FILM & TV

VHS Club | Hard Boiled

VHS Club | Hard Boiled

Let’s get down to business: This film is fucking bananas. Not your average store-bought bananas, not even your farm-to-table free range bananas, this is 160 metric tonnes of high-explosive, slow-motion, dual pistol, Hong Kong bullet spraying bananas; shipped directly...




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It’s Still Our City | Ep. 11 Katrina

“This woman is important. This episode is exactly why I wanted to start the podcast. Real deal service industry fella. Mom of 3... she's been in Richmond for a minute and is traversing all the changes that surround us, whilst hustling super hard with a smile. This gal...

What Does Trust Look Like? Richmond Artists Offer an Answer

A 100-foot brick wall in Richmond’s Fan District now carries a word in bold ghost-sign lettering: RELIABILITY. Painted by local artists Noah Scalin and Alfonso Pérez Acosta, it’s the first in a four-part series of murals under the banner Trust Buildings,...

Sound Check | Yeison Landero, The Phlegms, Die Standing & More!

The return of cumbia in Richmond, alongside a whole bunch of other fun shows! Maybe cumbia never left Richmond and I just don’t know about it. That being said, got a show coming up? New single? Simply want someone to talk music? I am your guy at griffin@rvamag.com....

Fourth of July 2025 in Richmond: Fireworks, Festivals, and More

Some of the best Fourth of July celebrations in Richmond aren’t on any official list. They’re happening in backyards, driveways, and cul-de-sacs, surrounded by folding chairs, coolers, and whatever’s still working on the grill. If you’ve got good friends and a halfway...

Summer Wine Survival Kit | Refreshing Bottles for Under $20

The super-scorcher summer weather is here, and we are steadily melting in Richmond. For us, it’s way too hot for full-bodied, tannic red wines like Cabernet Sauvignon, Tempranillo, Merlot, and Shiraz. We need to feel hydrated and refreshed, not bogged down further by...

VHS Club | Children Of Men

“Look around you, this is the uprising.”  When Children of Men was released in 2006, it flopped. It had nothing to do with the filmmaking. Visually, this is one of the most striking films of the last two decades. It flopped because the story was too real. The politics...

Kyle’s Criterion Corner: My Own Private Idaho (1991)

By 1991, Kentucky born director Gus Van Sant was in transition of the freewheeling world of independent film in to something much more established in the world of commercial movie making. By 1991, Kentucky born director Gus Van Sant was in transition of the freewheeling world of independent film in to something much more established in the world...

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Kyle’s Criterion Corner: Moonrise Kingdom (2012)

The big secret about Wes Anderson’s endearing “Moonrise Kingdom” is that it’s ultimately a fable about loneliness and coming to terms with that. The big secret about Wes Anderson’s endearing “Moonrise Kingdom” is that it’s ultimately a fable about loneliness and coming to terms with that. Nobody is connecting as much as interacting in their...

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Whitey: The United States of America V. James J. Bulger: Documentary reveals raw truth of alliance between the Boston gangster and FBI

For months, the trailers for Scott Cooper’s latest movie Black Mass has been featured prominently during commercial breaks. They do a pretty excellent job of depicting the internsity of the film and exactly how a sinister gangster like Whitey could have possibly reigned for so long. His crew, known as The Winter Hill Gang, wreaked havoc all over...

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Kyle’s Criterion Corner: Dressed To Kill (1980)

Dressed To Kill 1980 Brian De Palma Spine #770 Available on Blu-Ray & DVD courtesy of The Criterion Collection Dressed To Kill 1980 Brian De Palma Spine #770 Available on Blu-Ray & DVD courtesy of The Criterion Collection As a director in 1980, Brian De Palma (Carrie, Scarface) had earned the reputation of not only being a more than capable...

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Kyle’s Criterion Corner: Night and The City (1950)

Based on a 1938 Gerald Kersh novel of the same name, Night and the City certainly lives up to its archetypical sounding noir title, but is quite atypical in its pessimistic identity and unusual plotti Based on a 1938 Gerald Kersh novel of the same name, Night and the City certainly lives up to its archetypical sounding noir title, but is quite...

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Kyle’s Criterion Corner: The Killers (1946, 1964)

The Killers 1946, 1964 Robert Siodmak, Donald Segal Spine #176 Available on DVD and Blu-Ray The Killers 1946, 1964 Robert Siodmak, Donald Segal Spine #176 Available on DVD and Blu-Ray Both versions of The Killers are the adaptation of Earnest Hemingway’s 1927 short story of the same name which document two hitmen who hold up in a diner and the...

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Kyle’s Criterion Corner: The Rose (1979)

In Mark Rydell’s The Rose, break-out star Bette Midler champions herself with a performance mirroring that of the late, great Janis Joplin or really any other rocker from that era who was jus In Mark Rydell’s The Rose, break-out star Bette Midler champions herself with a performance mirroring that of the late, great Janis Joplin or really any...

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