Olivier Assayas seems to have taken more than a purely directorial liking to Kristen Stewart which is just as well seeing that her face and body (acting is a whole different story) are probably the best thing about his ridiculous Palme D’Or contender “Personal Shopper”. Set largely in Paris, with cameo appearances by a haunted …
Jim Jarmusch’s “Paterson” is the second film at this year’s festival with poetry as its central theme, though unlike Alejandro Jodorowsky’s surrealist extravaganza “Endless Poetry”, “Paterson” deals in the so-called poetry of the everyday and the ordinary, or prosaic poetry – and I spent the entire film unable to figure out if Jarmush was pulling …
Three-hour or so films are all the rage this year! Andrea Arnold joined this club today with the premiere of her fourth feature and first-US set drama “American Honey”. Arnold is one of my favourite directors and I had loved “Red Road” and “Fish Tank” (“Wuthering Heights” slightly less so). “American Honey” is closest to …
Technically, Red Ken is an adjective reserved for London’s ex mayor and socialist extraordinaire Ken Livingstone, but nothing stops one from applying it to this most leftist of British film-makers, Ken Loach, who for some mysterious reason – probably his exotic status as a communist, working-class championing Englishman – as virtually assured of a Cannes …
Silicon Valley, Season 3, Episode 3: “Maleant Data Systems Solutions” Written by Donick Cary Directed by Charlie McDowell Airs Sundays at 10pm on HBO At the end of last week’s very funny but somewhat stuffed episode, Richard’s plan to circumvent Jack’s wishes had been discovered and he was in danger of being fired for his …
There are different themes and moods associated with each season that, aside from the weather, make them remarkably different from one another. Summer in particular is associated with vitality, energy, and joy, while winter, in contrast, is most linked to death, lethargy, and hopelessness. These seasonal moods extend to all aspects of pop culture like …
Footprints Volume 1: Iced Written by Joey Esposito Art by Jonathan Moore Mr. Foot is a sasquatch who lives among humans as a private investigator. His friends The Jersey Devil, The Lock Ness Monster, Le Chupacabra, and Megalodon all form a team of investigators meant to track down other oddities like themselves until …
Written by Zornitsa Staneva This relatively low-profile German/Austrian co-production mostly filmed in present-day Bucharest (one of three Romanian set films in this year’s official competition) by German director Maren Ade is the first instance over the 2015-2016 screenings that I have attended that provoked sustained mid-film applause. Yet not much on paper predicted such …
Written by Zornitsa Staneva Following in the wake of Woody Allen’s chirpy Hollywood comedy “Café Society”, Cristi Puiu’s Sieranevada, the Romanian opening of the official competition feels like a product of a wholly different planet and art form. As soon as the opening sequence various cinematic categories can be facilely slapped on “Sieranevada”: a …
Darwyn Cooke’s impact on the medium of comics will never be forgotten as he brought the heroes of Golden Age and Silver Age to the children of the Internet Age, and my thoughts and those of the rest of the Pop Optiq comics team are with his family and friends. The best way to remember him is to support, marvel at, enjoy, and, most of all, smile at the comics and films he made, and much of his work from his DC stories to his Parker graphic novels is easily available on Comixology.
Written by Zornitsa Staneva Nothing more Hollywoody to officially kick off the Cannes 2016 Festival than Woody Allen’s latest romantic comedy starring Kristen Stewart and Jesse Eisenberg, with a hilarious supporting role by Steve Carell. Today’s buzz at the festival is a more or less positive reception for what is a very watchable, light entertainment …
Written by Zornitsa Staneva The sky is grey and menacing over Cannes on the opening day of the 69th edition, making the logistics of hours-long queueing for press screenings even more interesting. The festival is officially kicking off today with Woody Allen’s latest offspring, start-studded ensemble comedy “Café Society”, seemingly continuing the cycle of …
Elstree 1976 Written by Jon Spira Directed by Jon Spira UK, 2016 There has never been a better time for a behind the scenes look at A New Hope. The Force Awakens revived the franchise to new heights, Rogue One is just around the corner, and the 40th anniversary takes place in 2017. Now, this …
Legends of Tomorrow Season 1, Episode 15: “Destiny” Story by: Marc Guggenheim Teleplay by: Phil Klemmer & Chris Fedak Airs Thursdays at 7pm ET on The CW The penultimate episode of Legends season one brings the unheralded death of one of the crew, and this time it seems like it’s going to stick. The series …
Star Wars: Darth Vader #19 Written by Kieron Gillen Art by Salvador Larroca Colors by Edgar Delgodo Letters by Joe Caramagna Published by Marvel Comics It’s been noted before that many of the supporting cast introduced by Kieron Gillen in Darth Vader are in many respects dark mirrors of the principle cast of heroes from the films. Vader is counterpart to Luke, …
Reuniting the creative team of DC Comics’ acclaimed Starman series for the first time in decades, and sold with the promise of revealing the story behind Threepio’s one red arm in The Force Awakens, this issue was delayed numerous times (it was originally intended to be published shortly before the film’s release, not months after) due to a long script approval process from LucasFilm (according to Harris, he and Robinson didn’t receive final approval until about a week before the issue’s first solicited release date). As a result, expectations for this issue grew to possible unreasonable proportions: no story could possibly live up to the hype generated just by virtue of its constant rescheduling.
Stellaris is a divisive game. It shares the familiarity felt throughout most Paradox games, but—like its cousins—has an intense focus on one particular element. This has been Paradox’s MO for a while; where Crusader Kings takes on lineage, Victoria focuses on Industry and the Pops that drive it, and Hearts of Iron intently examines combat. …
City of Gold Written by Laura Gabbert Directed by Laura Gabbert USA, 2015 Among food critics, Jonathan Gold holds a special place of esteem. Gold, food critic for the Los Angeles Times and the first food critic to be awarded the Pulitzer Prize, is famous less for his writing than for the kinds of restaurants …
Vision #7 Written by Tom King Art by Michael Walsh Colors by Jordie Bellaire Letters by Clayton Cowles Published by Marvel Comics In Vision #7, writer Tom King, guest artist Michael Walsh (Secret Avengers), and colorist Jordie Bellaire take a break from the ongoing domestic drama of Vision, his wife Vivian, and two kids’ domestic drama in the …
Easy Rider is not just a significant American movie. It is also an exceptional example of independent filmmaking, one where, with the unwavering ambition of youth and a desire for something different, a film rises above and beyond the studio-beholden establishment to achieve a triumph all its own.
Kennel Block Blues #4 wraps up an excellent series that had all members of the creative team providing a high level of quality within their own expertise to capture a real sense of heart, humour, and entertainment, all while continuing to play with the comic form.
My own summer reading list is in many ways a re-reading list. In the absence of any duties at the university during the break, the sunny summer days are perfect for pulling overtime at my day job and getting paid to revisit some of my favorite creative runs and story-arcs, in addition to some newly …
Batman #51 Written by Scott Snyder Drawn by Greg Capullo and Danny Miki Colored by FCO Plascencia Lettered by Steve Wands Published by DC Comics Gotham is… Gotham is an ever changing city. The only eternal constant is Batman as the city changes every couple of years. Through the words and art of Bob Kane …