When I first heard about Illuminae in 2015, I immediately put it on my TBR list. A YA sci-fi, space adventure story told in an epistolary style? Count me in! I was intrigued by the premise and there was positive buzz surrounding this book. It wasn’t until recently that I was FINALLY able to read this amazing novel. The Illuminae Files is a planned trilogy with two books currently available, Illuminae and Gemina respectively. Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff have created an epic sci-fi story full of mystery, intrigue, action,
To general audiences, short films tend to get unfairly overlooked in favor of feature films. During the Tribeca Film Festival, though, there are so many great short films screening that it’s impossible not to notice them. We’ve combed through them and found our five favorite shorts that you should see. Curpigeon If you loved Up! for its old man and big heart, then you’ll love this. Six vastly different pigeons eagerly await the time of day when their human companions come sit in the park and feed them. As each elderly
It feels slightly vicious for MTV to cancel freshman series Sweet/Vicious before it ever really found its audience. It’s no secret that we here at Pop Culturalist are big fans of the show and its cast. I even had the pleasure of chatting with Eliza Bennett who plays empathetic heroine Jules Thomas about what makes this series so special. So when word got out that executives at MTV had given this fearless series the axe, I was reasonably saddened and upset. In a world full of reboots and remakes, it’s rare to
Bandstand is a terrific throwback to the big music, big dance numbers, and heartstring-tugging storylines of classic musicals. It’s 1945 in Cleveland, Ohio, and young men are coming home from World War II. Donny Novitski (Corey Cott) is one of those young men. Before the war, he was a talented young pianist; he played clubs all over the city. In an attempt to forget the horrific memories of war and get back to doing something he loves, he throws himself into trying to play music again. When he hears about an