Browsing: movies

The basic premise of Star Trek: Starfleet Academy involves bright young things of the 32nd century being put through their paces on the path to becoming Starfleet officers and representatives of the Federation. Naturally, then, the new series has certain aspects in common with other school-based movies and TV shows from across the years. Caleb Mir certainly has a sprinkling of Zack Morris about him. But it seems to be Harry Potter that Starfleet Academy bears the strongest resemblance to, with the hallowed halls of the James T. Kirk Pavillion standing in for the grandiose architecture of Hogwarts. This isn’t…

Every year at the Tokyo International Film Festival, the programming team makes an effort to champion emerging talent that challenges preconceived notions of what Japanese cinema is or can be. Through their Women’s Empowerment and Nippon Cinema Now strands, the festival often showcases new work from female and non-binary filmmakers who bring their unique worldview to the big screen. At the 2025 edition of the festival, three of the most exciting filmmakers showing their work were Mika Imai (Kiiroiko), Chihiro Amano (Sato and Sato) and Keiko Tsuruoka (Saikai Paradise) whose films confront notions of love, family, belonging and home. Amid…

Sick Joy are a Brighton-based alt-rock band led by vocalist/guitarist Mykl Barton, known for fusing grunge-inflected rock, industrial touches, and emotionally candid lyricism. Originally emerging from Newcastle’s underground scene before settling in Brighton, Sick Joy have built a reputation for contrasting beauty and ruin—melding widescreen choruses with abrasive sonic textures. Their second album More Forever (due January 30, 2026) pushes this balance further, capturing themes of grief, persistence, and self-examination with visceral intensity and dynamic production.“Video Game” is one of the lead singles from More Forever, built around a propulsive beat and hypnotic momentum that mirrors its lyrical core. Vocalist Mykl Barton describes the track…

Catherine O’Hara, the beloved star of films like Home Alone and series like SCTV and Schitt’s Creek has died.O’Hara’s passing was reported by TMZ and confirmed by Variety. O’Hara was only 71 years old. She reportedly died after “a brief illness.”Born in 1954 and raised in Toronto, O’Hara’s big break in comedy came when O’Hara joined the cast of SCTV, the sketch series from the Toronto branch of Second City. Although she did some work in film and TV through the 1980s, appearing in films like Martin Scorsese’s After Hours, O’Hara’s movie career got a major boost when she played Deelia Deetz, stepmother to Winona Ryder’s Lydia in Tim Burton’s Beetlejuice. (O’Hara returned to…

If you look for long movies, you’ll see some genres represented more than others. Namely, historical dramas tend to get the epic treatment, if you look at the likes of Lawrence of Arabia, or the big films that are set in historical times, but not necessarily based on real people, like Gone with the Wind and Seven Samurai. Mystery films, though, tend to keep things on the shorter side of things runtime-wise. Two hours, or slightly on either side of that amount of time, might be the sweet spot for a mystery movie, yet some are also epic-length. They make…

Kaley Cuoco and Sam Claflin’s new four-part mystery thriller, Vanished, is an unsatisfying, fast-paced thrill ride. The pre-credit opening gives viewers an honest glimpse of what’s to come, as Cuoco’s archaeologist Alice Monroe clumsily parkours out of a building to evade a violent pursuer. The flashforward sets the show’s relentless pace, as Vanished unravels a global conspiracy within its less than four-hour runtime. In fact, having seen the limited series in its entirety (in one sitting, I might add), I’m somewhat surprised that Vanished will be released over the course of four weeks in certain territories on MGM+, rather than…

There are scenes within film and television that are defined by their lighting – a quality that becomes a cornerstone before actors even speak their first line. Gaffer and lighting technician Jon Haney cut his teeth on films like Titanic and The Negotiator, and quickly came to understand the importance of an element in visual media that’s crucial but often overlooked.Over the last three decades, Haney has become an integral part of designing lighting for television shows including CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, Grey’s Anatomy, and How to Get Away with Murder, and witnessed his profession change with the rise of streaming.  Get more Little White Lies LWLies: There were…

Twat Union are a six-piece feminist chaos pop-punk band from South London, celebrated for their wild, immersive live shows and fearless, provocative humour. With an all-girl lineup, Twat Union flip everyday frustrations and taboo topics into loud, joyful rebellion—taking on sexism, bodily realities, and the ridiculous assumptions women face in music scenes. Their sound is fast, messy in the best way, and built for collective release, blending punk urgency with pop-leaning hooks and riotous energy.“Pay Me More” is a sharp, shout-along demand wrapped in chaos and confidence. The track channels economic frustration, self-worth, and unapologetic empowerment, turning humour into confrontation and fun…

My grandmother loved Frank Sinatra, so I listened to a lot of his music growing up. One my favorite Sinatra songs is “The Best Is Yet to Come.” I love its hopeful message — still it’s a real good bet, the best is yet to come.But I will be honest here. Part of why that hopeful message appeals to me is because I am not, by nature, an optimistic person. I do not see a glass that’s half full. I see one that’s half empty, and wait a minute did you drink out of this glass? No, because I saw you holding a…

Since first premiering on Netflix in 2020, Bridgerton has taken the world by storm (though one could argue it was perfectly timed to do so with its initial holiday drop), but it’s also become a bit of a cultural phenomenon in its own right. The day before preparing to write this review, I spotted series-branded Dove body wash in the aisle of my local Target, as obvious a sign as any that Bridgerton has become more than a show at this point; it’s a brand. Despite all the collabs and tie-in products that bear the familiar Shondaland series’ logo, however,…