Category: Film & TV

Rewind, Review, and Re-Rate: ‘The Assassin’: A CCP Poisoned Apple

Not Rated | 1h 45m | Wuxia, Kung Fu, Martial Arts, Thriller | May 21, 2015 Two donkeys. That’s the opening shot. You’ve never seen such artistically rendered cinematic donkeys. Shot in black and white, the framing, the geometry, the rhythm of swaying branches, morphing abstract shapes suddenly recognizable; the image absolutely sings. Nie Yinniang, an apprentice assassin…


‘Three Guys Named Mike’ From 1951: A Stewardess’s Adventures

What happens when an airline stewardess meets a pilot, a scientist, and an advertising man? This sounds like the beginning of a joke, but it actually is the premise of “Three Guys Named Mike,” a 1951 romantic comedy. Jane Wyman plays Marcy, the perky airline stewardess whose adventures are the basis of this story. The…


Neighbors | I Married Joan Season 1 Episode 12

The Stevens suffer three sleepless nights a week because of their neighbors’ wild parties. Joan manages to convince them to move out, but the new neighbors are even worse—they have dogs that bark all night, every night. …


Epoch Watchlist: What to Watch for April 21–April 27

This week, we feature a wholesome animated-fantasy TV series and a new drama about a highly inspirational figure in the world of boxing. New Release ‘Big George Foreman: The Miraculous Story of the Once and Future Heavyweight Champion of the World’ This biopic follows the life of legendary boxer “Big George” Foreman—beginning with his troubled…


‘The Last of Us’: Pandemic Parallels Hit Close to Home

HBO Max series “The Last of Us” follows a grizzled man in an apocalyptic world. After a fungus outbreak has infected the world, fundamental freedoms are taken away while an overreaching bureaucracy searches for a cure. While “The Last of Us” is fiction, its depiction of real-world scenarios may be a lesson and a warning….


Film Review: ‘Guy Ritchie’s The Covenant’: Ritchie Makes a Mean and Meaningful Military Movie

R | 2h 3m | War, Drama | April 21, 2023 “Guy Ritchie’s The Covenant” stars Jake Gyllenhaal as U.S. Army Sgt. John Kinley, top-dog of an elite, hunter-destroyer taskforce designed to demolish Taliban weapons outposts. Afghan interpreter Ahmed (Dar Salim, L) and Sgt. John Kinley (Jake Gyllenhaal, front-center) in “Guy Ritchie’s The Covenant.” (Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer) Following an ambush, Afghan…


Film Review: ‘Somewhere in Queens’: Ray Romano Achieves Hilarious Near-Perfect Comedy

R | 1h 46min | Comedy, Drama, Romance, Coming-of-Age | 21 April 2023 (USA) For nine seasons (1996–2005), former stand-up comedian Ray Romano co-produced, occasionally wrote, and played the title lead in “Everybody Loves Raymond” (“Everybody”), a CBS sitcom that enjoyed mammoth viewership and lukewarm critical response while offering ultrasafe content. From 2009 to 2011, Romano did the same thing on…


Secrets | I Married Joan Season 1 Ep. 11

Keeping a secret from Brad almost costs him a missed appointment. …


Popcorn and Inspiration: ‘Born Free’

PG | 1 h 35 min | Drama, Adventure | 1966 We normally use “it” for animals. not sure we can do that it as it kind of works against his point. You could say that this story about lions is a very human story, because it’s told with traits you’d hardly expect in lion…


Documentary Review: ‘Civilization in the Danger Zone’

NR | 1 h 5 min | Documentary | 2023 Anyone who compulsively engages in self-criticism and only remembers their worst mistakes rather than their greatest accomplishments would probably be diagnosed by psychiatrists with alarmingly severe depression. Young people are being taught to negate America’s founding principles as shown in “Civilization in the Danger Zone.”…