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Menagerie

Rant and Rave: Shadow and Bone invites you into the dark

Fans everywhere rejoiced when Netflix greenlit the adaptation of Leigh Bardugo’s Grishaverse. Excitement was through the roof—after all, the book series was one of the breakout titles of the 2010s and was known for its intricate worldbuilding and compelling characters. However, after a slew of studio cash grab adaptations of other Young Adult (YA) series…

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What a year it was: Oscars 2021 Best Picture Predictions – Part Two

Despite the tumultuous year, filmmakers have not lost the spark of inspiration—bringing the triumph of love, hope, and humanity onscreen. Still  halfway through The LaSallian’s Oscars 2021 Best Picture countdown is far from over, as we predict our top four nominees—and the one movie we believe will take home the prestigious award.  4. The Father,…

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Menagerie

What a year it was: Oscars 2021 Best Picture Predictions – Part One

For as long as movies have existed, the magic of cinema has brought people together. The collective experience of sitting in a darkened theater and reveling in the highs and lows of the silver screen has been the cornerstone of the industry.  With the pandemic shutting down theaters and fundamentally changing entertainment, the past year…

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Rant and Rave: Ride or Die speeds off to red flags

At the outset, Ride or Die seems to be the high-octane queer feminist story we’ve all been waiting for. Spunky and defiant, the film tackles modern-day womanhood and sexuality against the backdrop of a patriarchal society with familial expectations. The story follows Nanae (Honami Sato) and Rei (Kiko Mizuhara) who find themselves on the run…

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Rant and Rave: Chasing The Falcon and The Winter Soldier

“One world, one people.” This was the phrase coined by the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s (MCU) latest group of misfits, the Flag Smashers, led by super soldier Karli Morgenthau. Claiming to forge a world with shared resources and open borders, they will lie, cheat, and kill anyone who gets in their way. But fear not, because…

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Rant and Rave: Godzilla vs. Kong vs. half-baked storylines

Every ecosystem has its own hierarchy to consider—a fundamental rule that has held true since the inception of our biosphere. When reduced to our basest instincts, we are seemingly locked in an eternal cycle of predator and prey.  And no matter which creatures partake in this deadly dance of life and death, one thing’s for…

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Rant and Rave: Why care a lot about I Care A Lot?

While male characters have long been afforded complexity onscreen through the likes of Michael Corleone or Charles Foster Kane, female characters are relegated to the sidelines as love interests, mothers, or friends—one-dimensional roles that serve to prop up men’s character development. J Blakeson’s I Care A Lot flips the script with a ferocious female anti-hero…

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A menagerie of love: Eros, agape, and everything in between

Love is a many-splendored thing. It is infinite in its mutability, pervading and shaping our art and stories since we first comprehended our existence. The complex beings that we are, it is only fitting that what compels us is equally complex too. This Valentine’s, The LaSallian presents love in all its confounding forms with the…

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Rant and Rave: Malcolm & Marie crashes and burns

As the movie industry faces restrictions during the ongoing pandemic, Netflix’s Malcolm & Marie was the perfect opportunity for a back-to-basics movie-making approach—one set, two powerhouse actors, and an explosive script. Arriving home late at night after rising director Malcolm’s (John David Washington) successful movie premiere, his celebratory mood is disrupted by his girlfriend Marie’s…

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Rant and Rave: The desert’s no home for a ‘Yellow Rose’

Since its introduction to popular culture in 1931, a steady influx of migrants from across the globe travel to the United States of America with the worthwhile goal of living the so-called American Dream. They leave their homelands, risking discrimination and deportation, in search of a better life in the land of the free and…