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JP Spoonmore | Wednesday, February 16, 2022
Every year, film critics and fans alike gripe about their favorite films or actors getting snubbed once Oscar nominations go public. I usually complain alongside them, since most of my yearly top 10 are left off of the list — but this year is different. Rather than lamenting the Academy’s preference for unknown films instead
Claire Lyons, Anna Falk, JP Spoonmore, Natalie Allton, Christine Hilario, Reyna Lim, John Clark, Evan McKenna, Adriana Perez, Amy Lenkiewicz, Isabella Volmert, Lexi Kilcoin, Isabelle Kause and Kate Casper | Monday, February 14, 2022
Valentine’s Day is here! In honor of this day of love, The Observer has compiled a playlist of all our favorite love songs. Regardless of if you’re single or taken, we hope this collection inspires you to embrace the spirit of the holiday and celebrate love. You can listen to our full extended playlist here:
JP Spoonmore | Tuesday, February 8, 2022
When watching foreign shows, the creators’ culture often dilutes in translation. But Netflix’s newest original, “All of Us Are Dead,” goes above and beyond to keep South Korean culture at its core. This webtoon-inspired show explores every socioeconomic angle of the stress-ridden life of South Korean high schoolers. Test scores and bullying are bad enough,
JP Spoonmore | Wednesday, January 26, 2022
Few films have aged as well as the Wachowskis’ “The Matrix.” Not only was it a technological breakthrough, bringing the late 90’s, cubicle-office-setting into the future with unprecedented special effects, but it also introduced martial arts to Western audiences. The Hong Kong master, Yuen Woo-Ping, and the power of Hollywood funding proved to be a
JP Spoonmore | Wednesday, January 12, 2022
After two years of waiting through COVID-19 delays and an almost career-ending leg injury suffered by its star, Netflix’s “The Witcher” released its second season. Unlike the decades-long story threads characteristic of the show’s the previous season, though, the new plot is as temporally straightforward as possible, spanning maybe a month. Though many of the
JP Spoonmore | Thursday, December 2, 2021
I instinctively avoid animated Netflix Originals. They often follow one of the two art styles they can afford, and their stories are constantly moody. For me, I see no point in starting one when an identical one comes out a week later. Dropping entire seasons of similar shows, one after the other, clutters the catalogue,
JP Spoonmore | Wednesday, November 10, 2021
Few films achieve the mythical scale “Eternals” attempts to mold. The visuals are the film’s lifeline, giving the Celestials the best stage to premiere their awesome power, with cataclysmic flames also raising questions to their fallibility. On the one hand, this Marvel Cinematic Universe entry is ironically the best DC Extended Universe film ever put
JP Spoonmore | Thursday, October 7, 2021
Jake Gyllenhaal is my favorite actor. He brings a kinetic energy on set that is visible in every angle, close up and press interview. By just looking at his face you can tell he loves his job and looks forward to working in front of the camera everyday. His newest film, “The Guilty,” is a
JP Spoonmore | Friday, October 1, 2021
Marcia Lucas, known for editing the films “Taxi Driver” and “American Graffiti,” gives a peek behind the curtain to some of the greatest classics in cinema in a recently published book, “Howard Kazanjian: A Producer’s Life.” In the foreword, she mentions the casting of Harrison Ford for “Indiana Jones,” while expressing her passion for editing.
JP Spoonmore | Wednesday, September 22, 2021
Clint Eastwood’s newest film, “Cry Macho,” is a feeble attempt to fill up 100 minutes of your time. A meandering road trip story that promises car chases and cowboys sounds like a classic in the making — until those scenes last two minutes and are spliced between long, drawn-out moments in the arid desert of