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Articles by Shane Vassar
The Ultimate Guide to Fall in Astoria
“Don’t you love New York in the fall?” Tom Hanks once asked Meg Ryan in *You’ve Got Mail*. If your answer is anything other than a resounding yes, well, you may want to check your lease because you probably don’t belong here. If you can’t love New York in the autumn, then you can’t love it at all. This city comes alive this time of year. The crisp air. The changing leaves. The sweaters. And the much-needed end of the unbearable humidity.
Stuart Cinema & Cafe Is Bringing Community Back to Moviegoing
When asked what drew Stuart Cinema & Cafe to its new location, owner Emelyn Stuart pointed to Long Island City/Astoria’s rapid growth and its mix of families, young professionals, artists, and creatives. “We saw an opportunity to create something different—an affordable neighborhood cinema where people could enjoy great movies, good food, and feel like they truly belonged,” Stuart said. Image via Shane Vassar It’s an approach that they’re well-versed in.
Dive Into Back-to-School Season With These Family-Friendly Activities in the Neighborhood
With the long, lazy days of summer coming to an end, the hectic back-to-school season is officially upon us. And at Give Me Astoria, we know that this time of year can be stressful. That is why we’ve rounded up the best family-friendly activities in the neighborhood this month to help you and your family get through the back-to-school transition.
Community Organizations You Need to Know About in Astoria
One of the primary reasons so many people love calling Astoria home is because of the strong sense of community that exists here. While some New York City neighborhoods can feel isolated or anonymous, Astoria has a way of bringing residents together. It feels like a small town dropped in a big city, where neighbors become familiar faces, get together, and look out for one another. That sense of connection doesn’t happen by accident.
The Best Summer Cocktails in Astoria of 2026
Summertime in Astoria means sipping cocktails in the backyards of bars on 30th Ave and on the sidewalk seats of restaurants on Ditmars Boulevard. From weekday happy hours to weekend brunches that somehow turn into all-nighters, there’s always a reason to get out with friends, roommates, and loved ones once the weather warms up. That’s why we’ve curated a list of the best summer cocktails in the neighborhood, so you know where to head this season when you’re feeling thirsty.
The 13 Best Places to Watch the World Cup in Astoria
It happens like clockwork. Every four years, a month-long stretch arrives when our neighborhood looks, feels, and sounds a bit different. Cheerful roars emanate from packed bars, flags from around the world hang above local businesses and outside apartment windows, and people proudly walk the streets donning jerseys, scarves, and hats that represent their home nations. The cause of all this cultural pride and excitement, of course, is the FIFA World Cup.
The 22 Best Places to Eat Brunch Right Now
The arrival of spring in New York City means you’ll likely find yourself three mimosas in, with a plate of eggs benedict in front of you, at 1:30 in the afternoon sometime in the very near future. Brunch, the hybrid meal that inspires Instagram pictures and fills sidewalks and backyard gardens with outdoor diners, is a staple this time of year.
Blu-ray | Collider
The movie underwhelmed at the box office but earned some of the best reviews Statham has seen in the last decade.
10 Great Recent Movies Snubbed For Best Picture
Each year, on the morning the Oscar nominations are announced, the internet is set ablaze as angered film fans and industry pundits cry foul about what failed to receive Academy attention. With so many people treating this awards show similarly to a sporting event, films are pitted against each other, and awards campaigns are closely tracked to see what succeeded and what came up short.
10 Great Recent Movies Snubbed For Best Picture
6. May December (2023) Ultimately receiving just one nomination for Best Original Screenplay, May December’s Oscar legacy is probably defined more by its Best Supporting Actor snub than its Best Picture snub. It may be easy to forget now, but there was a short time in 2023 when it felt like Charles Melton was going to be eventual winner Robert Downey Jr.’s biggest competition.
