When it comes to entertainment, there’s a certain school of thought that things belong on boxes – the easier it is to identify something, the easier is it to understand and sell it. So we have genres. But when stories mix certain elements, and make bold choices, the narrative becomes stronger and keeps the audience on its toes. Case in point. When someone says “detective story”, one might think Sam Spade or Jake Gittes. Well what if you throw in eccentric characters, against type casting and pepper the whole affair with a certain British flair and some ’70s era pizazz? Now you’re getting something unique, entertaining and unexpected. So that…
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Interview…Murad Abu Eisheh on Truthfulness and Importance of ‘Tala’vision’
Ahead of the nominations for this year’s Academy Awards, we got to speak with a highly talented young director about his powerful short film. This project is written and directed by Murad Abu Eisheh (who is in his third year of film school) who was inspired to write Tala’vision after he came across an article about ISIS banning televisions in Syria 2014. The film highlights Tala’s struggle trying to live her childhood in a war zone. This heart-wrenching film won the Gold Student Academy Award, thus qualifying it to be considered for a 2022 Oscar. The Jordanian director earned his bachelor’s degree in Visual Communications and Design with a focus…
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Interview…Composer Kevin Kiner on the Emotion and Intellectual Authenticity to ‘Peacemaker’
There are heroes. There are villains. And then there’s Peacemaker…Fresh from his explosive role in last year’s hit film The Suicide Squad, and from the brilliantly twisted mind of James Gunn, comes PEACEMAKER – a new series achieving peace on HBO Max at any cost starting January 13. The DC spinoff series is written and directed by James Gunn, and the show explores the continuing story of the character that John Cena reprises in the aftermath of Gunn’s 2021 film. The colorful patriot is a compellingly vainglorious man who believes in peace at any cost. And like the titular character, seasoned composer Kevin Kiner doesn’t care how many ear drums he has to kill to give us great music. This…
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Editorial: A Year Full of Studio Ghibli Films
It’s been a while since we’ve done a list, but something about our love of Studio Ghibli has us thinking about their films as we usher in the New Year. Maybe it’s our positive feelings about 2022, maybe it’s the unfailing hope in each of these films or just nostalgia for the heartwarming and fanciful tales. Coincidentally, there are a total of 22 in the studio’s catalog. Perhaps the stars are aligning for this list. Regardless, Ghibli’s works showcase wondrous landscapes and are propelled by unassuming heroes, inspiring themes and quirky humor. Whatever is loved about these is really seemingly loved by the whole planet. So as we take another…
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G-S-T Review…’The Matrix Resurrections’
For a film franchise that broke all the rules and changed the entire entertainment industry, one might expect subsequent adventures down the rabbit hole would be welcomed, mind-bending yarns. But alas – system failure – The Matrix Resurrections sports no significant advancements in this upgraded sequel. We’ll get that out of the way up front as it’s probably the worst part about plugging back into the beloved series. So dig in, this is going to take a while. Often times, sequels are all about familiarity and there is a certain comfort when expectations are met. So while Lana Wachowski is never content to do the same thing, she wanted this…
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Interview…Composer Don Davis Shares Stories Plugging Into ‘The Matrix’
In a world of remakes and reboots, one property we thought we’d never see expanded or revisited was the universe of The Matrix. It was, and still is, a landmark film, one that raised the bar for filmmakers and the industry as a whole. A triple-kick of story, visuals and action, The Matrix was a high watermark for cinema. As the series expanded, the arcs of the three leads finished in a less than satisfying (or deserving) way, yet it still seemed the most logical and inescapable end. Fate? Perhaps. The third film culminates in an uneasy truce between humans and machines (and between programs themselves). More importantly it’s not…
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Interview…Director James Cullen Bressack on Bruce Willis and ‘Fortress’
From Lionsgate comes a new action thriller directed by James Cullen Bressack. Fortress is fast and shoots from the hip. Just short of a midnight movie, it has fun with its premise and delivers some surprises, including a noteworthy and unexpectedly delicious turn from Chad Michael Murray. But the best part about this film is the man behind the camera. Ahead of the film’s release this month, we got to chat with the young but seasoned director/producer – who has 44 shorts, features and music videos to his credit and he’s not even 30 – and it was a real treat. Bressack is incredibly humble, well-versed, really knows his films,…
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Interview…Composers Zach Robinson and Leo Birenberg on Music, Metal and Mayhem in ‘Cobra Kai’
You want to become a master of kicking ass in a musical soundscape? It’s easy! Just remember these three simple rules: Strike first, strike hard, show no mercy. Well, whether it’s sweeping the leg, or nailing a face-melting guitar/saxophone solo, our guests today can certainly tell us about their path to be the best…around. It takes time, talent, patience and a good amount of networking. Earlier this year, we spoke with composer Zach Robinson and had a blast getting to learn about his musical journey. Today, Zach is back as well as the other half of the sonic dojo that props up the Cobra Kai TV show. The duo have…
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For Your Consideration…’Cowboy Bebop’ Soundtrack: Perfect Selections
In our most recent review, we had a blast talking about Cowboy Bebop…even though we weren’t very fond of the live-action update. But there is one thing we can never get enough of: the music. You can hear Rob, Pete and I bounce back and forth between both versions of the show here, but one final note about the series (if we didn’t already talk about it enough in that episode) is that the free-flowing, toe-tapping, otherworldly sound Yoko Kanno & Seatbelts brought to this universe is just brilliant. Each note, riff and all-out jam session amplifies the anime’s narrative beats helping to make the series so endearing and enjoyable.…
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Podcast Review: ‘Cowboy Bebop’
Hi amigos! How y’all doing?? Here we are, friends, an event we’ve waited for since we first heard those notes of Tank! more than 20 years ago. For all you fans looking forward to a long-hyped live-action Bebop event, Netflix has released a version of the beloved show that, on paper, looked like a home run: Shinichirō Watanabe as a consultant, Yoko Kanno providing new and expanded music, a great looking cast, etc. So before we go any further, we have to acknowledge how we got here. In 1998, Sunrise released the jazz-infused anime that would forever change animation for the better. From Wikipedia, here’s the short run down. “Twenty-six…
