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‘Gunpowder Milkshake’ is Filled With Candy-Colored Carnage (Review)

16Jul

By Matt ShiverdeckerNo Comments

Film, Reviews

‘Gunpowder Milkshake’ is Filled With Candy-Colored Carnage (Review)

Director Navot Papushado made a splash at genre festivals worldwide when he co-directed his first movie "Rabies" in 2010, which was pushed as the "first feature-length Israeli horror film." His third feature also marks his English-language debut and he rounded up an incredible cast of kick-ass women for an ultraviolent tale of revenge. "Guardians of the Galaxy" and "Jumanji" star Karen Gillan takes the lead as Sam, a top-notch assassin who has followed in her mother's footsteps. She works for "The Firm" (led by a wonderfully grumpy Paul Giamatti) and is hired to kill a man who has stolen from them. Shortly after shooting him in the stomach, she discovers he has an 8-year-old daughter named Emily who has been kidnapped (hence, the stolen goods to get her back). This gives Sam a ...

Caroline Sky Shares a Vulnerable and Compelling Story Through Her 2021 Release ‘Company’

15Jul

By KaylaNo Comments

Music, Reviews

Caroline Sky Shares a Vulnerable and Compelling Story Through Her 2021 Release ‘Company’

Love can be blinding. It can make us all see through rose-colored glasses and put the person we are in love with on a pedestal. In reality, if the situation is toxic, it is much harder to leave than we expect it to be. Caroline Sky releases a beautiful single titled 'Company', where she was vulnerable about her experience walking away from a toxic situation. Caroline happens to be one of the youngest members to have performed in the prestigious San Francisco Girls Chorus. She has been drawn to more contemporary styles of music such as R&B, rock, and pop. Since then, Sky has performed in established music venues and festivals alongside Joan Baez, Carly Simon, Ben Taylor, and more. She studied at New York University's summer music program and continued to be mentored by incredibl...

COOPER PHILLIP Captures the Struggles of Finding Self-love in Her Latest Single ‘Perfectly Original’

9Jul

By KaylaNo Comments

Music, Reviews

COOPER PHILLIP Captures the Struggles of Finding Self-love in Her Latest Single ‘Perfectly Original’

Comparison, self-doubt, and fear are some of our worst habits. Living life by comparing ourselves to others creates such a toxic environment. However, it is a slow and different journey for everyone to find the courage to love themselves no matter what. COOPER PHILLIP releases 'Perfectly Original', a single reminding us all how important we are. COOPER was born in Russia to a family of classical pianists. Growing up, she was inspired by Ella Fitzgerald and eventually enrolled in Moscow State Classical Academy where she studied many instruments, and her vocals expanded into the powerful sound we hear today. COOPER has performed at well-known venues in Los Angeles such as Viper Room, Soho House, and Sayers Club. After her success with “Party by Myself” in 2016, reaching over 1.6 million ...

Young Poets Shine in “Summertime” (Review)

9Jul

By Matt ShiverdeckerNo Comments

Art, Film, Reviews

Young Poets Shine in “Summertime” (Review)

In the spring of 2019, Carlos López Estrada ("Blindspotting") attended a poetry showcase hosted by a Los Angeles-based non-profit organization called Get Lit: Words Ignite. He was so inspired by the young poets who performed that he rounded up all of them and worked with some of his closest filmmaking friends to put to a project together that would incorporate their words into a functional feature film to serve as a love letter to the city. The end result effortlessly manages to merge spoken word poetry with occasionally bombastic musical numbers featuring a host of intersecting characters into a cohesive timeline over the course of one summer day. I can't say enough good things about these performances, all from high school poets who were not professional actors. You would nev...

Take a Wild “First Date” This Holiday Weekend (Review)

2Jul

By Matt ShiverdeckerNo Comments

Film, Reviews

Take a Wild “First Date” This Holiday Weekend (Review)

A debut film can often act as a calling card in the industry. Even if it doesn't find a huge audience, the right buzz can earn enough of a following to become a cult classic and lay the groundwork for bigger things. That, in a nutshell, is exactly what I anticipate will happen for Manuel Crosby and Darren Knapp, who wrote and directed "First Date," an incredibly fun and totally bonkers movie that premiered earlier this year at the Sundance Film Festival. https://youtu.be/EDNarSyQEcc Tyson Brown plays Mike, a shy high-schooler who has had a crush on a girl at school named Kelsey (Shelby Duclos) for a long time and finally decides to work up the nerve to ask her out. The only problem? He doesn't have a car. All he needs to do is get a decent ride and pick her up for a date. If it...