All 25 Best Picture Winners of The 21st Century Ranked From Worst To Best
On February 9, 2020, the audience at Los Angeles’ Dolby Theater jumped to their feet and erupted with cheer when Jane Fonda announced that Parasite had won Best Picture. It was a watershed moment for the industry, marking the first time a non-English language film had taken home the top prize in the 92-year history of the Oscars. In the week following this historic win, Bong Joon Ho’s thriller received a 234% increase in ticket sales at the domestic box office, bringing in $8.8 million.
All 25 Best Picture Winners of The 21st Century Ranked From Worst To Best
13. Nomadland (2020) Somewhat unfairly, Nomadland’s Best Picture win will always be intrinsically tied to the moment it occurred in. From now until the end of time, Chloé Zhao’s film will be remembered as the one that won during the COVID pandemic. In the years following its triumph, this has led some to dismiss its success. There are plenty of people who see this win as less valid than most others on the list because it resulted from a year when the industry was largely put on pause.
The 10 Best Timothée Chalamet Movies
For years now, cinephiles and the film industry have mourned the death of the Movie Star. Megastar performers who carry enough cachet that every single new release of theirs feels like a cultural event have seemingly become a relic of the past.
The 10 Best Timothée Chalamet Movies
5. Dune: Part Two (2024) Though the first Dune was an unbelievable achievement in its own right, the sequel remains the pinnacle of blockbuster filmmaking in the 2020s thus far. Everything is ramped up a notch in the second chapter of this story—including Chalamet’s performance. As Paul Atreides’ journey unfolds, Chalamet is given more to do in this movie than he was in the franchise’s first entry.
All 14 Noah Baumbach Movies Ranked From Worst To Best
Born to a pair of writers in Brooklyn in the late 1960s, Noah Baumbach has always had a connection to a distinct brand of artistic East Coast intellectualism. Influenced by the likes of Woody Allen and Whit Stillman, his films are often filled with overeducated New Yorkers of various ages engaging in witty small talk and navigating the usually self-imposed challenges of their privileged, upper-middle-class lives.
All 14 Noah Baumbach Movies Ranked From Worst To Best
7. De Palma (2015) Though it ultimately lands at number seven on this list, Baumbach’s 2015 documentary chronicling the career of acclaimed filmmaker Brian De Palma, which he co-directed with Jake Paltrow, is really impossible to compare to any other entry in his filmography. His only non-fiction work, De Palma consists entirely of the Blow Out and Mission: Impossible director sharing making-of stories about his films while clips from them play on screen.
The 10 Best Sports Movies of The 21st Century
From inspiring real-life tales like Hoosiers to comedic classics like Major League to profound documentaries like Hoop Dreams, sports movies have historically provided a backdrop for some of cinema’s most emotionally evocative stories. Often using the always reliable underdog trope to explore fundamental truths about the human experience, films in this genre are rarely just about sports. Instead, they use the world of athletics to reveal things that lie deep within all of us.
The 10 Best Sports Movies of The 21st Century
5. Challengers (2024) It should be clear by now that sports movies, and sports themselves, are about much more than what takes place on the field, court, or ice. Perhaps no film on this list makes that clearer than Luca Guadagnino’s sleek and sultry tennis drama, Challengers. As was pointed out upon its release in 2024, Challengers is, in the most general sense, a movie in which everything is about tennis—except tennis, which is about sex.
The 10 Best Leonardo DiCaprio Movies
Paul Thomas Anderson’s One Battle After Another is the movie sensation of the year. Many are going so far as to call it the film of the decade. In the midst of all of this acclaim, it’s important not to lose sight of the fact that the number one reason cinephiles and casual movie fans alike are showing up to the cinema is not Anderson’s unparalleled filmmaking or the various premium format options available to moviegoers; it is the presence of Leonardo DiCaprio.
The 10 Best Leonardo DiCaprio Movies
5. Killers of the Flower Moon (2023) With the release of Killers of the Flower Moon in 2023, Martin Scorsese proved that he is still capable of operating at a higher level than almost every other director working today. He re-teamed with both DiCaprio and Robert De Niro to give us one of the best films of the decade. While Lily Gladstone deservedly received immense praise for her portrayal of Mollie Burkhart, Leo provided the movie a necessary guiding hand as the main character, Ernest.
