“The Commuter” feels like a familiar face you would see every day on a bus ride home. Starring Liam Neeson, the film marks the actor’s fourth collaboration with director Jaume Collet-Serra, and echoes their last transit-based thriller, “Non-Stop.” In both films, Neeson’s character receives instructions via his cell phone that threaten the safety of other […]
Category Archives: Film & TV
James Franco accused of sexually exploitative behavior by five women
This article was updated Jan. 11 at 11:50 a.m. Five women have accused actor and UCLA lecturer James Franco of inappropriate or sexually exploitive behavior, according to the Los Angeles Times. Two of the accusers were students of Franco’s classes at Playhouse West in North Hollywood. Franco began teaching at UCLA in 2012 and has taught […]
‘Never Leave Me’ shines sepia-tinted light on emotional abuse
Elon Zlotnik tries to portray the dangers of emotionally abusive relationships in just three minutes. The third-year film and television student wrote, directed, produced, filmed and edited his three-minute-long silent film on a 16 mm film camera as a fall class project for Film and Television 52: “Cinematography.” The class required him to use a […]
Playing the Villain: Star Wars’ backdrop villains allow for the main antagonist’s development
A movie is only as good as its villain, and a good villain is much more than a monster with maniacal laughter or a sinister-looking entity surrounded by henchmen. From the anarchist Joker to the cunning and brutal Annie Wilkes, countless successful films have earned their iconic status thanks to their antagonists. Each week, columnist […]
Movie review: ‘The Post’
“The Post” has all the ingredients that make up a critic and box office hit. Take famed Hollywood director Steven Spielberg and mix him into a film about heroic journalists fighting to expose dirty government secrets. Then preheat the atmosphere to a peak temperature powered by real-world tension between journalism, Hollywood and politics. Sprinkle in […]
Reel Representation: Plenty of space remains in ‘Star Wars’ franchise for LGBTQ inclusivity
The Star Wars universe is populated with puffinlike aliens and weapons powered by crystals but in some ways, the fictional galaxy far, far away has come to resemble the world we live in – alien creatures aside, of course. Female protagonists have starred in the most recent three films and numerous characters of color round […]
Second Take: Jordan Peele to add satire, horror expertise to new ‘Twilight Zone’
“The Twilight Zone” TV series of the late ’50s and early ’60s revolutionized the entertainment industry by seamlessly blending horror and suspense with tactful commentary on relevant social issues. Sound familiar? If it does, it’s probably because discussion surrounding the horror genre’s uncanny applicability to social justice has resurged recently as a result of Jordan […]