Check out the week's newest film releases and find out what our staff can't wait to see (or, in some cases, would choose to see if we absolutely had to). Click the posters for more info about each film. Shelby and Matt are interested in... "Despite the goofy title, my pick for this week is Juliet, Naked. Ever since I watched Before Sunrise I have been slightly in love with Ethan Hawke, and I'm pretty sure seeing him in the 'reclusive singer-songwriter' role may actually cause my heart to burst. The fact that the film is based on a Nick Hornby book and the director is also the former bassist for The Lemonheads is just icing on the cake" - Shelby "I love Hornby, and Hawke's been doing interest

Hey everyone! It's back to school time, and I'm sure we're all very excited and not at all stressed about the prospect of surviving another year of learning. To celebrate this totally relaxing time, I thought I'd put together a list of my favorite back to school movies, a surprising number of which focus on the slackers, troublemakers, outcasts, and rebels (so, no Say Anything, because aside from violating some noise ordinances with his boom box and being super clingy, Lloyd Dobbler's not really a bad guy). 1) Ferris Bueller's Day Off (1986) - There's no point in burying the lede here. Anyone who knows me knows this is easily my favorite school-centric movie, and one of my favorite films, pe

"He didn't teach you how to win, he taught you how not to lose. That's nothing to be proud of. You're playing not to lose, Josh. You've got to risk losing. You've got to risk everything. You've got to go to the edge of defeat. That's where you want to be, boy - on the edge of defeat." Two years ago I had the honor of being a contestant on Sports Jeopardy with Dan Patrick. And yes, for one day I was a Sports Jeopardy champion. I mention this because this week’s film played a small role in my success. I doubt you will ever see a more exciting film about chess than 1993’s Searching For Bobby Fischer. From writer director Steven Zaillian, who is best known for his screenwriting work which includ

SPLASH PAGE (noun) - Often the first page of a comic, it is generally a full page image designed to introduce the story and draw readers in. Hi everyone! Welcome to what will hopefully be the first in a weekly column looking at what's going on in the world of comics. The plan is to feature significant news, mini-reviews of comics-adjacent content (such as this week's look at the latest offering from the Marvel Cinematic Universe), spotlights on new comics, and features on comic creators. I'll also be trying to include info about where you can get comics, including in-depth spotlights on local shops, how to find shops near you, upcoming events, and more! RUSS HEATH (September 29, 1926 – Augus

Welcome to Sci-Fi Saturday, a new column that is devoted to all things science fiction: film, television, comics, novels, video games, and local Metro Detroit events. If there is a topic you'd like to see covered in an upcoming column, email us at kinoclub313wsu@gmail.com! After what has felt like a long hiatus, I am finally back at my marathon of Star Trek: The Original Series. This week I watched the two part episode "The Menagerie" (Season 1, Eps 11-12), "The Conscience of the King," and "The Balance of Terror." "The Menagerie" reintroduces Captain Pike from the original ST:TOS pilot episode, "The Cage," as the former captain of the USS Enterprise, and Spock's old commander. As the origin

Check out the week's newest film releases and find out what our staff can't wait to see (or, in some cases, would choose to see if we absolutely had to). Click the posters for more info about each film. Shelby and Matt are interested in... "Although I'm firmly in the camp that thinks Charlie Hunnam needs to stop getting cast in....anything, I'm actually going with Papillon this week. I usually enjoy prison break movies, and I'm genuinely curious about how Rami Malek's natural charisma will mesh with the charisma-black-hole that is Hunnam. Danish director Michael Noer is an interesting choice to helm this remake, so I have high hopes." - Shelby "I have similar concerns about Hunnam in this fi

Title: BlacKkKlansman (2018) Genre: Biography/Drama/Comedy Director: Spike Lee Stars: John David Washington, Adam Driver, Topher Grace, Laura Harrier, Jasper Pääkkönen, Ryan Eggold Bias: I've only seen a handful of Spike Lee films, and I'm generally not too interested in bio-pics or dramas. In a Nutshell: The first black police officer in Colorado Springs, Colorado responds over the phone to a newspaper ad soliciting for members of the KKK. He then comes up with a plan to infiltrate the organization on the eve of a visit from a newly politically-oriented David Duke. Grade: A The Critique: It will probably come as no surprise to anyone with an interest in film and a knowledge of Spike Lee's f

The last decade or so has given us a number of smart and funny horror comedies including 2006’s Behind the Mask: The Rise of Leslie Vernon, 2009’s Dead Snow and 2015’s The Final Girls. I will write about each of these films in the near future but this week I wanted to focus on my favorite of this recent breed of clever films spoofing horror: 2010’s Tucker and Dale Vs Evil. From co-writer and director Eli Craig (son of Sally Field) comes a very funny film that takes the “secluded kids at the cabin” trope and turns it on its head. The film stars Alan Tudyk and Tyler Labine as the titled Tucker and Dale, respectively. They are established early on as well meaning, lifelong buddies headed up to

