Tag: Writing

Movie Review

Jean-Claude Van Damme is Back in Gritty Noir Action Thriller ‘Darkness of Man’

“Darkness of Man” Rating: 8/10 Director: James Cullen Bressack Writer: Alethea Cho and James Cullen Bressack Style: Action / Thriller Time: 1 hour 48 minutes Rated: R Review by Mike Szymanski It’s great to see Jean-Claude Van Damme in a gritty crime drama after the rumors that he was hanging up his martial arts belt. Apparently, if there’s anyone who can keep him going in … Continue reading Jean-Claude Van Damme is Back in Gritty Noir Action Thriller ‘Darkness of Man’

Mike Szymanski
Movie Review

A Wild and Crazy Take on ‘The Take Out Move’ 

The Take Out Move Rating: 7/10 Director and Writer: Andrew Simonian Style: Comedy Time: 74 minutes Trailer: www.youtube.com/watch?v=MV2stp7Md6s Rating: R Review by Mike Szymanski This clever comedy is like a small-scale “Animal House” where two guys try to fulfill some assignments to get into a fraternity. It’s rife with all the dick jokes you can handle, and as juvenile as that may sound to you at … Continue reading A Wild and Crazy Take on ‘The Take Out Move’ 

Mike Szymanski
Cultural issues, LGTQ

Fencesitter Films Creates a Unique Film Festival for All Shades

By Mike Szymanski All kinds of film festivals exist: those focused on vampires, or cannabis, or veganism. Filmmaker Kyle Schickner’s has dreamt for the past three decades to have a festival of movies that cater to his specific interests: telling stories that focus on women, people of color, and the LGBTQ+ communities. Of course, some quite prominent individual film festivals exist for each of those, … Continue reading Fencesitter Films Creates a Unique Film Festival for All Shades

Mike Szymanski
Arts, Movie Review

The Secrets in this ‘Detained’ Mystery Don’t Hold Back

· Detained Rating: 8/10 Director: Felipe Mucci Writers: Jeremy Palmer and Felipe Mucci Style: Thriller Time: 1 hour and 35 minutes: Review by Mike Szymanski Buckle-up for a dark and mysterious ride that takes you on a rollercoaster ride of deception and intrigue. Noirish and simple, this thriller is continuously enjoyable and unpredictable. Abbie Cornish (from “Jack Ryan”) plays a seemingly befuddle woman named Rebecca … Continue reading The Secrets in this ‘Detained’ Mystery Don’t Hold Back

Mike Szymanski
Sticky post
Arts

Fusing Art, Community, and Social Responsibility to Create a Brighter Future

Dreamweaverarts is thrilled to announce its participation in the upcoming Giving Tuesday event on November 28, 2023. We are honored to be a part of this wonderful initiative. The Dreamweaverarts’s mission is to create a community platform that promotes art while addressing pressing issues of our time, such as food, housing, education, health, environmental, and job insecurities. At Dreamweaverarts, we truly believe that art can … Continue reading Fusing Art, Community, and Social Responsibility to Create a Brighter Future

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About The Artist, LGTQ, Plays

The Play ‘Bisexual Sadness’ Explores What a Bi Person Sacrifices When it Looks Like They’re Going Straight

Despite its title, the provocative play “Bisexual Sadness” is more funny than sad. It will get you thinking, but it won’t make you cry. And, I guarantee it will make you laugh. “I wanted to show what it means for a bi person to be open in a heterosexual relationship, and how some people in the community react,” says playwright India Kotis, who is 26, … Continue reading The Play ‘Bisexual Sadness’ Explores What a Bi Person Sacrifices When it Looks Like They’re Going Straight

Mike Szymanski
Movie Review

Indie Sci-Fi Gem ‘Project Dorothy’ Doesn’t Allow for Easy Surrender

Project Dorothy Rating: 7/10 Director: George Henry Horton Writers: George Henry Horton and Ryan Scaringe Style: Sci-fi thriller Time: 1 hour 20 minutes Review by Mike Szymanski Sometimes the best movies have a minimal cast, minimal special effects, and minimum amount of dialogue. These smaller indie movies are true gems, because it’s obvious that the filmmakers wanted to put out a good movie and used … Continue reading Indie Sci-Fi Gem ‘Project Dorothy’ Doesn’t Allow for Easy Surrender

Mike Szymanski
Comedy, Social Issues

A Dark Comedy with Irrepressible Kids is Family Fun in ‘Daddy’s Divas’

Daddy’s Divas Rating: 7/10 Directors: David Tittone Writers: David Torre and David Tittone Style: Comedy Time: 20 minutes Trailer: youtube.com/watch?v=xHo2XOQ2zlA Review by Mike Szymanski This series of short, clever and funny stories about a widower and his three girls are about 20 minutes long each, and they are cute and enjoyable for the entire family. It’s hard to find edgy family comedy like this today. … Continue reading A Dark Comedy with Irrepressible Kids is Family Fun in ‘Daddy’s Divas’

Mike Szymanski
Movie Review

If You Love B Horror Flicks You’ll Get Sucked Into ‘Mind Leech’

Mind Leech Rating: 8/10 Directors: Chris Cheeseman and Paul Krysinski Style: Horror/Comedy Time: 61 minutes Website: https://www.mindleech.com Review by Mike Szymanski If you love kitschy B-horror movies that are almost as funny as they are scary, you will easily get sucked into “Mind Leech.” I am one of those critics who loves to watch the B-horror Roger Corman-ish films over and over again, and I love … Continue reading If You Love B Horror Flicks You’ll Get Sucked Into ‘Mind Leech’

