In the old (and current, for that matter) Hollywood order, any path towards bringing a script to completion followed a very narrow and arduous trail through an inflexible system concerned not with creative expression but the All-Mighty Box Office Return. Simple, dumbed-down affairs that appeal to the lowest common denominator and widest possible audience is continually favored over individualistic celluloid statements meant to provoke genuine emotion or thought. How many times has the complaint arisen that major studios crank out soulless, CGI-bolstered popcorn blockbusters to the detriment of true artistic vision? Yet the world of independent cinema has its own pitfalls: limited time, money and resources coupled with a lack of name actors presents a marketing mountain that can prove daunting to effectively climb. A solid concept, therefore, provides the surest route to winning an audience's allegiance.

Photo by Karsten Winegeart on Unsplash

photo credit: Mick Haupt - Unsplash

Video games may be a relatively new form of entertainment, but gaming is as old as time immemorial. The most ancient historical board games date back millennia. While the Egyptian Senet has long fallen out of fashion, other classics like the Game of the Goose or chess have stood the test of time. Fast-forward to the 21^st century and the digital revolution has rejuvenated some timeless games to cater to all demographics and generations. If you’re not much of a gamer, thus, you might be more comfortable giving a virtual shot at a classic tabletop game than digging into the dizzying open world of an RPG. So, we’ve put together a list of four ageless games to enjoy online.

With the rapid approach of Thanksgiving (or, as I like to call it, the Christmas Season Halftime Show, since we start up the holiday carols at the stroke of 12:01 on Halloween night now), we prepare for that calling of the herds of shoppers which is Black Friday. It's a consumer event that has evolved in the past decades as the Internet has given people the opportunity to scratch that shopping itch without having to tackle granny over that last red knit scarf or get hip-checked by a shopping cart to knock you out of the way of the limited edition Tickle Me Fuzzydoll. Now you can put the half-eaten turkey carcass in the fridge, turn on the football game of your choice, and flip open your laptop to browse items from the comfort of your living room.

But is that safer than getting out among the madding crowd? Perhaps in terms of potential bumps and bruises, but there are still a few precautions you should keep in mind when shopping online.

(photo credit: Ryan Snaadt)

Modern day life is transversally moved by video, from social media platforms and their “challenges”, to the fact that most of our entertainment comes from movies and series, everything has something to do with audiovisual production. And in such context it´s only natural that more and more people are trying to create their own movies, with their personal style, and without the need to have a mega production from Hollywood behind them, just an idea and a digital camera, or even a good phone.

While other sequels and adaptations have been attempted for Jean Shepherd's classic "A Christmas Story," it took nearly forty years for the original cast to grow into the parts necessary for a true-to-spirit continuation to the story.

Peter Billingsley returnas as Ralph Parker, along with Scott Schwartz as Flick, RD Robb as Schwartz, and Zack Ward as Scut Farkus. Ralph and his family -- wife Sandy (Erinn Hayes) and kids Mark (River Drosche) and Julie (Julianna Layne) -- are preparing the house for Christmas and waiting for the arrival of grandma and grandpa. But when Ralph gets the phone call from his mother that the Old Man has passed, plans get changed, and Christmas gets relocated to Hohman, Indiana -- which hasn't changed a lick since the 1940s.

Two of the most seminal figures in comic book culture are inarguably -- and yet, very arguably -- Stan Lee and Jack Kirby. Individually, each made their contributions to the pop culture medium, but together they forged the stuff of legends.

Bob Batchelor has written two biographies on Stan Lee. Glenn B. Fleming has recently published and produced a book and DVD detailing his time spent with Jack Kirby. Critical Blast brings both these authors together to discuss their fascination with the topics of their work, and the unique intersection that existed between them.

The impact of video editing in the modern world can´t be described with simple words, but is as today one of the most important factors when trying to express an idea, sell a product, or even tell a story. This is due to the fact that most of human communication is concentrated now in social media platforms like TikTok, Instagram or YouTube, sites and apps that heavily rely on the use of video, so the one that can add the best effects, or creative ways to express an idea, will surely be the most visited of all.

The British medievalist scholar and author Montague Rhodes James (1862-1936) is best remembered for his volumes redefining supernatural fiction. First published at the dawn of the twentieth century, his perfected narrative devices set a gold standard, pulling ghost stories from the cliché of formal Gothic backdrops in favor of realistic contemporary settings and everyday protagonists. Highly regarded even today, the classic Jamesian tale (as his technique was dubbed) often featured quiet, quaint English villages, seaside towns or country estates imperiled by vengeful wraths intruding upon our world from beyond the grave, and echoes of James' craft linger in the works of such subsequent literary icons as H.P. Lovecraft, Clark Ashton Smith, T.E.D. Klein, Ramsey Campbell and Stephen King.

Have you ever had one of those moments where you were just settling into you chair, just about all set to start listening to music. You’ve hit the play button on your CD player, but you’re still a moment or two from being truly situated and focused. All of a sudden, the first words and notes are sung and played, and you jerk your head up, stop what you’re doing, and shoot your eyes straight to the space between your speakers -- because what you just heard is recorded so well and the vocals so pure and lifelike that you forget finishing settling in and just stop and listen.

That’s what happened to me just now when I cued up the new CD from Diana Panton, “Blue.”

I confess, I had not heard Diana before this album, and was instantly blown away by her beautiful voice and singing style. This has only happened to me twice before, once with Eva Cassidy and the other with Julie London.

The year 2022 was an excellent year to be a geek, as the multiple streaming services offered up a plethora of shows based on franchises in the science fiction, fantasy, comic books, and gaming sectors. And whether you loved or hated the shows, you were undoubtedly talking about the shows, driving social media interactions throughout the year. So here's a geek's-eye view of the year in streaming in the US -- let us know your faves (and disses)!

