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Reviews

‘Flora and Son’ Explores the Healing Power of Music (Review)
Features, Film, Reviews

‘Flora and Son’ Explores the Healing Power of Music (Review)

With his latest film 'Flora and Son,' Irish director John Carney continues to build on the themes that have brought him success. Over the last two decades, the former bass player for The Frames has earned raves with movies like "Once" and "Sing Street." His newest is a little more rough around the edges, but still illustrates the transformative properties of song. Flora (Eve Hewson) is a single mother living in Dublin. When it comes to luck, she just doesn't have any. Her teenage son Max (Orén Kinlan) is a problem child, but Flora isn't much better. Life has been a series of mistakes and disappointments and when she gets a warning that Max needs to clean up his act or risk serious trouble, her maternal instincts finally start to surface. After rescuing a guitar from a dumpster, she...
Charming Rom-Com ‘Love at First Sight’ Lands on Netflix (Review)
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Charming Rom-Com ‘Love at First Sight’ Lands on Netflix (Review)

'Love at First Sight' is an adaptation of a hit YA novel that finds the fickle finger of fate pointing directly at two strangers who meet at the airport. Narrated by Jameela Jamil ('The Good Place'), the film is charmingly slight, but fun to watch. The original novel is called 'The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight,' which is such a better title and, yet, you probably would be less likely to pick that off the Netflix menu. Haley Lu Richardson ('The White Lotus,' 'Columbus') is Hadley, who is on her way to England for the second marriage of her father (Rob Delaney). It's a special event that she has very mixed feelings about. She's still smarting from her parents divorce and not particularly excited to cross the pond to watch her dad get married to a woman she has neve...
Welcome to the ILYIT Tour, brought to you by grandson
Events, Features, Music, Reviews

Welcome to the ILYIT Tour, brought to you by grandson

As much as I love going the distance (literally) for my favorite artists, I was so relieved to see that grandson was bringing his ILYIT tour to Albany's Empire Underground. This summer marked my fourth time seeing grandson live–and if I’m honest, he simply keeps getting better and better. From intimate picnicky acoustic sets to massive state fair stages and every size club in between, there isn’t a single environment where grandson’s music doesn’t fit.  With the European leg of this tour currently underway, I figured now might be a good time to talk a bit about what to expect from a grandson gig. “This is our first-ever concert in Albany…”  Before we get into the details about this particular stop on the ILYIT tour, I want to address a very good point that grandson made...
Jennifer Lawrence Delivers Plenty of Laughs in Raunchy ‘No Hard Feelings’ (Review)
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Jennifer Lawrence Delivers Plenty of Laughs in Raunchy ‘No Hard Feelings’ (Review)

With four Academy Award nominations and one win (for 'Silver Linings Playbook') under her belt, 'a hard-R teen comedy' No Hard Feelings' is not the first place you might expect to find Jennifer Lawrence. Inspired by an actual 2013 Craigslist ad, Lawrence stars as Maddie. She is a young thirtysomething struggling to keep it together in Montauk, New York. When the government starts knocking to collect back taxes on the house she inherited from her late mother, Maddie takes a local couple up on an unusual offer. Percy (Andrew Barth Feldman) is a socially awkward teenager who has grown up coddled and comfortable. He has so experience with dating or sex. His desperate parents (Matthew Broderick and Laura Benanti) take out a Craigslist ad looking for a woman to show him the ropes befor...
Seraph. and w/out Unite on Intricately Emotional New Song, “Ache”
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Seraph. and w/out Unite on Intricately Emotional New Song, “Ache”

Two brilliant electronic music producers, Seraph. and w/out, teamed up on an intricate and emotional new song, “Ache”. This fresh wavy release serves as the second single off of Seraph.’s upcoming EP, Memento. The EP’s first tender single, “Pulse,” dropped earlier this summer. For fans of sophisticated and melodic electronic music, August 31st is the date you need to remember, as that’s the day that Memento is due out in full via The Tabula Rasa Record Company.  As for "Ache", this is a powerful song that can evoke a strong emotional response no matter how many times you hear it. At the heart of the song is this complicated, nostalgic feeling. We recommend that you take some time to find a quiet space listen to this track so you can feel it for yourself-- "Ache" i...
AlienBlaze Enters her Villain Era with “Enemies With Benefits”
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AlienBlaze Enters her Villain Era with “Enemies With Benefits”

