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‘Metal Lords’ taken down by uneven tone

The high school rock band is something that I would swear was an invention of movies if I wasn’t married to someone who played in one. He assures me that battles of the bands actually exist and that they really can change the trajectory of the band’s success. So I approached Peter Sollett’s new Netflix film “Metal Lords” with an open mind. Hunter (Adrian Greensmith) and Kevin (Jaeden Martell) have formed a “post-death metal” band with a name too profane to share here. Hunter is the true visionary as the songwriter and lead guitarist, and Kevin is a guy who plays snare ...

‘Rothaniel’ is a piece about secrets

BY ALISE CHAFFINS There’s a saying that comedy is just tragedy plus time. Story-telling comedians like Mike Birbiglia, John Mulaney and Hasan Minhaj have proven this over and over in their comedy shows. And while Jerrod Charmichael has given us something closer to that brand of humor in the past, in his newest special, “Rothaniel,” currently streaming on HBO Max, the time element is missing. I hesitate to call this a comedy special. It definitely has comedic elements to it, but at its heart, this is a piece about secrets and how they impact us at every level. He starts by ...

Big themes get muddled by ghost story in ‘Master’

Subtlety is a lovely tool that, when used effectively, can transform a good film into a great film. In Mariama Diallo’s film “Master,” streaming on Amazon Prime, I felt like she was afraid to fully lean into the subtlety that she was setting up in her film, instead boosting it with a less satisfying ghost story. The movie bounces between two Black women, Gail Bishop (Regina Hall) and Jasmine Moore (Zoe Renee). Gail has recently been promoted to house master at the elite Ancaster University, while Jasmine is beginning her freshman year at the school. It is clear that the ...

Take-in for MAA juried Exhibit 60 set for April 6

Local artists are encouraged to enter their artwork in the 63rd annual fine art Exhibit 60, sponsored by Morgantown Art Association. This will be juried and judged by the internationally famous artist David R. Smith. In order to enter Exhibit 60, artists must be at least 18 years old and ...

Not much to take away from ‘Windfall’

The opening credits and the sepia-type filter on the new film, “Windfall” streaming on Netflix gives you the sense of an old Hollywood thriller. When I settled in to watch Charlie McDowell’s latest, I hoped I might be getting something with a bit of a Hitchcockian flavor, but the credits were basically the end of that hope. The movie begins promisingly, starting with a man (Jason Segal) meandering around a beautiful country home. We watch him quietly drinking fresh orange juice while sitting in the same orange grove, lounging in the simple elegance of the lovely home, sitting ...