My friend and fellow critic Mae Abdulbaki has a very thoughtful piece on The Young Folks about the portrayal of Middle Eastern characters and the appearance of actors of Middle Eastern origin in films. Hollywood has a shameful tradition of “browning” white actors for roles in Biblical and historical epics. To this day, there is …

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Film School Rejects has an enticing list of 81 movies by woman directors scheduled for release in 2018, including one of this year’s most anticipated big-budget studio films, “A Wrinkle in Time,” directed by “Selma’s” Ava Duvernay. The topics range from thrillers (“The Strange Ones,” “Blame,” “The Turning”) to comedies (“I Feel Pretty”) to documentaries …

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SPOILERS ALERT! The most recent “Star Wars” movie has inspired some thoughtful responses and some fascinating behind-the-scenes insights about all of the elements, choices, technologies, and expertise that were included.  As visual effects supervisor Ben Morris said, “It’s just a remarkable piece of filmmaking and action, and I think it started off with the stunts, …

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Patheos has a new Docs/Ology section with recommended documentaries like two of 2017’s best, “Jane” and “Faces Places.” And Daily Dot has a great guide to the best documentaries on Amazon Prime.  Some of my favorites on the list include “Gleason,” the “Paradise Lost” trilogy, and “I Am Not Your Negro.” Both are terrific sources …

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New from Audible: J.K. Rowling’s new book, Quidditch Through The Ages, is now available for preorder for download this March. The audiobook, read by Andrew Lincoln, charts the history of Quidditch from its early origins to the modern-day sport loved by so many wizard and Muggle families around the world. This audio edition of Quidditch …

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