The Ultimate Guide To Fall in Astoria
There’s nothing quite like New York City in the fall. Our neighborhood especially really starts to shine once that crisp autumn air hits. Morning walks through Astoria Park with a coffee in hand, nights spent sipping pumpkin beers or boozy mulled cider with friends at your favorite local spot—things just feel a bit more special and a lot cozier this time of year.
Best Restaurant Deals & Cheap Eats in the Neighborhood
New York City is the greatest city in the world—and it better be because it’s certainly priced as such. With the cost of living steadily increasing across all five boroughs, affordable dining options have never been in higher demand. Thankfully, our neighborhood here in Queens is still home to some amazing food that’s heavy on flavor but light on your wallet.
Spike Lee Says This Joint He Wrote With the Co-Creator of 'Game of Thrones' Deserves More Recognition
Few directors alive have a filmography that can rival Spike Lee's. Since his 1986 debut, She's Gotta Have It, the Brooklyn native has helmed some of the most poignant, evocative, and virtuosic films of the modern era. Movies like Do the Right Thing and Malcolm X rightfully hold a permanent place in the canon of American storytelling.
This New Unhinged Rom-Com With Logan Lerman Is Perfect for the Dating App Generation
For as long as human beings have been telling stories, love has perhaps been the theme artists return to most. Desire, passion, heartbreak, and longing have fueled so many of our greatest movies, TV shows, novels, songs, and albums over the years. Since the days of Shakespeare, each generation has gotten their crack at exploring the complexities of relationships and falling in love.
Before 'Caught Stealing,' Austin Butler Was a Scene Stealer in Ari Aster's Neo-Western With Pedro Pascal
Following the success of 2022’s Elvis, Austin Butler was officially stamped one of the biggest movie stars of his generation. With this recognition—and the Oscar nomination that came along with it—he could have started grabbing every leading role attached to a big budget in sight, but Butler went a different route.
Prime Video's Latest WTF Lawsuit Is Yet Another Reminder of the Importance of Physical Media
What exactly does it mean to "own" a piece of entertainment in the digital age? Surprisingly, the answer is far more complicated than it seems, which is the central issue of a proposed lawsuit against the internet's superstore and streaming behemoth, Amazon. On Friday, August 22, a class action filed in Washington federal court accuses Amazon of engaging in bait-and-switch tactics with the use of words like "buy" and "purchase" on Prime Video.
Before ‘Fountain of Youth,’ Stanley Tucci Joined Denzel Washington and Julia Roberts in This ’90s Legal Thriller
Stanley Tucci is on a short list of performers who are able to make a project better just by being in it. He is the consummate character actor with a leading man's charm. Both on and off-screen, he is known for his wittiness and sophistication, but he is also an incredibly versatile performer. To this day, he is still regularly popping up in popular projects like Apple's Fountain of Youth, which has been among the most-watched films on the company's streaming service since it debuted in May.
Before Starring in Two of the Most Acclaimed Films of the Year, This Rapper-Turned-Actor Shined in a Coming-of-Age Movie
There's a long history in Hollywood of entertainers from different art forms trying their hand at film acting. Musicians, in particular, often attempt to make the jump to the big screen. The results of this are usually mixed. For every Jennifer Hudson in Dreamgirls, there's a Mariah Carey in Glitter.
This Pop Culture Icon Was One of the Few People To Play Themselves in Their Own Biopic — and the Result Is Shocking
When Betty Thomas' Private Parts was released in 1997, Howard Stern was at the peak of his powers. The famed radio shock jock and self-proclaimed "King of All Media" had become such a monumental figure in American pop culture by that point that turning his 1993 best-selling book of the same name into a feature film was a no-brainer decision. The riskier choice, though, was having Stern play himself in his own biopic, but this decision actually proved to be vital to Private Parts' success.
