film reviews, interviews, features | BRWC

Author: BRWC

  • Dr Colin Knight: A Quick Chat

    Dr Colin Knight: A Quick Chat

    Dr Colin Knight: A Quick Chat – Dr Colin Knight is a pediatric surgeon on the faculty of a major medical school and published author. By Eleanor Klein.

    What is the most interesting experience you have ever had in your field?  

    Flying to Nashville to spend a day at Vanderbilt observing the pioneers of fetal surgery operate on fetuses. 

    Did you always want to be a doctor?   

    No. Originally I wanted to be a scientist.  

    In the summer after my sophomore year of college, I landed an internship to work in a lab at the National Cancer Institute. Although it was interesting research and I enjoyed the people I worked with. As the summer wore on though, I came to a realization. I decided I wanted to make a more direct impact on people’s lives than I thought I could as a scientist. It was then that I decided to pursue a career in medicine where I would be able to impact peoples lives daily. 

    What is your all-time favorite movie?  

    Brazil by Terry Gilliam 

    What is your all-time favorite TV show?   

    Black Mirror 

    What is your all-time favorite book?  

    Andromeda Strain by Michael Crighton 

    Thank you for your time!

    Dr. Knight is dedicated to pediatric care. He began his higher education at Yale University, earning his BS in Molecular Biophysics and Biochemistry in 1991. He continued without pause, heading south to the University of Virginia to obtain his MD in 1995. After a surgical internship, also at the University of Virginia, Dr. Knight went on to serve on active duty in the United States Air Force as a Flight Surgeon for 4 years. When he left active duty in 2000, Dr. Knight continued his training in General Surgery at Allegheny General Hospital.

    While a surgery resident, he devoted a year to ground-breaking research in applications of surgical robots to pediatric surgery. In particular, he investigated using surgical robots for fetal surgery and microsurgery. After finishing his surgical residency, he specialized in Pediatric Surgery with training at the Children’s Hospital of Michigan. He earned his initial board certifications in surgery in 2006 and in pediatric surgery in 2008. Dr. Knight brought his experience from the Air Force and his training as a Pediatric Surgeon at to the team at the Nicklaus Children’s Hospital in 2007.

    As a committed educator with a faculty appointment at the Florida International University Herbert Wertheim College of Medicine at Florida International University, he trains the doctors of tomorrow. Dedicated to higher education, Dr. Knight is a published author with an extensive bibliography. He has presented at the Nicklaus Children’s Hospital’s General Pediatric Review and Self-Assessment and is an Advanced Trauma Life Support instructor. Dr. Knight specializes in the surgical care of newborns, toddlers, children, and adolescents. 

  • The Fox And The Rabbit: Review

    The Fox And The Rabbit: Review

    By Eleanor Klein. The Fox and The Rabbit is a short film directed by Garry Crystal about a father, his son Francis, and their issues involving their family-owned 100-year-old Saville Row store.

    Stemming with issues from his childhood, Francis (played by Oliver Henry) spirals into a pattern of deliberate self-destructive, and vengeful behavior whilst running his father’s Saville Row Suit store. Francis’ opportunity to behave in this way is enabled by his father being paralyzed in a care home and unable to move or speak.

    As Francis briefs his father daily on his failings with customers in the store, the story unravels to reveal his behavior is getting more destructive and more polarizing each day.

    As a viewer of the short film, it is clear that as the story progresses, the destructive behavior of Francis is an explosion of feelings that have amounted since childhood. He manages to successfully grip the audience’s attention by feeding into his emotions from the lack of love shown by his father from an early age to the loss of his mother when he was a teenager.

    This short film is an audience gripping film filled with curiosity and suspense. Oliver Henry’s performance is excellent in this role as he plays the son, Francis. His personality in the film is consistently cold, hate-filled and bitter as he vengefully acts out against his father’s wishes.

    As his father appears more anguished and devastated with each daily visit by his son, Francis’ behavior appears to continue to purposefully spiral downwards leading to the complete alienation of previously loyal customers.

    Overall, The Fox and The Rabbit is a must-watch for anyone who is a fan of suspense-filled short films.

  • Laura Odegard: A Quick Chat

    Laura Odegard: A Quick Chat

    By Eleanor Klein. Tell us more about your talk show Millennial Life.

    Millennial Life is a talk show where we interview millennials who are crushing it in business, entertainment and beyond. From 7-figure entrepreneurs to Instagram influencers and reality tv stars, I get to sit down with some of the most inspiring people and hear their story of how they got to where they are.

    Who has been the most interesting person you have interviewed to date and why?  