Amazon Prime

Paper Girls

Adapted from the comic book of the same name by Brian K. Vaughn and Cliff Chiang, this series is a time travel adventure in which a group of young girls finds their way to the future to see what their lives will become and what they can do to alter the course of their destinies.

If you follow the Marvel Cinematic Universe closely enough, you'll see stories on the internet about some big shot director or another complaining about how MCU maestro Kevin Fiege takes away the director's freedom to tell the tale they wanted to tell. These directors typically are not and have never been attached to an MCU movie and probably are just whining because their features haven't come close to what a typical Marvel movie does at the box office. They also must not be watching Ryna Coogler's Black Panther films, because the first film, starring the late great Chadwick Boseman, was a revelation both in terms of the MCU and African American pop culture. WIthin days if not hours of the first film's release in 2018, video testimonials were popping up all over social media with folks offering up moving, deeply personal testimonials about the importance of having a relatable black superhero on the big screen at last.

For the past handful of years there have been two major players in the arena of crowdfunding projects: Kickstarter and Indiegogo. But over the past few weeks, the San Francisco based Indiegogo has gone eerily silent while its platform has been exhibiting nasty behavior.

Questions arose about the platform when graphic novel and comic book campaigns were apparently being shadowbanned -- a term for when a campaign on the site is not actively being promoted. However, in its elevated form, shadowbanning can also prevent a shopper from finding the campaign using Indiegogo's own search function. Two current examples of this are Private American by Mike Baron and Frog G: Voodoo, Gods, and Magic by Jason Bascom, two project which can only be reached on Indiegogo through having the direct link to the project.

Action movies are all about excitement and adventure. Everyone knows that. What you might not currently know is that there are tons of thrilling hobbies out there that are perfect for action movie fans. It could be anything, from skydiving to rock climbing, from racing cars to bungee jumping. If you’re into action movies, then the chances are that you’re also into thrills and adrenaline rushes. And what better way to get your adrenaline fixed than by participating in some of the most thrilling hobbies out there? Here are just a few incisive ideas to get you started:

Rock Climbing

Sleep is one of the essential mysteries of existence. Each evening our bodies are compelled to shut down; our mental capacity slows, our muscles paralyze, and we wander unfettered through the shadowy dreamscapes of our subconscious. It’s estimated that fully a third of our fleeting life is spent under Morpheus’s spell; quite simply, we don’t want sleep, we need it, as surely as food and water. A good night’s rest restores the immune, nervous, skeletal and muscular systems, just as it enhances our mood, memory, sexual function and cognitive ability. Yet there exist a host of disorders--insomnia, hypersomnia, narcolepsy and sleep apnea; somnambulism, bruxism and circadian rhythm maladies--that can destroy sleep with dire consequences.

A few months ago, YouTube influencer Eric D. July, better known by his channel handle Young Rippa, announced his intention to launch his own Rippaverse line of comics- starting with a premiere title ISOM #1. This announcement got a lot of attention, as expected of a man who built a platform with some 500,000 subscribers, and when the campaign launched it was an unprecedented success, clearing millions of dollars within a matter of days and getting a national spotlight of praise and vitriol from both sides of the political debate through exposes on Fox News and the New York Times about the “Anti-Woke” comic book.

Directed by Zach Cregger (in his solo directorial debut), Barbarian (2022) was released this September to rave critical reviews and became the sleeper hit of the after-summer movie, slump grossing over $42 million worldwide against a $4.5 million budget.

Recently released to HBO MAX for streaming, I finally got the chance to see what the hype was all about. Immediately, I was sucked into the opening plot: a young woman (Georgina Campbell) arrives at an Airbnb only to discover that the home was already rented out by another, a stranger named Keith (Bill Skarsgård). Having nowhere else to go, she stays at the rental property with him and strange things start to happen.

Image Source: Unsplash

Most television producers can predict if a show will be popular. For example, The Rings of Power is backed by clever marketing and nostalgia, so everyone expected it to attract big numbers. Other times, producers are shocked when a new IP becomes a cultural phenomenon.

7 Television Hits in 2021 That No One Saw Coming

The following television hits completely blew pre-premiere expectations. No one expected shows like Squid Game, Ginny & Georgia, and Bling Empire to be popular, but they were.

1. Squid Game

Squid game is a South Korean survival drama that revolves around a deadly contest, but you probably already know that. This show was released worldwide on September 17th, 2021, to critical acclaim and international attention. It became the top-viewed program in 94 countries.

True to the old saying, family is the tie that binds. No matter how much we grow and change as individuals, from womb to tomb we are inescapably a part of that unchosen genetic lineage whether we like it or not. Often that blood bond is a beneficial boon--ideal families love us, raise us, teach us, but sometimes, for an endless variety of reasons, families don't get along, and over time disagreements, arguments and long-lingering animosities cause rifts that can be difficult, if not impossible to bridge. In any other social situation resolution could be achieved through a mutual (or forced) parting of ways, but if a relative becomes toxic to your life, then what? Is it ever possible to completely sever those hereditary links?

It’s now more than three years since Marvel released Avengers: Endgame, and in doing so, the MCU showed just how much potential they had at their fingertips as the climatic end to the Avengers series went on to become the second-highest grossing movie of all time.

Just over two months later, they brought an end to phase three of the Marvel series with Spider-Man: Far from Home, and there will have been many wondering what would happen next with the film series, given that key characters, and the actors that brought them so expertly to life, were saying farewell.

Robert Downey Jr. and Chris Evans waved goodbye to their exploits as Iron Man and Captain America, and producer Kevin Feige set in motion a plethora of new projects for both the big and small screen.