Tag: Film & TV

‘Young Ideas’ from 1943: A Professor Finds Love

Commentary There are countless movies and TV shows about blended families whose children aren’t happy about their parents’ remarriage. “Young Ideas” from 1943 is one of these movies, but it’s unusual in that the offspring in its story are young adults rather than children. This movie stars Mary Astor as the mother, Herbert Marshall as…


‘Not as a Stranger’ from 1955: The Beginning of the End

Commentary I don’t usually review movies released after 1954. That’s why I was initially hesitant to watch and write about “Not as a Stranger” (1955). However, it’s a highly-acclaimed film because of its prestigious cast, adaptation of an award-winning play, and direction from first-time director Stanley Kramer. Both for entertainment and reviewing purposes, I generally…


TV Docuseries Review: ‘100 Years of Warner Bros.’

TV-MA | 3h 52min | Documentary, Film History | 01 June 2023 (USA) If there is anything that the Hollywood hit machine is consistently great at, it is the conception, packaging, marketing, and distribution of what will eventually become nostalgia. Most movie fans (meaning at least 50%+1) believe films of the past are far better than those of the present, and…


‘Puss in Boots: The Last Wish’ Has a Wonderful Message Americans Need to Hear

Commentary The Roman Emperor Marcus Aurelius once offered a bit of stoic wisdom about the importance of being grateful for the things we have. “Treat what you don’t have as nonexistent,” Aurelius wrote in “Meditations.” “Look at what you have, the things you value most, and think of how much you’d crave them if you…


Selfless | Documentary

Everywhere you go, heads are down with faces not engaged in one another, which brings forth the question, “Where are we leading the next generation?” Anxiety and narcissism are at the height of their existence, while Gen Z has never known life without iPhone in hand, internet, and social networks. The experiment with technology is…


Rewind, Review, and Re-Rate: ‘Hard Boiled’

1992 | R | 2h 8m | Action, Drama, War Having established himself as one of the world’s most innovative action directors during the 1980s, with “A Better Tomorrow” (1986), “A Better Tomorrow 2” (1987), and “The Killer” (1989), Hong-Kong-reared John Woo quickly garnered for himself a cult following and was considered to be a…


Film Review: ‘Master Gardener’: Gardening as Metaphor for Purification and Redemption

R | 1h 51m | Drama | May 19, 2023 Writer-director Paul Schrader serves up yet another anti-hero plagued by a troubled, violent past in “Master Gardener.” Narvel Roth (Joel Edgerton) is a former neo-Nazi, now in witness protection, who works as the head gardener on the enormous Southern estate of a to-the-plantation-born domineering heiress Norma Haverhill…


‘Emotional Genius’ Judge Lynn Toler Turns Life Into New Show That Tackles Mental Health Awareness

Judge Lynn Toler has spent her career imparting life wisdom and grounded advice. She served as the longest-reigning arbitrator in the longest-running courtroom show, “Divorce Court,” for 14 consecutive seasons, and co-hosted three seasons of “Marriage Boot Camp,” where she mentored couples after watching them for 10-hour days and always made a point to explain—in…


Epoch Watchlist: What to Watch for May 26–June 1

This week, we feature a celebrated World War II miniseries and a family-friendly adventure about two siblings on a quest to save a magical land. New Release ‘The Secret Kingdom’ When siblings Peter (Sam Everingham) and Verity (Alyla Browne) move into a house from their father’s childhood, they discover a mystical land beneath Peter’s bedroom…


Popcorn and Inspiration: ‘Only Angels Have Wings’: We’re Never Alone

NR | 2 h 1 min | Drama | 1939 Affable “Dutchy” Van Ruyter (Sig Ruman) runs a troubled airfreight service from the South American port of Barranca to the United States. His cynical but skilled chief pilot Geoff Carter (Cary Grant) and his corps risk their lives navigating fog that’s often, as one pilot…