Reviews

Cinephellas Podcast-Episode 6 (Alexander Nevsky Interview)

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Cinematic Diplomacy: A Conversation with Alexander Nevsky

by Christopher M. Rzigalinski

Alexander Nevsky’s latest film, Black Rose, blends horror, mystery, and action genres for a fresh take on cinematic Russian/American relations. His directorial debut gets rid of the tired, Cold War stereotype of the Soviet villain versus the US hero. Instead, Black Rose tells the story of Nevsky’s Russian Police Major, Vladimir Kazatov, working side by side with the LAPD to find a killer targeting young women in West Hollywood. This simple change in perspective facilitates a conversation about international diplomacy and the political realities of 2017, as we are confronted daily with questions about Donald Trump’s relationship to Vladimir Putin and whether Russia interfered with last year’s presidential election.

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Netflix ‘The Get Down’ Part 2 Review!!

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Dust Off Your Turntable, and Groove All Over Again With ‘The Get Down’ Part 2

by Nile Fortner

When I first heard about Netflix The Get Down, I was interested but a little worried. The Get Down is a Netflix original series. The series documents the rise of Hip-Hop and the downfall of disco music in a hardcore, 1970’s chaotic New York. The show was created by 2013 The Great Gatsby director Baz Luhrmann. I was a little worried because I am someone who loves hip-hop and rap music. I love the history of the music genre, and how it grew into the worldwide phenomenon that it is today. I was mainly worried because an Australian director creating and unfolding a story about old school hip-hop doesn’t really come to mind at first. On the other hand, the first season of this show was well done. The first few episodes started a little slow, but it transitioned itself into a very good series. The show is filled with 70s nostalgia, great music, and characters you can get behind. Now we get part two, and part two of this series brings us more story, more music, more drama, and makes the audience want to view more.

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Cinephellas Podcast-Episode 5 (Luc Annest Interview)

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Sans Acrobats:

A Review of NOLA Circus

By Christopher M. Rzigalinski

NOLA Circus, the latest film from writer/director/producer Luc Annest, focuses on an African American community in New Orleans. Friendships are tested, true love is put on trial, and a bunch of dudes get their asses kicked. Luc brings a French perspective to this dark comedy about two rival barbershops and their larger-than-life employees. I got the chance to talk with him about adjusting to cultural differences in the United States, looking beyond race to understand the film, and the importance of music in visual storytelling. After you listen to my conversation with Luc, check out NOLA Circus when it hits theaters on April 21st or when it hits VOD platforms and iTunes on April 25th.

 

Cinephellas Podcast-Episode 4 (Salt and Fire Screening)

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A Fluffy Night Out:

The West Hollywood Screening of Salt and Fire

by Christopher M. Rzigalinski

At the end of my interview with Veronica Ferres a few weeks ago, she invited me to the London West Hollywood hotel off of West Hollywood’s Sunset Strip for a screening of Salt and Fire. Instead of writing  a review of the event, I wanted to reproduce it. This episode of the Cinephellas podcast is the story my experience and the personal journey it necessitated. I’m forced to confront questions of identity, recognizing the space between the way I see myself and how I’m seen (or unseen) within the Hollywood machine. While those neuroses are being sorted out, I try to pay attention to a David O. Russell-moderated Q & A with Veronica and writer/director of Salt and Fire, Werner Herzog. But the most trying part of the evening is figuring out why Mr. Herzog is as fluffy as llama fur.

 

STORM KING COMICS ANNOUNCES C2E2 FESTIVITIES!

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Pop culture fans are giddy with excitement for the Midwest’s largest pop culture comicon C2E2 which begins April 21st in Chicago. Storm King Comics will be exhibiting and bringing con exclusives, giveaways, talent, and more! Con attendees will get a FREE SIGNED poster from the upcoming series John Carpenter’s Tales of Science Fiction at booth #418 ONLY IF they say the secret password. Attendees can get the code word on Twitter at https://twitter.com/JCsAsylum or by downloading the C2E2 App and walking the convention floor. Writer/editor producer Sandy King Carpenter (They Live, Vampires) and writer James Ninness (Dust, John Carpenter’s Tales for a HalloweeNight) will be on hand for signings. Both creators are part of the new title John Carpenter’s Tales of Science Fiction:Vault that hits stores this July and will be revealing more about the book in a livestream interview at the convention’s Twitch stage Saturday April 22nd at noon CST.

