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Joshua Polanski on Muck Rack

Joshua Polanski

(He/Him)
Boston, Grand Rapids
As seen in: Boston Hassle, Letterboxd, The Hockey Writers, Bay Area Reporter, EMN Chicago IL, The Young Folks, Edge Media Network, Baltimore Edge Media Network, Pittsburgh, PA - EDGE Media Network, In Review Online, The Rapidian and
Covers:  Film and religion.
Tomatometer approved film critic writing mostly about non-English cinemas (Baltic, Korean, Chinese). Watches too much hockey. Occasionally uses full sentences.

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Joshua Polanski’s Biography

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I write about movies. More specifically, I like to write about digital filmmaking and special effects, philosophy and film, Turkish cinema, religious and spiritual film aesthetics, and Paul WS Anderson.

I studied religion and strategic communication at Calvin University in Grand Rapids, MI. It was at Calvin, an alma mater I share with Paul Schrader, where I first developed my love for writing about movies.

In 2022, I completed my Master of Theological Studies at Boston University. Given my aca…

Joshua Polanski’s Journalist Portfolio

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Special Effects Cinema at Its Finest: S.S. Rajamouli and RRR | BOSTON HASSLE

Special Effects Cinema at Its Finest: S.S. Rajamouli and RRR | BOSTON HASSLE

In of Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith (2005), Roger Ebert wrote with his usual eloquence, "speci…

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Watching movies on small screens is a better experience. If you care about audio.

Watching movies on small screens is a better experience. If you care about audio.

One of the best movie experiences of my life was watching John Krasinski's on a 13.5" MacBook Pro screen with…

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GO TO: Chungking Express (1994) dir. Wong Kar-wai | BOSTON HASSLE

GO TO: Chungking Express (1994) dir. Wong Kar-wai | BOSTON HASSLE

Wong Kar-wai is one of the best filmmakers from one of the most significant film movements, the Hong Kong New…

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Under the Influence of Saturn

Under the Influence of Saturn

In medieval cosmology, each of the seven planets has a different sort of influence on human affairs and even …

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In Defense of Brutalism

In Defense of Brutalism

Based on my estimates, about three times a year the 1950-60s architectural movement and style referred to as …

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Local United Methodist churches uncertain amidst possible schism

Local United Methodist churches uncertain amidst possible schism

As the second largest Protestant denomination in the United States, the United Methodist Church, faces a pote…

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Articles

Korean alien film ‘Hope’ answers film-loving prayers

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By Joshua Polanski
| The Rapidian
“Hope” can be summarized in the desperate, macaronic exclamation of its police chief, Ko Bum-seok (Hwang Jung-min), while sprinting away from an alien predator: “Holy shibal!” For those who have not watched any K-dramas, “shibal” is, as expected, the Korean word for “f*ck.” The police chief uses the English “holy,” though, combining the two languages into a single expression.
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Review: A lackluster Grand Rapids Film Festival

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By Joshua Polanski
| The Rapidian
This year’s Grand Rapids Film Festival (GRFF) was an unmitigated disappointment. The programmed feature films were, as a whole, of an embarrassing quality. There were a few standouts, good and bad; I spent most of my weekend shuffling back and forth from my bed and my living room, so uninspired by the programmed titles that I opted to watch the screeners instead of pushing myself to the in-person screenings. GRFF ran Friday, Sept. 11 through Sunday, Sept.
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Sundance Shorts makes pit stop in Grand Rapids

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By Joshua Polanski
| The Rapidian
In what seemed like a premiere event, the Sundance Film Festival Short Film Tour brought six films from this year’s festival to Wealthy Theatre on Wednesday, Sept. 9. Three of the films won awards in the short jury categories for non-fiction, animation and US fiction. The prestige Sundance brand apparently wasn’t enough to muster more than a mostly unimpressive turnout for the Wednesday night short collection. The six films wore comparable runtimes.
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