A few weeks ago I celebrated the 30th anniversary of Die Hard with an extensive look back at the action masterpiece and it made me think more about my film upbringing. Specifically, it made me think more about the magical and bountiful cinematic summer that was 1988. I thought I would take this week to take another look back at one of the truly blockbuster summers, not only in revenue but quality. Summer movie seasons come and go but the class of 1988 was truly unique. Big – The film that cemented Tom Hanks stardom and earned him his 1st Oscar nomination, told the whimsical tale of a teenage boy who makes a wish and wakes up in his own 35-year-old body. Director Penny Marshall created many c

SPLASH PAGE (noun) - Often the first page of a comic, it is generally a full page image designed to introduce the story and draw readers in. Creator Spotlight: Neil Gaiman Today, Neil Gaiman is an award-winning and best-selling author. Writer of children's books (The Day I Swapped My Dad for Two Goldfish; The Wolves in the Walls; Coraline), young adult novels (The Graveyard Book; The Ocean at the End of the Lane), short story anthologies (Fragile Things; Trigger Warnings), novels (Anansi Boys; Neverwhere), and occasionally comic books. His novel American Gods is currently being adapted into a successful live-action series on Starz (the first season aired in 2017, and the second is scheduled

Check out the week's newest film releases and find out what our staff can't wait to see (or, in some cases, would choose to see if we absolutely had to). Click the posters for more info about each film. Shelby, Matt, and Ian all agree... "Rather than taking my usual tie-breaking approach, my nomination for the week is the newest Spike Lee joint, BlacKkKlansman. That decision is based about 30% on Adam Driver, 30% on Spike Lee, and 40% on how John David Washington says "hwhite" in the trailer (as in, "with the right hwhite man we can do anything")." - Shelby "I've watched a criminally small number of Spike Lee Joints (She's Gotta Have It, Mo' Better Blues, Bamboozled, Inside Man) but everythi

Before I begin, I want to take a moment to recognize what an odd, odd, series this is. What began as a modern-day repackaging of a 1960s TV series has turned into one of the most consistently successful (both financially and critically) action franchises in film history. Five directors, six films, one mega-star lead, over the course of 22 years - oh, and over 3 billion dollars (and counting) in box office. As a transmedia object - part adaptation, part reboot, and arguably part sequel, it's fascinating enough. What I find more interesting, however, is the questions it raises about film authorship, style, star power, and the somewhat elusive (for me) question of just who and what an auteur is

Hard to believe that I would highlight a film from one of the most successful and longest running film franchises of all time but this week I would like to take another look at License to Kill. Released in 1989, this is the film that almost killed the entire franchise. I find this stupefying considering it’s in the top five of my favorite James Bond films. I would also like to evaluate Timothy Dalton who is the most underrated of the actors chosen to portray 007. License to Kill gives us one of our most personal stories regarding cinema’s most renown secret agent. After an exciting shootout and successful “airplane fishing” expedition, we see James Bond as best man at the wedding of longtime

SPLASH PAGE (noun) - Often the first page of a comic, it is generally a full page image designed to introduce the story and draw readers in. Michigan Science Center After Dark Presents - Marvel vs. DC! In the interest of full disclosure, there's a bit of self-interest in this one. I'll be representing the Wayne State Comics Collective as part of a roundtable along with participants from Green Brain Comics, ComiqueCon 2018, and Vault of Midnight. Along with that, the event will include over 250 hands-on exhibits, DJ Skeez, and comic merch. The event itself is still a couple of weeks away, but tickets are available now ($15, or $10 for Michigan Science Center members). Tickets and info are ava

Welcome to Sci-Fi Saturday, a new column that is devoted to all things science fiction: film, television, comics, novels, video games, and local Metro Detroit events. If there is a topic you'd like to see covered in an upcoming column, email us at kinoclub313wsu@gmail.com! Since I'm still on my Star Trek hiatus until I can build up the energy to watch a two part episode ("The Menagerie," in case you cared), I thought I'd take this week to talk about teaching science fiction cinema. First, a bit of context: I'm teaching an accelerated summer semester Intro to Film & Media Studies course at Wayne State University (Detroit, MI). 8 weeks. 16 students. One film per class session (minus the date t

As is often the case with the best social satire, I’m still processing the recent Sorry to Bother You (you can check out Shelby Cadwell's far more cogent thoughts here) from filmmaker Boots Riley. It goes to uncomfortable places, and often does so in uncomfortable ways. At the same time, it speaks necessary truths about capitalism, race, the media, and ourselves that generally go unspoken – particularly in our popular entertainment. With that in mind (and with the added recommendation to see the above film as soon as possible) this list will focus on some other fantastic satirical films that you can seek out on streaming media this weekend. Some are obviously older than others, but all of th

I turned 30 this year, back in May. It was a pretty unceremonious birthday, especially since it happened just a few weeks before my big, stressful qualifying exams for my Ph.D program. At the time I said that I'd celebrate in a few weeks once the exam passed, but here it is, two months later...and I still have done nothing at all to celebrate my 30 years of existence. In an effort to remember what an awesome thirty years its been, I present to you my top 30 film picks - one for each year that I've been alive. Note: this list isn't the BEST film for each listed year, but my FAVORITE films based on criteria like how rewatchable they are, how memorable they are, how much they influenced me, etc