UnderCurrent Atlanta

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It’s About Time For A Hans and Franz Movie

(In Austrian accent) Hear me now and believe me later… Saturday Night Live has been at the forefront of American comedy since it’s opening monologue on October 11th, 1975. The list of comedic actors that have graced the halls of Studio 8H inside 30 Rock is legendary. Eddie Murphy, Will Ferrell, Bill Murray, Gilda Radner, Dana Carvey, Phil Hartman, Adam Sandler, and Chris Farley are just a few of the numerous comedic talents that were able to use their […]
James and The Giant Ego

I’ve been saying for a long time that filmmakers love sports and war metaphors to describe the process of making a movie because they are applicable in so many different ways. Both involve a group of individuals brought together for a single purpose. They might be there for different reasons, but the goal is the same – to win, often at any cost. On the highest level, both involve campaigns – an MLB season has 162 games; America was in […]
The Hype: Furious 7

It could have been a result of the cheap movie-theater pizza I was struggling to digest throughout the screening or a product of the ringing and raging in my psyche from two and a half hours of mind-numbing explosions and vroom-vrooms, but as I stumbled out of my seat and beyond the shellshock, I began to wonder if maybe the “seven” in Furious 7 is more than just a mere indication that this uber-machismo, adrenaline-fueled, NOS-guzzling dumpster fire is the […]
Must See Films

When it comes to pop culture, I would like to think I have serious swag, more cultural flow than Biggie dropping lyrics. But I have an admission to make – a lot of it’s fake bluster, at least when it comes to a true cinematic foundation. I love movies but as far as true knowledge about the Godfather, Indiana Jones, E.T. and other cinematic classics of my ‘70s and ‘80s childhood, I’m as fake as the guy who dared fill […]
James and The Giant Boat

I saw James Cameron’s “TITANIC”on a Saturday night soon after it opened in December of 1997. I was a 16-year-old middle-class white male with no girlfriend, but there were multiple reasons that I wanted to see it anyway, despite the more male-oriented aversion to what was thought of as “a chick flick we know the ending of.” 1). I was a proper movie geek by that time and pretty well-versed in Cameron’s previous blockbuster outings like “Aliens” and “Terminator 2: Judgment Day.” 2). […]
Dredd: Why Hollywood won’t make a sequel to this Cult Classic

How can I do a post about movie trailers without including Dredd. In 2012, Lionsgate released Dredd, the newest film adaptation of the classic British comic Judge Dredd. It starred Karl Urban as Judge Dredd, Lena Headley as Madeline Madrigal (Ma-Ma), Olivia Thirlby as Judge Cassandra Anderson and Wood Harris as Kay. The movie was shot in 3D with a budget of just $45 million, far below most Hollywood blockbusters. The movie came with much hype and fanfare […]
The Might Morphin Power Rangers gets a very dark and gritty reboot

Although I’d heard of the Mighty Morphin Power Rangers before, I never really watched the show. Back in 1993, I was just too busy being a 22 year old I guess. And to be honest, the times I did catch an episode or two, the show never really appealed to me and it’s hard for me to put a finger on why. As a kid, I watched shows like Ultra Man, Voltron, and Star Blazers so when MMPR came […]
Black History Month and Modern Film by Kelvin Sims

Oh, how I wished Black History month didn’t matter. It’s 2015, right? Obama happened. Dr. King and his Dream speech happened half a ‘hunnerd’ years ago, right? Surely, even in the antiquated South, they’ve got this race thing all smoothed out and Dr. King’s speech has legs, flesh, breath, right? I mean, surely it’s not just a vision a decade plus past a new century? Well, 2014 came. And excuse the visual, but racial matters came along and took a […]
COPPOLA’S DRACULA: A Theatrical Illusion by Justin Neal

By the end of the 1980’s, American Zoetrope, the San Francisco-based production company started by Francis Ford Coppola and George Lucas, was in dire financial straights. The huge box-office disappointment of his musical One from the Heart in 1982 began a string of poorly performing features (Peggy Sue Got Married being the lone exception) that left the independent “studio” in a position to either start making financial successes, or close shop. To save his company, Coppola went “back to the […]
Alexa Lima

I recently sat down with Alexa Lima and talked with her about how she started playing the piano, what are some of her creative influences and the direction her band, Waking Astronomer, is taking. It’s always interesting to me to talk with musicians. They’re so expressive and put so much of themselves into their work you can’t help but be drawn into their world. Alexa sounds like she has a great start to her career. Hi, my name is […]