GUEST EDITORIAL: 9 Iconic Movie Soundtracks to Learn on the Piano

Behind every great film is a meticulously planned soundtrack. Good soundtracks can make mediocre films unforgettable and bad ones can undermine stellar writing and performances. A soundtrack can build tension, establish characterization or even be part of the plot. Being nerds who spend most of our time in our basements, the folks at Jellynote LOVE a good soundtrack as it combines the two things we enjoy most in the world: music and living vicariously through other people. To celebrate the importance of the film soundtrack, they’ve compiled a list of our favorite soundtracks of all time and provided sheet music so you can have a go at playing them!

2019, Editorial, LIST, SPECIAL, Social MediaDon ShanahanAugust 6, 2019Comment

MOVIE REVIEW: The Red Sea Diving Resort

Ari likes define the risky propositions in this movie as having one of these two outcome feelings. Sadly, the movie itself wobbles between the same. Entertainment comes easy in this Netflix-backed programmer and yet with consequently little attention paid to the predominantly off-screen annihilation of an ethnic group. Reality like that makes the glee hard to take. We live in an era where we can do better than solely bravura. Good filmmakers and creative powers can aim for challenging movies that address vital history and still entertain.

2 STARS, 2019, MOVIE REVIEW, Video on Demand, StreamingDon ShanahanAugust 4, 2019Comment

INFOGRAPHIC: Drive to a Kill: The most deadly James Bond vehicles and drivers

With a new James Bond film around the corner, the 25th in the iconic super-spy series, the folks at Leasing Options looked back over the entire franchise and delve into the stats to see which film, actor and most importantly, car, was the most deadly. To do this, they’ve been through all the Bond films multiple times and totaled how many kills, crashes and explosions, among other things, were caused by 007 whilst behind the wheel of a vehicle. Leasing Options have compiled all that data into one handy interactive piece called, Drive To A Kill. So, what did they discover when looking back through the films?

2019, Column, Editorial, Infographic, LIST, Social Media, SPECIALDon ShanahanAugust 3, 2019Comment

EDITORIAL: How game developers use movies to attract players

Many conglomerate corporations have piggybacked on hypes that accompany the latest blockbuster film throughout the years from supermarkets, to clothing companies, home-ware stores and many, many more. In fact, in the UK alone, 8 out 10 people own a promotional product of some kind from a business, so it’s not surprising that the Slot game industry have jumped on the film industry bandwagon to promote their slot games and keep people coming back again and again, even when they keep losing money. Let’s take a further look into how the slot game industry are utilizing movies to promote slot games

2019, Column, Editorial, Social Media, SPECIALDon ShanahanAugust 3, 2019Comment

MOVIE REVIEW: Surviving Confession

Now imagine you’re the priest in this exchange. You have to both witness and share this wrenching process and ordeal repeatedly, with every visitor on every occasion, and remain unflappable and restrained in doing so. Who has it harder now? Breaking the fourth wall and spilling waterfalls of internal monologue, Surviving Confession pokes and prods the person who is supposed to be the pillar of strength. The film debuted July 30th on VOD platforms.

2019, 3 STARS, Independent Film, MOVIE REVIEW, Video on DemandDon ShanahanJuly 31, 2019Comment

MEDIA APPEARANCE: David Ehrlich's IndieWire Critics Survey on July 29, 2019

THIS WEEK'S QUESTION: What is the best Quentin Tarantino movie and why?

Friends and followers of my work and opinions on social media know that I differentiate “favorite” from “best.” Favorites are personal and very subjective. The things that are best tend to have a few more objective qualities and victories going for them. Sometimes a movie is both. For Quentin Tarantino, that’s not the case for me, but it’s close. My personal favorite is Jackie Brown. I love seeing what QT does within the boundaries of material that’s not his own, which, for me, shows more range that his absolute best self-made stuff. The best-of-the-best, though, is still an easy pick.

Independent Film, Media Appearance, Social Media, SPECIAL, 2019Don ShanahanJuly 30, 2019David EhrlichComment

MOVIE REVIEW: Astronaut

Through the niches and comely library aisles of off-label modest independent cinema, talent can elevate material. Sometimes the material isn’t the best at this level. A high class performer can come in and buoyantly lift an effort that wouldn’t have a chance to register or resonate with less. Little movies like that are easy to root for and even better to discover and appreciate. Richard Dreyfus bringing his talented capacity to Astronaut is exactly one of those exemplars.

3 STARS, 2019, Film Festival, Independent Film, MOVIE REVIEWDon ShanahanJuly 29, 2019Comment

MOVIE REVIEW: Once Upon a Time... In Hollywood

Slapping a “once upon a time…” to the title of his ninth film, Tarantino makes that label and its yarn of unlikelihood, misdirection, and heightened allure an upfront certainty. Following that classical starter with his chosen target of story setting, the director’s usual approach of homage becomes readily apparent. Making so many fairy tales with a fat creative license to revise whatever he wants, fancy, zeal, and style are never Quentin Tarantino’s problems. The tightness of his brand of chatty and meandering excessiveness is usually the hangup. This movie has some of the best of the former and still plenty of the latter for a dippy mix of sunny sauntering and tiresome puzzlement.

2019, 3 STARSDon ShanahanJuly 24, 2019Music Box Theatre Comments

MEDIA APPEARANCE: David Ehrlich's IndieWire Critics Survey on July 22, 2019

THIS WEEK’S QUESTION: What is the best ever horror performance and how did it leverage the genre to accomplish something that might not have been possible in a more grounded type of film?

Horror is not my cup of tea, coffee, cocktail, or even water, and I didn’t see Midsommar which inspired this week’s survey question, but I have dipped my toe in enough good and classic horror to pick out a great performance or two. I’ve seen no one unravel under the fictional stresses better than Mia Farrow in Roman Polanski’s Rosemary’s Baby.

Independent Film, Media Appearance, Social Media, SPECIAL, 2019Don ShanahanJuly 23, 2019David EhrlichComment

COLUMN: 5 Upcoming Epic Movies To Watch This Summer

It is again that time of the year when you are trying to take a break from the heat and look for a way to cool off. While some people enjoy drinking cocktails at the pool or escaping in the mountains, there is no doubt that cinema lovers just like you, are constantly refreshing their Netflix pages. Now that you have already watched the Avengers: Endgame, John Wick: Chapter 3- Parabellum, and Toy Story 4, don't despair, there are a lot of other epic movies that are just around the corner.

2019, Column, Editorial, LIST, Social MediaDon ShanahanJuly 19, 2019Comment

MOVIE REVIEW: Into the Ashes

Restraint is not a common artistic or narrative characteristic in revenge films nowadays. We live in an explicit world where the louder and more outlandish outpourings of violence are what grab attention and audiences. The stern and sullen are taken as dull and tedious. Like its title, Into the Ashes resides in the crackling smolder instead of the bright flames. There is plenty of heat to burn and brand from that calmer temperature of cinematic coals. The movie debuts on July 19th in limited theatrical release and VOD outlets.

3 STARS, 2019, Independent Film, MOVIE REVIEW, Video on DemandDon ShanahanJuly 18, 2019Comment

GUEST EDITORIAL: Best Movies of All-Time Every Law Student Should Watch

Out of several niches such as thrill, drama, romance, and sci-fi, movies related to the law have always remained mine (and I am sure for many others) all-time-favorite niche. For many screenwriters, lawyers make the least interesting movie setting, however, there are few movies that have made this task exciting and worth filming. Here is the list of top law school movies of all times that are worth-watching for every law student. You may agree to some of the movies from the list, and can also suggest more.