Noah Baumbach | Collider
Greta Gerwig and Noah Baumbach Make Each Other Better Laura Dern Will Reunite With Noah Baumbach for New Netflix Film Greta Gerwig’s Best Performance Is in a Noah Baumbach Movie — But Not the One You Think ‘White Noise’: How Faithful Is Noah Baumbach’s Film to the Book?
Young Adult | Collider
Is 'Marked Men: Rule & Shaw' Streaming?
Josh Safdie | Collider
This Is How ‘Uncut Gems’ Throws You off Balance The Safdie Brothers' 'Telemarketers' Is a Must-Watch Shocking Docuseries Megan Thee Stallion in Talks to Join Safdie Brothers Film The Safdie Brothers’ 'Heaven Knows What' Remains Their Most Difficult Film Class Anxiety in the Work of the Safdie Brothers, From ‘Uncut Gems’ to ‘Good Time’ Safdie Brothers Take Their Talents to Television with First-Look Deal at HBO
Sure, 'Happy Gilmore 2' Is Meant to be Dumb Fun — But It’s Also the Embodiment of Legacyquel Laziness
It can sometimes be hard to figure out the proper way to engage with "turn your brain off" entertainment. In an era of online discourse dominated by a "just let people enjoy things" attitude, criticism of film and TV shows that don't take themselves too seriously is often looked at as pretentious or hateful. But, regardless of what specific piece of art is being discussed, there is always a value to thoughtful analysis or critical exploration.
Rebecca Romijn's Recent Comments Prove Marvel’s Biggest Problem Isn’t Superhero Fatigue - It’s This
Regardless of how you personally feel about the film's quality, it's hard to deny that Avengers: Endgame is one of the most impressive accomplishments in recent Hollywood history. After a decade-plus of storytelling and 21 films leading up to it, the conclusion of the MCU's infinity saga was handled about as satisfyingly and effectively as anyone could have imagined.
Paul Walter Hauser
Before 'The Fantastic Four: First Steps,' MCU's Newest Villain Shined in Clint Eastwood's Oscar-Nominated Drama The Unsettling True Story Behind ‘Black Bird’s Serial Killer
tim robinson | Collider
October Will Be a Great Month for Tim Robinson Fans 'Friendship' With Paul Rudd Forced Tim Robinson Out of His Comfort Zone [Exclusive] Tim Robinson Gives Fans a Major Update on His New Pilot 'The Chair Company' [Exclusive] 'I Think You Should Leave's Tim Robinson Lands Pilot at HBO
8 Years Ago, This ‘Fantastic Four’ and ‘The Naked Gun’ Actor Gave an Unforgettable Comedic Performance in This Oscar Winner
Craig Gillespie’s I, Tonya featured a brilliant lead performance from Margot Robbie and earned Allison Janney an Oscar for Best Supporting Actress, but it was Paul Walter Hauser who arguably stole the show. A lesser-known actor at the time, Hauser was a major highlight with his portrayal of Shawn Eckhardt, Tonya Harding’s bumbling and duplicitous former bodyguard, who admitted to being the mastermind behind the infamous 1994 assault of Nancy Kerrigan.
'Superman' and 'The Fantastic Four: First Steps' Ignored This Superhero Trope - but It's Exactly What the Genre Needs
Superman has been a massive success for both Warner Bros. and the future of James Gunn's forthcoming DC universe. The film has received mostly rave reviews on its way to earning over $415 million at the worldwide box office, with both fans and critics praising the approach Gunn took to the Man of Steel's story. One decision in particular that has been applauded is Gunn's choice to forego a traditional origin story.
Paul Mescal | Collider
'Gladiator II' Finally Battles Its Way to Streaming This Month 'Gladiator II' Is Almost Tied With the First 'Gladiator' at the Global Box Office
James Gunn's ‘Superman’ Didn't Just Save DC's Reputation - It Helped Revitalize Warner Bros. in a Flash
In a recent phone interview with the New York Times, Warner Bros. chief executive David Zaslav proclaimed, "We're organized, and we're on the attack." This confident swagger is a far cry from the vibe that surrounded the studio just a few months ago. As recently as March, there were rumors swirling that Zaslav, a longtime television executive who was put in charge of the historic studio following the WarnerMedia and Discovery merger, and other top brass at Warner Bros. were in serious trouble.
