With every Halloween season comes an expectation for movie fans to prioritize their viewings around the horror genre. Classics like Halloween, A Nightmare on Elm Street and The Shining are shown in regular circulation, and the characters of Michael Myers, Freddy Krueger and Jack Torrance remain just as popular as they’ve…
Borat is back! 14 years after the mockumentary films Borat: Cultural Learnings of America For Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan made headlines for its controversial hidden camera pranks and searing cultural commentary, Sacha Baron Cohen has returned to his signature role with a sequel that tackles on everything from…
Creativity is the key when it comes to the best Halloween costumes. Sure, every Halloween party has at least one Harley Quinn or Pennywise, but the truly memorable costumes that go viral each year are those which feel original and unique. While online shopping has made it easier than ever…
Avid moviegoers and concert fans have at least one thing in common right now: angst. Even with some socially distanced theaters opening in Texas and a number of concerts with limited seating available, fans of live cultural events have experienced a drought of new content since shutdowns began in March…
The best horror movies are about people. As easy as it is to judge the genre based on what film has the most memorable deaths, the most jump scares, or the most terrifying masked killer, the scariest films are the ones where the characters feel lifted from a reality that…
Making any sort of comprehensive pop culture list is bound to be controversial no matter what. At the end of the day, it’s a matter of opinion and is completely subjective, but that will never stop people from complaining about their personal favorites missing the cut or claiming that the…
The days of comic books adaptations being looked down on as nothing more than elevated B-movies now seems like a distant memory. In the past two decades, superhero stories have become the most dominant form of mass entertainment, with the characters of Marvel and DC comics populating some of the…
A moviegoer who checks the digital signage at their local theater and sees showtimes for The Breakfast Club, The Goonies, and Back to the Future may believe that they actually took a trip in Doc Brown’s DeLorean. Why, they may wonder, are three of the biggest films of 1985 making…
It’s hard to think of another young actor who’s been involved with as much Hollywood royalty as Jesse Plemons. The 32-year-old Dallas native has worked with such prominent filmmakers as Martin Scorsese with The Irishman, Steven Spielberg with Bridge of Spies and Paul Thomas Anderson with The Master. He’s also appeared as…
Among the major effects of COVID-19 on the larger cultural world was the erasure of the summer movie season. Since the mid-1970s when blockbusters like Jaws and Star Wars first took off, the summer months have become the time when studios release many of their most profitable releases. The past…
COVID-19 has thrown 2020 into chaos, and it just keeps on giving — there’s still an election to worry about in November. The past month, in particular, seems to have been largely dedicated to the minutiae of how this election will proceed with mail-in and absentee voting, as well as thoughts…
It’s hard to look at “back to school” catalogues or Walmart displays without a good deal of apprehension. While Dallas ISD is planning to open schools on Tuesday, Sept. 8, with both in-person and remote opportunities, many of the details are up in the air. Gov. Greg Abbott has stressed…
This past week saw the release of Chasing the Light, the epic memoir of legendary filmmaker Oliver Stone. A word like “controversial” doesn’t even begin to describe the work of Stone, whose films have delved deep into hot button political issues and sparked intense debate for decades. Some have decried…
Another day, another pushback. While safety during the pandemic is rightfully at the forefront of most people’s minds, many understandably yearn for a future where arts and entertainment will be “back to normal.” The film industry has certainly seen a huge shift in how films are distributed, and with productions…
As a result of the pandemic, the entertainment world has been drastically changed, and it will be interesting to see how these changes will ripple into the award shows that generate so much attention. How will the Oscars, the Grammys and the Tonys celebrate a year in which so much…
In the new film Selfie Dad, lead character Ben Marcus speeds away from home in a fit of rage and is abruptly pulled over by a police officer. The scene in the original script called for Ben to get out of the car nonchalantly, but when considering the role, actor…
Two days after returning from the Sundance Film Festival, Dallas-born actor Jonathan Majors got the call that would fill any performer with joy: Spike Lee wanted to meet with him about a role. Majors eagerly drove to Lee’s office in Brooklyn, but the meeting wasn’t exactly what he expected. The…
This past week saw the release of the Al Capone biopic Capone, but those looking for a grim, gritty story of how the notorious gangster rose to power in Chicago may be sorely disappointed — the film instead depicts an aging Capone who luxuriates in his Florida estate and has all…
“You simply can’t ask a social media influencer about a following they’re not as strong in,” says the fictitious Dr. Miriam Spacelli, a supposed specialist on social media anxiety disorder. “If a person has two million Snapchat followers, but a million on Instagram, well that isn’t going to be something…
Among Dallas’ museums, the Sixth Floor Museum at Dealey Plaza stands out as the rare foundation where history was actually made. Located on the sixth floor of the former Texas School Book Depository, the museum commemorating the life of the nation’s 35th president stands in the same place Lee Harvey…
The pandemic has affected almost all forms of business, but it’s impact on the entertainment industry has been particularly swift. Throughout the world, productions have been shut down, with major studios like Disney, Netflix, Warner Bros, and Apple closing sets and sending crew members home. Many of the year’s most…
We know. There is a surplus of streaming choices, and now it’s coupled with unlimited free time. Movie-watching has never made us so anxious. If you’re on a quest to discover the best of Texas filmmaking or uninterested in Tiger King (as you should be), or already finished it, let us…