UK-based singer-songwriter AlienBlaze is back with a catchy new genre-defiant song, "Enemies With Benefits," out now via Sumerian Records. This release marks the artist's third with the label since her 2022 signing. It follows her inaugural single, "Not Yours Never Was," and her recent collaboration with OmenXIII, "Lovesick". Produced by The Nocturns, and loosely inspired by Elton John's “Goodbye Yellow Brick Road," AlienBlaze denotes this song as one of her favorite releases to date. We definitely can see why. Make sure to take a few minutes and check this one out. Watch the music video for "Enemies With Benefits" by AlienBlaze on YouTube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lvl9WWuPkMg With lyrics like "I want to stamp all over your ego with my platform heel..." and "I’ll ...
‘Bottoms’ is an Instant Comedy Classic (Review)
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‘Bottoms’ is an Instant Comedy Classic (Review)

While promoting her debut film 'Shiva Baby,' director Emma Seligman talked about how her next movie would be a "campy queer high school comedy in the vein of 'Wet American Summer but more for a Gen-Z queer audience." She has delivered with a wildly outrageous film called 'Bottoms.' PJ (Rachel Sennott) and Josie (Ayo Edebari) are hopelessly disliked at their high school. It's not because they are openly gay, but actually because they're "ugly and untalented." The two are desperate to lose their virginity before going off to college, but can't get any girls to look their way. That all changes once they form a "fight club" to attract the attention of some popular cheerleaders in their senior class. The unorthodox extracurricular activity brings the girls to them, but can they clos...
Prime Video Finds a Hit in ‘Red, White & Royal Blue’ (Review)
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Prime Video Finds a Hit in ‘Red, White & Royal Blue’ (Review)

Since launching on August 11, 'Red, White & Royal Blue' has become the most streamed movie globally on Prime Video in its premiere weekend. And within a few days, it apparently has become one of the most-watched romantic comedies in the history of the streaming service. How did that happen so fast? Taylor Zakhar Perez and Nicholas Galitzine star in Prime Video's 'Red, White & Royal Blue' It helps that the film is an adaptation of the wildly successful 2019 young adult novel of the same name by Casey McQuiston. It is the directorial debut of Matthew Lopez, a Tony-nominated playwright. Taylor Zakhar Perez stars as Alex Claremont-Diaz. His mother Ellen (played by Uma Thurman rocking a raucously ridiculous Texas accent) just so happens to be the first female Presi...
‘They Cloned Tyrone’ is a Wildly Creative Conspiracy Thriller (Review)
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‘They Cloned Tyrone’ is a Wildly Creative Conspiracy Thriller (Review)

In one of the year's most imaginative movies, Juel Taylor takes us into a world where nothing is as it seems in 'They Cloned Tyrone.' Taylor is no stranger to Hollywood, having co-written the screenplays to a few recent studio movies, In his directorial debut, shit gets weird. Fontaine (John Boyega) is surviving as a drug dealer in a neighborhood known as the Glen. He heads out one night to confront a customer named Slick Charles (Jamie Foxx) who owes him money and ends up getting fatally shot by a rival dealer and dies in the parking lot. Or does he? The next day, Fontaine is alive and back at Slick Charles' door. A prostitute named Yo-Yo (Teyonah Parris) who works for Charles lays it all on the line, recounting how she saw Fontaine's body riddled with bullets. This begins ...
From Ashes To New Bring the Apocalypse with ‘Blackout’
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From Ashes To New Bring the Apocalypse with ‘Blackout’

Today, Pennsylvania-based rap metal band, From Ashes To New, released a new concept album: Blackout. Musically, this new album sees the band continuing to refine the hybrid sound that sets them apart, while also building on the concepts found in their 2016 debut, Day One. If you’re someone who is looking for more of the band’s expert splicing of hard rock, metal, hip-hop, electronic and alternative music… you definitely need to give Blackout a few spins.  On the other hand, if you're new to the band, but love fresh-sounding music that can't be put into a neat little genre box... you also need to check this album out. After all, the album already has a Top 10-charting single (“Hate Me Too”), with another (“Nightmare”) well on its way.  Find the new album on Spotify,...