By - Gareth Jones For fans of Aubrey Plaza, coming-of-age stories, comedies that make you think Megan Park is a surprising writer/director.  I say this out of my own bias.  She is a Canadian former teenage actor who starred in shows on Disney and ABC Family.  In addition, she was in a band with Brandi Cyrus.  Not where you would typically expect an independent witty writer/director to emerge from, but […]

By - Gareth Jones For fans of family drama, Dogme 95, Danish films On March 13, 1995, at a celebratory conference honoring 100 years of cinema, Lars Von Trier revealed the Dogme Manifesto.  Four Danish directors were part of this original group that developed the manifesto that included the Vows of Chastity.  The ten rules that must be followed included that the film be shot hand-held, no genre films, location […]

By - Gareth Jones For fans of redemption stories, real-life inspiration stories, Colman Domingo Working in the Office of Service-Learning and Undergraduate Research at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, I have had the privilege to participate in the Donaldson Lecture Series, a 30 plus year program where professors and staff give lectures to incarcerated men at the Donaldson Correctional Facility.  I have had some of my most meaningful discussions […]

By - Gareth Jones For fans of Hugh Grant, thoughtful horror, theological discussions Growing up in Utah as a non-Mormon, I was still surrounded by and enveloped in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.  Most of my friends were members of “the church” as it was called, and I even played church basketball on a regular basis until my teens.  My mother’s side of the family was also […]

By - Gareth Jones   For fans of Jacques Audiard, Selena Gomez, Trans stories, innovative musicals Jacques Audiard has now made 10 feature films in 30 years.  He is an artist who is consistently challenging himself and his medium, film.  Most often he creates new experiences with sound and vision in films such as A Prophet, Rust and Bone, Read My Lips, and Dheepan..  Other times, he plays with the […]

By - Gareth Jones   For fans of Turkish cinema, great child performances, prison dramas Originally released in 1989, the recent MUBI 4K restoration of this classic Turkish film Don’t Let Them Shoot the Kite is an incredible revelation of a specific time in Turkish cinema, but also still an extremely timely story.  It is directed by the great Tunç Başaran, who directed nearly 50 films in his career. This […]

By - Gareth Jones   For fans of René Laloux, Moebius, French animation, science fiction I still vividly remember seeing two films by René Laloux when I was young.  The first was the incomparable Fantastic Planet which came out in 1973, but which I saw on VHS at some point in the early 80s.  I was absolutely transfixed and still see it as one of the greatest animated films ever […]

By - Gareth Jones For fans of queer cinema, specifically trans stories, Isabel Sandoval, and immigration stories Trans representation in film has evolved considerably in the last few years.  This is especially true because trans directors are now having opportunities to tell their own stories from their own perspectives. This is very true with the work of Isabel Sandoval and her third feature film, Lingua Franca. Before making this film, […]

By - Gareth Jones For fans of South Park, Nostalgia Documentaries, Class Action Park I have never been a huge fan of South Park.  I have remained loyal to The Simpsons.  It is more in line with my type of humor.  However, I have appreciated what Matt Stone and Trey Parker have done over the years including South Park, The Book of Mormon, Team America, and one cannot forget Cannibal! […]