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We’re introduced to Roy at his lowest point, alone in a motel room with nothing left to live for. But fate has other plans when a surprise visitor bursts through the door – or should I say, bursts through wearing a full-body monkey costume. Under the flashy fur lies Jane, a woman fleeing her past who saves Roy from ending his life. With her bold personality and wild ideas, Monkey whisks our depressed protagonist away on an outrageous road trip that will challenge everything he thought he knew.

Played by comedian Nina Conti in her directorial debut, Monkey is as freewheeling and fiery as the simian persona Conti has brought to stages worldwide. Joining her is Shenoah Allen as the straight-laced Roy, thrown for a loop by this bizarre stranger with grand schemes of starting a business.

As their van barrels across the deserts of New Mexico, banter and hijinks...

Janis Pugh’s debut feature Chuck Chuck Baby wastes no time in establishing itself as a non-conformist. Behind the camera is Pugh, taking on directing and writing duties, crafting an intimate story of self-discovery. She brings together a talented pair of leads in Louise Brealey and Annabel Scholey. Brealey plays Helen, living an unfulfilling life in small-town Wales until the return of her old neighbor Joanne, played by Scholey, rekindles long-buried feelings.

Pugh breathes new life into familiar tropes of romance and musicals. Rather than rigidly sticking to formula, she allows her characters’ emotions to shine through in creative ways. Scenes transform delightfully as they passionately lip-sync classic tunes that reflect their feelings.

Pugh also crosses genres with ease, infusing drama, comedy, and coming-of-age themes into a heartfelt LGBTQ love story. While touching on universal ideas of empowerment and acceptance, the intimate portrayals feel refreshingly genuine.

From the outset, Pugh...

In the hectic modern world, it can be hard to find time to read, with many people only getting large chunks of uninterrupted reading time on the weekends. Due to this lack of time, many manga series can feel daunting, as they often have hundreds of chapters. Readers might feel like they must commit to reading the story for years if they wish to see how it ends and that's if it ever ends, as many big-name series have been running since the mid-1990s with no signs of stopping; the idea of jumping into them becomes an intimidating prospect.

But this doesn't have to be the case. The manga world has produced many fantastic shorter manga that allow even the most casual readers to enjoy a complete story, from start to finish, in a single weekend. In fact, many can be completed in a single day, making them perfect...

Danièle Delorme and Jean Gabin in 'Deadlier Than the Male.' Danièle Delorme movies (See previous post: “Danièle Delorme: 'Gigi' 1949 Actress Became Rare Woman Director's Muse.”) “Every actor would like to make a movie with Charles Chaplin or René Clair,” Danièle Delorme explains in the filmed interview (ca. 1960) embedded further below, adding that oftentimes it wasn't up to them to decide with whom they would get to work. Yet, although frequently beyond her control, Delorme managed to collaborate with a number of major (mostly French) filmmakers throughout her six-decade movie career. Aside from her Jacqueline Audry films discussed in the previous Danièle Delorme article, below are a few of her most notable efforts – usually playing naive-looking young women of modest means and deceptively inconspicuous sexuality, whose inner character may or may not match their external appearance. Ouvert pour cause d'inventaire (“Open for Inventory Causes,” 1946), an unreleased, no-budget comedy notable...