In a world where idealism is a scarce commodity, Aaron Swartz stood out. A computer programmer and political and social activist, Aaron had a quaint goal — to make the world a better place, to help us live our lives so that they make a difference. Ultimately, however, though he tried to save the world,…
Suicide is no laughing matter. Neither is A Long Way Down, a movie that uses it as a jumping off point to bring together four people whose individual plights are supposed to draw sympathy and whose differences when combined are supposed to create laughable conflict. Of course, it’s not a comedy in the strictest sense,…
When it comes to tales of familial strife, movies sure love to put the fun in dysfunctional. But in the dark, depressing August: Osage County, the Weston family settles for nothing less than the whole word. There’s nothing particularly fun about this group, not when it’s just matriarch Violet (Meryl Streep) screaming at patriarch Beverly…
I wager there are not too many people who would raise their hands to go back in time to high school. College? Yes. But high school, you would have to be out of your mind to go back to the cliques, emotional turmoil, bullies, and hormones, unless you were a football player of course. The…
Whether you think bullying is a recent cultural phenomenon, or one that simply reflects human nature and has been around for thousands of years, the reality shown in Lee Hirsch’s heartbreaking documentary Bully, is devastating. It is one thing to read about incidents of bullying and teen suicides, but when a face is put to…
It’s tough being the new kid at school especially when you have the social skills of a mudskipper. All it takes to make things better is to connect with one person who gets it, though. Finding two is even better. In Summit Entertainment’s The Perks of Being a Wallflower, Charlie is lucky enough to learn…
Compare experienced political operatives with their interns and you’ll see more than wrinkled faces and less hair up top separates them. The interns still have fresh ideals and expectations of the candidates they choose to support; the experienced staffers know better. There was a point on a campaign in their past where their own ideals…