Mike Szymanski
Movie Review

Some Powerful Film Finds at Slamdance 2023

By Mike Szymanski Don’t think of Slam Dance as an also-ran to Sundance! It is established by a wild bunch of filmmakers who wanted to showcase the unfiltered voice of independent artists, Slamdance is an ongoing experiment that has proven, year after year, when it comes to recognizing talent and launching careers, the independent and grassroots film communities can do it themselves. This year, Slamdance happened from … Continue reading Some Powerful Film Finds at Slamdance 2023

Mike Szymanski
Arts

Alfred P. Sloan Foundation and Sundance Institute Award Recipients for Science in Film Initiative

Feature Film Prize Goes to The Pod Generation, Grantees Honored at Reception during the 2023 Sundance Film Festival at the 2023 Sundance Film Festival, the Sundance Institute Science-in-Film initiative with the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation celebrated this year’s Feature Film Prize winner The Pod Generation directed by Sophie Barthes and the recipients of three artist grants for three projects in development at a reception following the Appetite for Construction panel at Filmmaker Lodge. The … Continue reading Alfred P. Sloan Foundation and Sundance Institute Award Recipients for Science in Film Initiative

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Healthy Living

Using The Luna Calendar For Gardeners

By Jannie Vaught For those of us who use a Moon Calendar to garden, January’s new moon will be January 21, 3:55 p.m. Using the Luna Calendar for gardeners. Gardening in harmony with the moon’s phases has been practiced for thousands of years. Farmers determined the best times to plant and harvest their crops. The gravitational pull of the moon affects the ocean tides, and … Continue reading Using The Luna Calendar For Gardeners

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Arts

The Met Announces Co-Chairs for the Spring 2023 Costume Institute Benefit

The Metropolitan Museum of Art announced today the co-chairs for The Costume Institute Benefit on May 1, 2023, in New York. Michaela Coel, Penélope Cruz, Roger Federer, Dua Lipa, and Anna Wintour will serve as the evening’s co-chairs. The dress code for the event will be “In honor of Karl.” The Benefit (also known as The Met Gala®) takes place annually on the first Monday … Continue reading The Met Announces Co-Chairs for the Spring 2023 Costume Institute Benefit

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Arts

2023 Sundance Film Festival To Go “Beyond Film”Lineup of Conversations Announced

Additional Institute and Partner Programming to Round Out Public Offerings at Festival The nonprofit Sundance Institute announced the lineup for the 2023 Sundance Film Festival Beyond Film conversations, all of which are open to the public. Made up of three series called Power of Story, Cinema Café, and The Big Conversation, Beyond Film rounds out the Festival experience, providing a place for the community to engage through artist … Continue reading 2023 Sundance Film Festival To Go “Beyond Film”Lineup of Conversations Announced

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Arts

Feature Lineup for Slamdance 2023

The lineup for Narrative Features Competition, Documentary Features Competition, Breakouts, and Unstoppable features for the 29th Slamdance Film Festival. With titles hailing from all over the globe and jam-packed with premieres, the 2023 festival continues the legacy of discovering fresh and influential new voices. NARRATIVE FEATURE COMPETITION: The Girl Who Was Cursed – (The Netherlands) North American PremiereDirector: Zara Dwinger; Screenwriter: Zara Dwinger; Producers: Layla Meijman & … Continue reading Feature Lineup for Slamdance 2023

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Arts

Indigo Girls to Perform at Sundance Institute’sOpening Night: A Taste of Sundance Presented by IMDbPro

Evening To Celebrate Independent Storytelling and Raise Funds for the Institute’s Year-Round Work; Tickets On Sale Now The nonprofit Sundance Institute announced the Grammy Award-winning folk rock duo Indigo Girls will perform at Opening Night: A Taste of Sundance presented by IMDbPro on January 19 in Park City. The band will also premiere their new documentary, It’s Only Life After All at this year’s Sundance Film Festival. Opening Night: A Taste of Sundance … Continue reading Indigo Girls to Perform at Sundance Institute’sOpening Night: A Taste of Sundance Presented by IMDbPro

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Arts

Beyond the Light: Identity and Place in Nineteenth-Century Danish Art

January 26–April 16, 2023Location: The Met Fifth Avenue, Galleries 691–693, The Charles Z. Offin Gallery,  Karen B. Cohen Gallery, and Harriette and Noel Levine Gallery Beyond the Light: Identity and Place in Nineteenth-Century Danish Art explores the period formerly known as the Danish Golden Age, a name that belies the economic and political hardships the dwindling Danish Kingdom experienced in the nineteenth century. Denmark suffered through the Napoleonic … Continue reading Beyond the Light: Identity and Place in Nineteenth-Century Danish Art

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Arts

2023 Sundance Film Festival Lineup of 99 Feature Films

The nonprofit Sundance Institute announced the comprehensive slate of independent films selected across the feature film categories for the 2023 Sundance Film Festival. The 2023 Festival will take place January 19–29, 2023, in person in Park City, Salt Lake City, and the Sundance Resort, along with a selection of films available online across the country January 24–29, 2023. Festivalgoers will once again return to theaters … Continue reading 2023 Sundance Film Festival Lineup of 99 Feature Films

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