This 2023 Hidden Hulu Hit Deserves a Spot Alongside the Best Mockumentaries
Here is a fact-based summary of the story contents: Here is a simplified version of the story contents: For many young people today, the mockumentary genre is assuredly something they associate more with television than film. The success of shows like The Office, Parks and Recreation, and Modern Family in the 2000s and 2010s inspired many imitators, leading to a whole new wave of TV comedy that persists to this day with programs like Abbott Elementary.
Teen Movie Queen Molly Ringwald Ranked This 2018 Film as One of the Best Coming-of-Age Movies of the 21st Century
Here is a fact-based summary of the story contents: Here is a simplified version of the story contents: On a 2018 episode of the A24 Podcast, Molly Ringwald told the star of Eighth Grade, Elsie Fisher, that, "everybody has asked me for years why people still watch the movies that I did ... And I always said, well, because nobody else has managed to make a film that really speaks to teenagers.
Lost in Translation
7 Best New Movies To Watch on Max in April 2024
Why Are We More Forgiving of Some Movie Clichés Than Others?
In the era of IP dominance at the box office, “formulaic” has become an oft-used term in movie discourse and criticism. Franchises, such as the MCU, are particularly lambasted for their recycling of plot structures and habitual inclusion of storytelling clichés.
The Director of ‘Clueless’ Chose This Comedy as the Best Teen Movie of the 21st Century - and We Have To Agree
From the John Hughes era to the Netflix originals of today, the teen comedy genre has gone through many evolutions since its inception. In the 2010s, we were greeted with a fresh crop of new films that felt more emotionally and intellectually mature, with deeper themes and more respect for their characters, than some of the genre's classics from prior decades. Notable examples include Lady Bird, Easy A, The Edge of Seventeen, Dope, and Eighth Grade.
Paul Rudd | Collider
'Clueless' Celebrates 30th Anniversary With New Free Streaming Home The 10 Best Side Characters of 'Parks and Recreation,' Ranked
Reservoir Dogs | Collider
Frequent Quentin Tarantino Collaborator, Michael Madsen, Dead at 67 The 10 Best Characters of ‘Reservoir Dogs,’ Ranked The 12 Best R-Rated Crime Movies of the 1990s, Ranked This Hollywood Legend Has a New Dramedy Project The 10 Best Harvey Keitel Movies, Ranked 10 Movies That Made People Leave the Theater
Movie Theaters Adding More Commercials Before Films Is a Horrible Mistake
Frequent moviegoers are all too familiar with the worsening problem of lengthy preshow runtimes at a theater before the film begins. The trend has become so widespread that AMC now features a disclaimer on their website stating "movies start 25–30 minutes after showtime," something that recently led to some spirited discourse on social media. Partly, this problem stems from the fact that theaters have begun cramming more advertisements in alongside the usual coming attractions.
Tim Robbins | Collider
'Silo's 10 Best Main Characters, Ranked 'Silo's 10 Best Episodes, Ranked Juliette Makes Her Way Back Home in the ‘Silo’ Season 2 Finale 'Silo' Season 2 Episode 9 Recap: The Children of the Rebellion There’s Traitors Everywhere in 'Silo' Season 2, Episode 9 'Silo' Season 2 Episode 8 Recap: Lies, Damned Lies, and Engineers There’s an Intruder in Silo’ Season 2, Episode 8 'Silo' Season 2 Episode 7 Recap: Hold Your Breath Juliette Dives Underwater in Episode 7 of 'Silo' Season 2
Steven Spielberg Thought ‘Jaws’ Would be the Last Movie He Would Ever Get a Chance to Make
While most film lovers are using the 50th anniversary of Jaws to fondly reflect on their first viewing experience of Steven Spielberg's seminal summer blockbuster, the legendary director himself is reminiscing on some of the harrowing and stressful days he had while making it. "In most circumstances, summer in the Vineyard is a dream.
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