, John Wick: Chapter 3- Parabellum, and Toy Story 4, don't despair, there are a lot of other epic movies that are just around the corner.

2019, Column, Editorial, LIST, Social MediaDon ShanahanJuly 19, 2019Comment

GUEST EDITORIAL: Best Movies of All-Time Every Law Student Should Watch

Out of several niches such as thrill, drama, romance, and sci-fi, movies related to the law have always remained mine (and I am sure for many others) all-time-favorite niche. For many screenwriters, lawyers make the least interesting movie setting, however, there are few movies that have made this task exciting and worth filming. Here is the list of top law school movies of all times that are worth-watching for every law student. You may agree to some of the movies from the list, and can also suggest more.

2019, Editorial, GUEST EDITORIAL, Home Media, LIST, Social Media, SPECIALDon ShanahanJuly 17, 2019Comment

MEDIA APPEARANCE: Guest on the "You'll Probably Agree" podcast talking "The Lion King" and Disney's future

Mike Crowley of the steaming-ahead “You’ll Probably Agree” brand welcomed yours truly back on the podcast microphone again, this time to talk about The Lion King. Neither one of our childhoods were married to the 1994 original, but we recognize its greatness while questioning and critiquing the new Jon Favreau visual achievement. Mike and I gaze ahead into the Disney crystal ball and wonder where they are heading with these reimaginings that border on creative bankruptcy. Fire up the audio! Give the show episode a listen, his YouTube channel a new subscriber, his Facebook page a like, and his Twitter a follow!

Social Media, SPECIAL, 2019, Editorial, Podcast, Media AppearanceDon ShanahanJuly 16, 2019Comment

GUEST CRITIC #30: Crawl

As busy I get from time to time, I find that I can't see every movie under the sun, leaving my friends and colleagues to fill in the blanks for me. As poetically as I think I wax about movies on this website as a wannabe critic, there are other experts out there. Sometimes, it inspires me to see the movie too and get back to being my circle's go-to movie guy. In a new review series, I'm opening my site to friend submissions for guest movie reviews. Today, meet fellow Feelin’ Film contributor Jeremy Calcara!

2018, Foreign Film, Independent Film, GUEST CRITIC, MOVIE REVIEW, SPECIAL, Social Media, Vintage ReviewDon ShanahanJuly 12, 2019Comment

SHORT FILM REVIEW: A Bad Feeling

Star Wars fans will quickly have their sensors triggered when they note the title of this short film from Charlotte Barrett and Sean Fallon. It is a nod to a running gag that is said as often in Star Wars films as the classic line “May the Force be with you.” The phrase alludes to a character’s audible dread and the heebie-jeebies warning of something awful, visible or invisible, on their horizon. The characters in those movie moments say it and mean it. In A Bad Feeling, the husband and wife central figures know their trouble, entirely feel it, but don’t announce their fears when they should.

GUEST EDITORIAL: How filmmaking companies make money

We all love to watch films and feel as if we’re the part of movie-making art. And every time we go to the cinema we try to imagine what stands behind all these scenes and how the magic is done. Well, only film-makers know these secrets but we definitely know that they cost a lot of money. Movie production companies know that you won’t cover all the expenses with the help of ticket revenue. Filmmaking doesn’t only include the involvement of celebrities, cameramen, and other staff but also development, production, promotion, etc. So, let’s find out how people make money in this industry.

2019, Column, Editorial, GUEST EDITORIAL, Social Media, SPECIALDon ShanahanJuly 9, 2019 Comment