film-fest-report.com
—
B-Side: For Taylor , directed by Christina Yr. Lim, screened at the 15th Boston Asian American Film Festival.
Ryan Yau’s Journalist Portfolio
View as a gridAlamo Drafthouse brings beer and community to Boston cinemas
The Berkeley Beacon
—
Since Mesopotamia, there has been beer. And since Eadweard Muybridge, there has been cinema. No one had ever thought to combine the two-until 1997, when beloved Texas theater chain Alamo Drafthouse was founded. Their theaters provide moviegoers with in-house food and drinks, combining the disciplines of entertainment and dining for a singular cinema experience.
BAAFF 2023: The Accidental Getaway Driver (by Sing J. Lee) | Review - Film Fest Report
film-fest-report.com
—
The Accidental Getaway Driver , Sing J. Lee's feature directorial debut, screened at the 15th Boston Asian American Film Festival. The movie kicks the viewer off with an immediately high-stakes premise, but doesn't follow up on everything it tries to offer.
BAAFF 2023: Starring Jerry as Himself (by Law Chen) | Review - Film Fest Report
film-fest-report.com
—
Starring Jerry as Himself , which premiered at Slamdance 2023, screened at the 15th Boston Asian American Film Festival. The movie turns a conventional documentary format on its head, and ends up being as heartwarming as it is self-reflexive.
Alum book "The Woman with a Purple Heart" gives an unsung hero her own novel
The Berkeley Beacon
—
When we read about history, who gets remembered? In historical fiction, who gets to be a protagonist? Emerson alum Diane Hanks '91 wrote her latest novel "The Woman with a Purple Heart" to tell the untold story of Lieutenant Annie Fox-the first woman to receive a Purple Heart award-someone who would have otherwise stayed a...
IFFBoston Fall Focus brings some of the year's buzziest films to Boston
The Berkeley Beacon
—
Independent Film Festival Boston is hosting its Fall Focus series from Oct. 19 to 23 at The Brattle Theatre in Harvard Square. Since the main IFFBoston festival is held in the spring, it misses a lot of movies coming out during the summer festival months. Thus, the Fall Focus program allows Boston filmgoers-especially college students-to...
Lawyers will love 'The Burial'
The Berkeley Beacon
—
Though it may be too soon to decree a courtroom drama revival, Maggie Betts' latest movie "The Burial" is a fun example of a legal crowd-pleaser reminiscent of the days when televised litigation was America's pastime. "The Burial" dramatizes the 1997 lawsuit against the Loewen funeral company, when funeral home owner Jerry O'Keefe sued the...
Roots of the nation: At ArtsEmerson, conversation is The Point
The Berkeley Beacon
—
What is art? Or more importantly: what is considered art, and by whom? These were some of the questions touched upon in the latest conversation for The Point, a series hosted by ArtsEmerson that allows audiences to engage with artists in dialogue. The Point was orchestrated by ArtsEmerson creative producer Kevin Becerra.
Forsake minimalism, embrace the Max
The Berkeley Beacon
—
The Max, formally the Maximilian Mutchnick Cafe, underwent its now-infamous remodel over the summer. Gone are the homely red tile, oil-slick couches, and lived-in decor, replaced with abject minimalism and Bezosian interior design. The Max's walls have been stripped of their charm, left ghost white. Gone too are its sight and sound partitions, leaving patrons...
IFF Boston 2023: Darla in Space (Review) - Film Fest Report
film-fest-report.com
—
Darla in Space entirely hinges its sci-fi plot on its absurd comedy, for better or for worse. Eric Laplante and Susie Moon's feature directorial debut had its world premiere at the 20th Independent Film Festival Boston.
IFF Boston 2023: Riceboy Sleeps (Review) - Film Fest Report
film-fest-report.com
—
Riceboy Sleeps , the feature directorial debut of Anthony Shim, is a well-crafted and strongly-acted telling of a familiar Korean-Canadian immigration tale. It screened at the 20th Independent Film Festival Boston.
Multi-hyphenate Emerson alum releases second book 'The Other Side of Infinity'
The Berkeley Beacon
—
Emerson alum Joan F. Smith '10 released her second young adult novel "The Other Side of Infinity" on April 25. She graduated from the Creative Writing MFA program and currently resides in Massachusetts. The book revolves around the dual protagonists: December, a clairvoyant teenager, and Nick, a lifeguard whose life she saves with her gift...