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Review – Raw (2016)

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by Old King Clancy

I’ve mentioned before – several times in fact – that I love modern French horror, ‘Martyrs’ is an all-time favorite of mine and ‘Inside’ had messed me up more times than I care to think of. So when news of ‘Raw’ came out with people fainting in the theater, I knew I had to see it. Those fainting rumors turned out to be exaggerated, but I still had high hopes for this to deliver and it more than did so. This is easily the best French cannibal sex movie I’ve seen all year and a near definite for my ‘Top 10’ of 2017.

The film opens with protagonist Justine (Garance Marillier) starting her first year at Veterinary school, the same school her sister Alexia  (Ella Rumpf) is currently studying. Justine is a quiet, shy bookworm, and firm vegetarian who struggles with the school heavy use of hard music and harder partying. During the intense hazing rituals Justine is forced to eat raw rabbit kidney and almost immediately has a violent allergic reaction to it with a bad rash breaking out onto her body. However, something changes inside Justine and she soon finds herself with a hunger for meat.

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Review – Life (2017)

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by Nile Fortner

Is This Sci-fi Film Recycling Other Sci-fi Films?

‘Life’ is science fiction thriller, starring Jake Gyllenhaal (Nightcrawler, Southpaw), Ryan Reynolds (Safe House, Deadpool), and Rebecca Ferguson (Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation, The Girl on the Train). No, this movie isn’t a remake or re-imagining of the 1999 Eddie Murphy and Martin Lawrence movie of the same name. So don’t expect to see Murphy fighting over some cornbread in space or anything like that.But you can expect to see six astronauts that aboard a space station, and they discover something we’ve all been wondering since the dawn of human history. They discover new life, they discover life in a galaxy far far away, they discover extraterrestrial life on Mars.

These members of the space station name this new life force, Calvin. As these astronauts conduct research on Calvin, gather data, and all that science mumbo jumbo. They realize Calvin is evolving rapidly, gaining strength, and learning at a very alarming rate. It turns out Calvin’s life may be more intelligent and terrifying than anyone could have ever imagined.  If this movie feels familiar, it just might be. Many people saw this trailer, and said to themselves, “Why are you reenacting the script of ‘Aliens’?” While watching this movie, just from the trailer alone, you feel a vibe of other science fiction films you’ve seen before.

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Review – Dave Chappelle Netflix Special

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by Nile Fortner

Is Dave Chappelle Still a Comedy King?

Ladies and gentleman, boys and girls, children of all ages, grandmothers and grandfathers, Dave Cha-Pezzy is back, the one and only Dave Chappelle is back! Dave Chappelle (Half–Baked, The Chappelle Show) the comedy icon, makes his long awaited return to the screen and to the stage. The comedian now has a Netflix Original stand-up comedy special. With new, mature, raunchy, contemptuous, and always compelling comedy material.

On November 12, 2016, Dave Chappelle hosted season 42 episode six of the late-night live comedy sketch show Saturday Night Live. That episode is literally the best Saturday Night Live episode I’ve seen in a very long time, years actually. You had the controversy, the emotion, the comedy, the music, the special guest appearances, it was civil, and you had the comeback of Chappelle.  For those who do not know this comedy legend, I’m going to tell you why he is a comedy icon, why he is one of the best. It is because he is raunchy, can feed off a crowd, he is very experienced in comedy, random, and it helps that he is really funny.

In 2003, Chappelle became more widely known with his comedy show, The Chappelle Show. The show continues to show re-run episodes all around the world, on various platforms to this day. Two years within The Chappelle Show, and Chappelle reaching the highest success in his comedy career, Chappelle walked away from the industry. In various interviews, he has stated “The show has ruined my life.” and”I hate working 20 hours a day.” He even walked away from a $50 million contract to come back to the show. Throughout the years, Chappelle was around, but kept on the down low. That was until he hosted Saturday Night Live on November 12, 2016. Now, Chappelle follows a line of comedians that have all gotten Netflix stand-up specials. Such as, Cedric The Entertainer, Mike Epps, Aziz Ansari, Jimmy Carr, Ali Wong, Patton Oswalt, and more.

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