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Movie Reviews

Locarno 2026: I Rarely Wake Up Dreaming, Hearing, Bruton

Though I have left Locarno, I haven’t finished writing about its many idiosyncratic offerings. The festival today announced its awards, including the recipient of the Golden Leopard (more on that in my final dispatch). And while I’m thrilled by many of the winners, in this dispatch I’d like to highlight a couple of films that

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Movie Reviews

Locarno 2026: Nowhere To Lay My Eyes, At Night, Nobody’s Violence

In these dispatches I often talk about themes naturally arising or not arising at all between films. Well, the throughline between these trio of titles couldn’t be clearer: They all thoroughly contemplate death and mortality. Two of the films are from veterans while a third one is a filmmaker’s feature directorial debut—though to be sure

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Movie Reviews

Regina Taylor to Perform “Exhibit” at Atlanta Black Theatre Festival

Audience members attending the main stage performance on closing night of the Atlanta Black Theatre Festival are in for a serious treat. At 7 pm on Saturday, September 5th, Golden Globe-winning actress, director, and playwright Regina Taylor will perform her own one-woman show, Exhibit, at the festival, aiming not only to involve theatergoers directly in

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Day Trip to Saunders County

Between Omaha and Lincoln, Saunders County is an easy day trip with outdoor activities and small towns worth exploring. Fish, paddle and hike There are several places to fish, paddle or hike in Saunders County. Lake Wanahoo — 662 acres one mile north of Wahoo. Camping,

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Movie Reviews

Locarno 2026: Objet A, Tear Gas, Fire Flower (Hanabi)

In this first dispatch from Locarno is a trio of films one might call “elusive.” They all capture weighty, human subjects: sensuality, war, and disaster—with a visual and sonic approach that’s difficult to grasp and, sometimes, even harder to love. They are all formally provocative works, made to push the audience to its breaking point.

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Movie Reviews

“It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia” Finds More Comedic Highs in Confident 18th Season

Almost exactly 13 years ago, when I was still a freelancer for this site, I wrote a piece about how FX’s hit “It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia” owed a great debt to “Seinfeld” in its comedic embrace of characters that could politely be called misanthropic. The quartet of characters at the center of one of

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Movie Reviews

Mediocre “Alley Cats” is for Hardcore Ricky Gervais Fans Only

Rarely has an animated show felt more like an extension of its creator’s personality than Netflix’s “Alley Cats,” a Ricky Gervais production from top to fuzzy bottom. It’s a disheartening reminder of how far the once-creative star of “The Office” and “Extras” has fallen, becoming almost a parody of himself with his “edgy” humor and

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Movie Reviews

Book Excerpt: The Otherworld: The Mythic Dimensions of Christophe Gans by Scout Tafoya

In this excerpt from his book The Otherworld: The Mythic Dimensions of Christophe Gans, author and RogerEbert.com contributor Scout Tafoya gets into the French director’s parallels to the great Russian filmmaker Andrei Tarkovsky and the video games that inspired his work. First person POV camera was de rigueur in Japanese games by the time Team

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Movie Reviews

Apple TV+’s “Ted Lasso” Gets Back on the Pitch For a Welcome Season 4

After an unlikely beginning as a series of NBC Sports TV commercials in 2013 and a spectacular, awards-spangled run on Apple TV as a beacon of mental health positivity and Capra-esque optimism, “Ted Lasso” ended on a near-perfect note. The Season 3 finale in May 2023 leaned into the time-honored rituals of TV finales, with

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Movie Reviews

Silhouettes and Warnings: On Reading Ray Bradbury’s “There Will Come Soft Rains” On the Exact Day When It’s Set

The events of Ray Bradbury’s short story “There Will Come Soft Rains” occur today: August 4, 2026. Like so many dates in science fiction, this one probably seemed far away when it was chosen, but once it was finally upon us, it passed like all days. This morning, I re-read the story, which is sent

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