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.
Read Moreby 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.
Read MoreFor their 31st episode, 25YL film critics, cud-chewing dads, and preachy school teachers Will Johnson and Don Shanahan are joined again by 25YL film writer Byron Lafayette for the second of two episodes looking at the politics of old westerns. Last time, it was the left-leaning High Noon. This time it's 1956's right-wing answer from The Searchers. Deep themes give us the tingles. Come to Monument Valley and enjoy this very rich discussion.
Read MoreThe 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.
Read MoreAll 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.
Read Moreby 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.
Read Moreby 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.
Read MoreReadying 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.
Read MoreFor their 30th episode, 25YL film critics, gun-tottin' dads, and paper-grading school teachers Will Johnson and Don Shanahan welcomed a new guest to the dais for the first of two episodes. Say hello to the enigmatic Byron Lafayette, a newer film staff writer from 25YL. At his request, the three dive into competing politics first in 1952's Gary Cooper classic High Noon! We've got extra stoicism for you listeners! Next week, John Wayne claps back with The Searchers.
Read MoreAll 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!
Read MoreAnyone 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.
Read MoreFor our 29th episode, 25YL film critics, faith-challenged dads, and rocksteady school teachers Will Johnson and Don Shanahan cap off a guest host double Phoenix-based film critic and podcaster Ben Cahlamer. Last episode, the trio went around virtual table on Paul Schrader's "The Card Counter." Possibly challenging it as the better film is Schrader's previous film and Ethan Hawke masterpiece "First Reformed." Pass the holy water. This one gets spiritual.
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