Single-word film titles receive many words of commentary in this podcast episode with HCC film professors Marie Westhaver and Mike Giuliano. "Plane" involves, you guessed it, an airplane. When the plane makes an emergency landing on a desolate island, Gerard Butler as its pilot and his passengers must fight the island's hostile inhabitants. Essentially an action-packed "B" movie, "Plane" is not great cinema but it is fun to watch. Marie and Mike also discuss "Missing," in which a young woman (Storm Reid) uses her computer skills in order to try to find her mother (Nia Long), who has been kidnapped in Columbia. This techno thriller effectively explores how much sleuthing can be done sitting in front of a screen.

#HCC #Movies #Film #Moviereview #Filmreview #Plane #Missing #Howardcounty

This month of February we are celebrating Black History Month, and our guests, Chef of the Year finalists, Althea Hanson and her husband Omar, owners of Althea's Almost Famous, have graciously joined us to talk about Caribbean food, its origins, its flavors, its aromas, their personal story, the food truck industry, and a legacy of love and jerk.  

#HCC #Howardcounty #BlackHistoryMonth #AltheasAlmostFamous #Foodtrucks

Join Bob Marietta and his guests, John Brandt and Warren Wortman from Bike HoCo, and learn more about how this organization is making Howard County more accessible and bikable for all. 

#Howardcounty #HCC #goinggreen #Bikehoco #Bicycle #Bikepath

In this episode, Howard County Health Officer, Dr. Maura J. Rossman discusses the Health Department’s recent grant initiative which aims to address health disparities and the impact of chronic diseases, like heart disease, kidney disease and diabetes, in specific communities in the County.  She will talk to one of the certified Community Health Workers, who will provide information and resources to aid in chronic disease prevention and management to decrease hospital utilization rates in those communities.

#HCC #Howardcounty #Healthdepartment #Healthworkers #Health

Kofi, Sylvia, and Laura discuss The Magician, a historical memoir about a Nobel Prize-winning German author Thomas Mann, written by Colm Tóibín.  On Saturday, February 18th, Colm Tóibín will be joined by Maureen Dowd at the 45th Irish Evening, hosted by Howard Country Poetry and Literature Society. More information and get your tickets here: https://hocopolitso.org/2023/01/11/colm-toibin-and-maureen-dowd-headline-hocopolitsos-45th-annual-irish-evening/ 

#reading #books #HCC #Bookclub #Howardcounty #TheMagician #MaureenDowd

In this podcast episode, HCC film professors Marie Westhaver and Mike Giuliano discuss Japanese director Hirokazu Kore-Eda's "Broker." A road movie set in South Korea, this film concerns a baby that has been abandoned by its mother and found by two men who decide to sell the infant on the illegal adoption market. Although the film runs longer than it needs to, our critics did like it. Marie and Mike also talk about writer-director Sarah Polley's "Women Talking." The film's intriguing premise involves the women in an isolated religious community talking about how to respond to the criminally malicious behavior on the part of the men in the community. Because almost all of the men are now off in town either as prisoners or as free men arriving with bail money, nearly the entire film involves the women trying to decide whether to remain in the community and submit to patriarchal authority, remain there but fight against it, or flee. 

#Movies #Film #Filmreview #Moviereview #HCC #howardcounty #Broker #Womentalking

The Empress Elizabeth of Austria remains better known to Europeans than to most Americans, and so "Corsage" is a welcome biographical treatment of a woman whose great beauty and wealth made her a royal celebrity in the late 19th century. Her life was as tightly constricted as the corsets she wore, however, as HCC film professors Marie Westhaver and Mike Giuliano observe in this podcast episode.  Vicky Krieps is very well cast as the Empress, although the film itself prompts quibbles in terms of being historically accurate in some respects but not in others. Marie and Mike also discuss "Saint Omer," a very interesting courtroom drama in which writer-director Alice Diop presents a fictionalized depiction of the real-life 2016 trial of a woman from Senegal who now lives in France and has been charged with killing her own infant daughter. In readily acknowledging her guilt, the woman adds that "I hope this trial will give me the answer." 

#HCC #Howardcounty #movies #film #moviereview #filmreview #SaintOmer #Corsage

Razzle Dazzle Radio with co-hosts Carolyn Kelemen and Judy Templeton is proud to be  offering up-to-date information on outstanding programming in Howard County. This edition celebrates community activists and their important events.. “More than Hope” is a multicultural performance, a benefit to aid refugees and those in need,  Sunday, Feb. 19 at the Owen Brown Interfaith Center. Elvira MCullough reminds us of special programs at Busboys and Poets, especially the Latino nights, featuring Steve Jackson, an activist and entertainer. This edition also notes  the 45th annual Irish Evening of Music and Poetry, "A Conversation with author Colm Toibin and New York Times journalist, Maureen Dowd" Saturday, Feb. 18 at HCC’s Smith Theater.

#HCC #howardcounty #columbia 

Movies about movies have an inherent appeal, and so the audience is predisposed to like "Empire of Light." In this podcast episode, HCC film professors Marie Westhaver and Mike Giuliano discuss this sentimental drama set in an English movie theater in the early 1980s. The main character, expertly played by Olivia Colman, is a theater manager with a history of mental illness. Writer-director Sam Mendes thematically deals with that mental health issue, as well as other issues including racism and sexism. Although Mike thinks that the thematic treatment of those issues tends to be heavy-handed, he and Marie agree that the film's production design and cinematography make it a movie worth watching. Marie and Mike also talk about "A Man Called Otto," which Mike likes and Marie loves. It's about a suicidal widower, played very convincingly by Tom Hanks, whose neighbors persist in their attempts to make him appreciate life. This movie has genuine crowd-pleasing appeal.

#movies #film #HCC #filmreview #moviereview #amancalledotto #empireoflight 

In this podcast episode, HCC film professors Marie Westhaver and Mike Giuliano discuss "The Whale," in which Brendan Fraser is receiving considerable media attention for his subtle performance as an obese and depressed man confined to his apartment. They agree that this screen adaptation of Samuel D. Hunter's 2012 play is right to keep its claustrophobia intact and not cinematically open it up, and so they caution prospective viewers to be prepared for the presentation of serious dramatic issues within a confined space. Marie and Mike also discuss the musical biopic about Whitney Houston, "I Wanna Dance with Somebody," which they both really enjoy. British actress Naomi Ackie does not physically resemble the late American singer and, moreover, has her voice dubbed with Whitney Houston's for the actual singing, but she gives a totally convincing performance as the troubled star. And there is a first-rate supporting performance by Stanley Tucci as record company executive Clive Davis.

#Movies #Film #filmreview #moviereview #Thewhale #Iwannadancewithsomebody #HCC #Howardcounty