BY DAN TABOR FILM CRITIC The best genre films do double duty, entertaining us while simultaneously saying something socially relevant. Project Power Netflix’s entry into the superhero arena does just that, by combining a very timely message with a superhero story that feels like something that was cribbed from some near-future headline. The film stars Dominique Fishback as Robin, a young woman from inner city New Orleans who is forced to deal a new drug called Power that is all the rage, to help make money for her mother’s diabetes treatment. Power essentially works like this: you take the drug […]
SMUS: The Postman Always Cheats Twice
BY WILLIAM C. HENRY With a straight face and nary a hint of irony, the alleged President of the United States of America has declared that allowing “mail-in” balloting will turn November 3rd into the most corrupt, most fraudulent, most fixed, most discreditable, most rigged, most unfair election in the history of American democracy — unless, of course, you’d like to take advantage of voting that way in any one of the 26 states that have Republican governors. Why? Because, according to the Racist-In-Chief, if you live in and wish to use the “mail-in” method of voting in a state that […]
NPR 4 THE DEAF: We Hear It Even When You Can’t
FRESH AIR: Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X are frequently seen as opposing forces in the struggle for civil rights and against white supremacy; King is often portrayed as a nonviolent insider, while Malcolm X is characterized as a by-any-means-necessary political renegade. But author and Black Power scholar Peniel Joseph says the truth is more nuanced. “I’ve always been fascinated by Malcolm X and Dr. King … and dissatisfied in how they’re usually portrayed — both in books and in popular culture,” Joseph says. In his book, The Sword and the Shield: The Revolutionary Lives of Malcolm X […]
BILL FRISELL: What The World Needs Now
Bill Frisell’s career as a guitarist and composer has spanned more than 40 years and many celebrated recordings, whose catalog has been cited by Downbeat as “the best recorded output of the decade.” Released March of ’18, Frisell’s latest album for OKeh/Sony is a solo album titled, Music IS – “Taken as a whole, the album beautifully encapsulates Frisell’s depth and range in all its meditative glory.” – Chicago Reader. It was recorded in August, 2017 at Tucker Martine’s Flora Recording and Playback studio in Portland, Oregon and produced by longtime collaborator Lee Townsend. All of the compositions on Music […]
SH*T MY UNCLE SAYS: Of Silver Spoons & Tyrants
BY WILLIAM C. HENRY How did a man who had NEVER been successful at ANYTHING in his entire miserable life–other than mastering a two-word vocabulary of “you’re fired”–manage to get himself elected president of the United States of America? Oh, that’s right, he actually LOST the election by nearly 3 MILLION votes, and, in fact, was “anointed” president by the so-called Electoral College (the founding fathers no doubt felt obliged to insert these more palatable words rather than the properly descriptive originally proposed “Democratic Election Be Damned” ones in order to further placate the slaveholding states). So, other than being able to […]
CINEMA: The Grateful Dead
SHE DIES TOMORROW (directed by Amy Seimetz, 86 minutes, USA, 2020) BY DAN TABOR FILM CRITIC Now streaming on VOD, She Dies Tomorrow perfectly encapsulates the psychology — some would say fatalistic psychosis — of living in 2020. Written and directed by Amy Seimetz who was part of the mumblecore indie horror movement of the teens responsible for that odd sub-genre films that all starred AJ Bowen. She is back, with some familiar faces for her second solo feature outing that has her dropping the heavy dialog and taking to a highly visual and existential approach to a film that […]
CINEMA: Judas And The Black Messiah Trailer
ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY: Daniel Kaluuya steps into power in the first trailer for Judas and the Black Messiah, which stars the Academy Award-nominated actor as activist Fred Hampton. Hampton rose to prominence as a member of Chicago’s Black Panther Party and became leader of the Illinois chapter in the late 1960s. During his time with the revolutionary socialist political organization, he brokered a non-aggression pact between many of Chicago’s toughest gangs, established a free breakfast program, and founded a community program to aid in the supervision of the police. Hampton was killed on Dec. 4, 1969, during an FBI raid of […]
Why Episode 8 Of David Lynch’s Twin Peaks 2017 Is The Most Mind-Blowing Hour In The History Of TV
From the opening scene of Episode 8 of Twin Peaks 2017, directed by David Lynch, score by Krzysztof Penderecki. VULTURE: The most startling flashback in the history of American television is the one that takes us from a black screen to the first successful test of an atomic bomb in New Mexico, on July 16, 1945, at 5:29:45 a.m. (Lynch and Frost make sure to note the time as well.) It might or might not be significant that the first detonation was code named Trinity, and this series is built around a trinity of Dale Cooper figures: the BOB-possessed Coop, […]
WORTH REPEATING: In The Air Tonight
NEW YORK TIMES: After she recovered from the initial shock of her diagnosis, Johnson began to wonder why she had such an unusual cancer. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that only about 3,700 Americans find out they have gallbladder cancer each year; breast cancer is the most frequently diagnosed cancer in the country, with more than 276,000 new cases annually. Because Johnson’s disease was so uncommon, doctors at University Hospital had to formulate a special treatment plan. Gallbladder cancer occurs mainly in older people, and 72 is the average age at diagnosis. Johnson was 46. “I […]
WORTH REPEATING: Return To Sender
PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER: Neighborhoods across the Philadelphia region are experiencing significant delays in receiving their mail, with some residents going upwards of three weeks without packages and letters, leaving them without medication, paychecks, and bills. The delays come at a time when the U.S. Postal Service is experiencing significant changes. The new Postmaster General’s policies eliminate overtime, order carriers to leave mail behind to speed up their workdays, and slash office hours, which — coupled with staffing shortages amid previous budget cuts and coronavirus absences — are causing extensive delivery delays. According to local union leaders and carriers, mail is […]
INCOMING: Fargo Season 4 Teaser
SCREENRANT: Set in Kansas City, Missouri in 1950, Fargo’s newest escapade will follow two crime syndicates – one Italian and one African American – whose peace truce is wavering. Head of one of the families, Loy Cannon (Rock), relinquished his eldest son to the opposing side, and both groups find themselves thrust into exploitation, assimilation, and transgression. Infused with wisecracks and organized crime family antics, the teaser trailer for Fargo season 4 begins with Doctor Senator (Turman) stating, “In America, you’ve got to earn respect.” Teasing an action-packed season with dueling crime lords, Fargo season 4 could be one wild ride. […]
WORTH REPEATING: Defang The Police Unions
NEW YORKER: In the modern labor movement, police unions are outliers, their politics well to the right of even the Teamsters and the building trades. They can make common cause with the movement when union-killing legislation looms, as it briefly did in New York State a few years ago. But when they know they will be spared, as in Wisconsin, they stay quiet even while teachers and nurses and sanitation workers are being squashed. For the left, one problem with hammering police unions is that the right is doing the same thing. National Review and the Wall Street Journal’s editorial […]
AMERICAN DEMOCRACY: Just Do It!
HeadCount and Fort William Artist Management have announced VOTE READY, A Concert for Voter Registration, happening Friday, August 14th at 7pm Eastern, to motivate fans to verify and update their voter registration. The concert, part of the “Live From Out There” livestream series, will feature original self-recorded performances by The War On Drugs, Robin Pecknold, Daniel Rossen (of Grizzly Bear), Christopher Bear (of Grizzly Bear/Fools), Kyp Malone (of TV On The Radio), Jaleel Bunton (of TV On The Radio), Kevin Morby, Waxahatchee, Tarriona Tank Ball, Hand Habits, Ciggy, Kam Franklin (of The Suffers), The Building and Allison Russell & […]