"You have to learn how to kill." In Kathryn Bigelow’s Near Dark, the vampires aren’t sexy. There’s nothing particularly interesting about them. They’re not Eurocentric romantics; they’re pure Americana, highway drifters chasing the night. They burn. They kill....
The excesses and studio battles around May's third film ultimately derailed her directing career, but the film's heart is its penetrating look at the actions of desperate men. While already an established comedian, writer, and actress by the mid-1970s, Elaine May was still a rising director, gaining fame for her ability to present unlikable men...
In an effort to show kids the importance of representation, youth activist Lance Cooper previously took thousands of local children to see Black Panther. He hopes to repeat that success with Marvel's forthcoming Captain Marvel film. Lance...
The opening shot of Euzhan Palcy’s 1989 film, A Dry White Season, in a bright sunburst gleam and green grass, depicts two young South African boys, one white and another black, playing soccer and laughing in warm, idyllic harmony. This particular scene, as upfront as an opening shot can be, was absent in the film’s original script, but it offers...
From first-run movies and a unique, locally-focused atmosphere to live music presented by the Broadberry Entertainment Group, the Ashland Theatre's got it all. Local is EVERYTHING. And at the Ashland Theatre, Ashland is exactly what you get. The rich history, the architecture, the food, the music, everything. “When we opened we wanted to make...
The latest in a series of period pieces filmed in the river city, Harriet presents us with some pointed questions about this city's ongoing commemoration of Confederate leaders on Monument Avenue. Richmond is quickly becoming the go to place for period films in America - from Lincoln to Mercy Street, our city is undeniably building the foundation...
The latest film from famed director Alfonso Cuarón turns the story of a family's difficulties into one of the year's best films. Roma, a film written and directed by the acclaimed Mexican auteur and Academy-Award winning Alfonso Cuarón (Children of Men, Gravity), might just be the best film of the year. Cuarón, known for his exquisite visual...
The second annual Pocahontas Reframed Film Festival brought artistic creativity, community involvement and cultural education to Richmond. Held at the historic Byrd Theatre, the festival presented films ranging from full-length documentaries to five-minute short films. The four-day event sought to promote and celebrate native culture while...
Directed by Hal Ashby (Being There, Harold & Maude), 1975’s Shampoo is a multifaceted comical look at sex, politics, gender, and well, hair. Set on the day that Richard Nixon won the 1968 presidential election, Shampoo stars Warren Beatty as George Roundy, a handsome lothario and hairdresser from Los Angeles who aspires to one day open his...
Last Friday night, The Virginia Film Festival offered the chance to catch what can only be described as a bona fide classic. Emerging as a tense and raw debut from the impossibly young Hughes brothers, 1993’s Menace II Society acts not only as cautionary tale, but a transfixing immersion into the darkest parts of Watts, Los Angeles in the early...