Aubren Elaine touches our hearts with her latest single ‘Waiting for You’

1Jul

By KaylaNo Comments

Music, Reviews

Aubren Elaine touches our hearts with her latest single ‘Waiting for You’

Time flies by faster than we know. People come and go through our lives, some making more of an impact than others. If we are lucky enough to find the person that makes us want to wait for them, no matter the circumstances, we know we are rare. Aubren Elaine reminds her listeners about this special kind of love that is too strong to let go of. She blends a classic-inspired sound with a modern pop R&B sound. Aubren’s first release was in 2019, 'No Good for You', streaming over 5K on Spotify, and has released 'Natural' and 'Electric Love' in the following year. Aubren’s latest release 'Waiting for You' is candy to the ear with her smooth and jazz-inspired production. Her skills as a producer shine through all of the little elements that we often miss but that actually create a str...

Questlove Takes Us Back to the “Summer Of Soul” (Review)

29Jun

By Matt ShiverdeckerNo Comments

Film, Music, Reviews

Questlove Takes Us Back to the “Summer Of Soul” (Review)

Winner of the U.S. Documentary Competition's Grand Jury Prize and Audience Award at this year's Sundance Film Festival, "Summer of Soul (…Or, When the Revolution Could Not Be Televised)" is the filmmaking debut from Roots drummer extraordinaire Ahmir "Questlove" Thompson and one of the year's most exhilarating films. https://youtu.be/k99XO-UE5AQ In the summer of 1969, over 400,000 attended the Woodstock festival in New York State. That event is well documented in every respect, with a legendary film, album releases, and books to dissect every aspect of the cultural revolution. But that same summer, a series of music concerts were held in Mount Morris Park in Harlem, New York, that became known as "Black Woodstock." The Harlem Cultural Festival occurred every Sunday from late Ju...

James Vickery Spreads Love With His Latest Single ‘You Comfort Me’ (w/EARTHGANG)

28Jun

By KaylaNo Comments

Music, Reviews

James Vickery Spreads Love With His Latest Single ‘You Comfort Me’ (w/EARTHGANG)

Out of all the people that pass through our lives, when we meet our person we simply know. All of these unexplainable feelings and connections are hard to put into words but James Vickery does a beautiful job creating the feeling of finding your person through his latest single with EARTHGANG. If you haven’t heard of Vickery, you are in for a pleasant surprise. His vocals will go straight to your heart and make you feel every word he is saying. Vickery is an outstanding live-performing artist. He had major success withhis COLORS session which now has over 23 million views. He was born in London and has now caught the eye of many internationally. He had headlined in venues such as The Jazz Cafe, The Echo, and Rough Trade. In addition to this, he has performed at festivals such as MELT a...

25Jun

By Matt ShiverdeckerNo Comments

Film, Reviews

Tribeca 2021: “Wolfgang” (Review)

The launch of Spago in 1982 put Wolfgang Puck on the map and, next to perhaps only Julia Child a few decades prior, he became one of the first celebrity chefs to fully integrate into popular culture. His life from growing up in an abusive household in Austria to the commercialization of "California Cuisine" is the subject of this new documentary from David Gelb ("Jiro Dreams of Sushi"). Still hard at work at the age of 71, Puck's story is inspirational and aspirational. This may explain how the movie was picked up by Disney. It really tells the story of a person who fought against the odds and was consistently told they couldn't make it, but kept fighting for something he was passionate about. It paid off in spades. The man has two Michelin stars, over 20 fine dining restaurant...

Tribeca 2021: “Werewolves Within” (Review)

22Jun

By Matt ShiverdeckerNo Comments

Film, Reviews

Tribeca 2021: “Werewolves Within” (Review)

It takes a very careful balance to create a successful horror comedy film. If you want to expand beyond genre lovers, you need a strong cast of characters and a way to still have some impactful scares and enough laughter to lighten the mood along the way. Mishna Wolff (with her first screenplay) and director Josh Ruben have very loosely adapted a multiplayer Ubisoft VR game from 2016 where a town is being attacked by a werewolf and the players have to figure out if one of their own is the culprit. The residents of Beaverfield are a motley crew and they don't seem to get along too well. A proposed gas pipeline coming through town is only dividing them further. Enter Finn (Sam Richardson, "Veep," "Detroiters") - a forest ranger who is brand new to the community. He is a genuinel...