Corporate nihilism for a post-'The Super Mario Bros. Movie' apocalypse
The Berkeley Beacon
—
I should be stoned for enjoying "The Super Mario Bros. Movie." The movie represents everything I dislike about contemporary children's cinema: a transparent effort to churn out the next big franchise; lazy audience appeal based on nostalgic markers of intellectual property; high-profile voice performances with little aptness or enthusiasm; the indelibly greasy sheen of a...
How to narrativize an ethical argument
The Berkeley Beacon
—
Daniel Goldhaber's "How to Blow Up a Pipeline," adapted from the 2021 book of the same name, is concerned with one question: why can't fun movies be radical? Andreas Malm's original nonfiction work argues that sabotage against anti-environmentalist infrastructure is an ethical form of climate activism.
Wicked Queer is here: alum-programmed film festival uplifts LGBTQ voices
The Berkeley Beacon
—
The Boston LGBTQ+ Film Festival-now known as Wicked Queer-has survived the ups and downs of queer history. It was founded in 1984, before gay marriage was even legal in Massachusetts. The 39th annual Wicked Queer festival will be held from March 31 to April 9. The Brattle Theatre will be its primary venue, but screenings...
Boston Underground Film Festival preview: the subterranean avant-garde
The Berkeley Beacon
—
What was once an all-night film marathon hosted by a single person-founder David Kleiler-is now one of the most celebrated film festivals in Massachusetts. Over the course of its 23-year run, the Boston Underground Film Festival's ethos has remained the same: a passion for the unconventional, uncompromising, and cutting-edge corners of cinema.
Boston SciFi: the future of film is independent
The Berkeley Beacon
—
The Boston SciFi Film Festival is unstoppable. It began in the legendary Orson Welles Cinema, once a staple of the Boston-Cambridge independent film scene. When a popcorn-related incident burned down the theater, the spirit of the festival persisted-it moved around to various indie theaters, and currently hosts itself in the Somerville Theatre.
Fresh Ink in the quest to uphold local theater
The Berkeley Beacon
—
In a post-"Cats" franchised theater landscape, every show seems to be a long-running play. To counter this, Fresh Ink Theatre Company is helping new works from local playwrights land on their feet. Fresh Ink was co-founded in 2011 by Louise Hamill, a lifelong fan of theater.
The ramifications of a post-'Avatar' blockbuster landscape
The Berkeley Beacon
—
When James Cameron announced that the "Avatar" sequels had set release dates, internet discourse commenced about the original movie's cultural impact-or perceived lack thereof. Doubters noted that they couldn't even recall the protagonist's name, and claimed that "nobody asked" for a sequel to a movie that came out over a decade ago.
Alum film 'Everything Everywhere All at Once' leads with 11 Oscar nominations
The Berkeley Beacon
—
Tuesday's announcement of this year's Academy Awards nominations came as an impressive feat for the Emerson film community. Emerson alums Daniel Kwan '10 and Daniel Scheinert '09 continue their sensational awards season run for their multiversal crowd-pleaser "Everything Everywhere All at Once." Including a Best Achievement in Directing nod, the movie received 11 nominations in...
'The Five Fingers of a Dog': Emerson students debut horror short film
The Berkeley Beacon
—
No filmmakers have been bold enough to suggest dogs have fingers. Classical thought considers dogs' forelimbs to be legs, making the phalanges on their paws "toes." None until Charlie Compton and Justin Landsman, junior visual and media arts majors who co-directed and wrote their debut short film "The Five Fingers of a Dog."
Emerson graduate student receives first Harlequin Diverse Voices scholarship
The Berkeley Beacon
—
Some people yearn for scholarships. For others, scholarships fall in their laps. Graduate student Ying Gao is the first recipient of the Harlequin Diverse Voices scholarship for Emerson College's Popular Fiction Writing and Publishing MFA. The scholarship is a new collaboration between Emerson and Harlequin Enterprises, one of the largest romance publishing companies in the...
'Wednesday' is plagued by the influence of the CW
The Berkeley Beacon
—
The new Addams family spinoff "Wednesday" released last Wednesday. The eight-part miniseries focuses on a teenaged Wednesday Addams as she transfers to an outcast-only boarding school-"outcast" encompassing werewolves, sirens, and gorgons. It takes the famous intellectual property of Charles Addams and places it in a somewhat banal, Harry-Potter-esque boarding school context.
'Bad Axe' is family business
The Berkeley Beacon
—
Bad Axe, MI, is a town with a population of 3,000, where everyone is friends on Facebook and within two degrees of separation in Walmart. "Bad Axe" is filmmaker David Siev's directorial debut, a documentary chronicling his family and their restaurant business in the town of Bad Axe during the COVID lockdown.