    One of my favorite interviews was with Nikki Bella. I interviewed her for a charity event for Dress For Success, which helps women to achieve financial independence. Her company, Birdiebee was there to support helping women achieve financial success as well. We talked about her best tips for feeling confident and how to land your dream job. She is so honest and passionate, it was an interview I’ll never forget! 

    https://www.instagram.com/p/BcJj5nahUM3/?igshid=7pt3knu0kb5k

    If you could interview anyone in the world who would it be and why?  

    I would love to interview Gabby Bernstein. She is such an inspiration and has inspired me to practice meditation daily! (Well, almost daily… 🙂 

    How do you usually prepare for an interview?  

    I always do my research before an interview, and that usually is an on-going process that includes keeping up with people on social media and watching for any recent announcements that they’ve made. I think the best interviews are ones that flow like a natural conversation, so I don’t usually have a set agenda of what’s going to be said, but rather a few points of conversation to bring up. Lastly, it’s important to make sure my guest feels comfortable and relaxed, so we always have coffee, snacks, tea, water and cocktails or rosé on set! 😉 

    What advice do you have for someone looking to get into on-air hosting?  

    I would say to create your own opportunities wherever you can! With social media, you can really get creative and make your own content, which is amazing. I love healthy cooking, so I recently started a YouTube channel dedicated to sharing my healthy cooking and lifestyle videos. These are completely separate from Millennial Life, but it’s such a fun way to create my own opportunities! Plus, you never know who might see it 😉 

    What is the best piece of advice you have ever been given?  

    “The body achieves what the mind believes”

    Thank you Laura!

    https://www.instagram.com/lauraodegard

    www.lauraodegard.com

    https://www.evertalktv.com/programs/millenniallife

  • The Ghost Of Peter Sellers: Review

    The Ghost Of Peter Sellers: Review

    By Alex Purnell. The Ghost Of Peter Sellers: Review – There’s something gripping about a shipwreck. 

    Ghost in the Noonday Sun is an uncomplete 1973 film directed by Hungarian film director Peter Medak, starring un-arguably the biggest name in comedy at that time, Pink Panther and Dr. Strangelove star Peter Sellers. The film, written by Spike Milligan and Evan Jones, had a disastrous production, ill-fated from the get-go. The slapstick pirate comedy was to be filmed partly at sea though it was poorly produced, under-funded, under-scheduled and with the notoriously difficult Sellers as the lead, it was a behemoth of a project headed for a rocky-outcrop.

    43 years on, director Peter Medak gives us a retrospective view of the infamous film.

    Following how Ghost in the Noonday Sun’s production spanned out, The Ghost of Peter Sellers feels more like a disaster movie, with Medak at the helm for the documentary, it’s a long-form meta explanation of the events that occurred upon and off the shore of Cyprus in 1973 from the perspective of the productions struggling director.

    Peter Medak’s therapeutic look at one of the darkest points in his career is a fascinating watch, not only for a historical viewpoint from that era of film but also as an insider perspective of the relationship between Peter Sellers, Spike Milligan and Peter Medak. Sellers, who sabotaged and mentally switched off during the production, is seen through the eyes of Medak not with hate, though. Despite Sellers consistently attempting to seemingly undermine and remove Medak from the production, Medak now instead embraces the late Sellers with care and admiration, taking into account his physical and mental wellbeing.

    The doc is both parts humorous and sorrowful, Medak’s approach to re-visiting the film that very nearly ruined his career seems to come from a very genuine desire to heal from the ordeal that still haunts him to this day. The process the cast and crew reportedly went through was nothing less than traumatic, and Medak shares his mixed bag of emotions.

    The back and forth of Peter vs. Peter seemed to go on forever, from Sellers reportedly faking a heart attack and returning home mid-shoot to go out partying and even Sellers attempting a coup on the production in an attempt to replace Medak. The two sat down after the film was done and reconciled over booze, with Sellers telling Medak how much he admired and loved him. This was the last time the two spoke, as Sellers died of a heart attack in 1980. 

    The Ghost of Peter Sellers is a look back upon Medak’s most torturous production, a moment of clarity and healing, though it manages to look back at this time not only in a negative light but manages to manifest memories of happiness and laughter, lots and lots of laughter.

  • Take The Money And Run: Rewatch

    Take The Money And Run: Rewatch

    Take The Money And Run: Rewatch. By Alif Majeed.

    What’s Up Tiger Lily is generally considered as Woody Allen’s first movie, but that point is pretty moot. Sure, he did shoot additional scenes for the film and tinkered it to turn it into its present form. But it doesn’t change the fact that he was working on a pre-existing movie that was already there.

    Take The Money And Run is that respect is the first original move he made. It is also the first time Woody Allen donned his famous triple role, i.e., acting, directing, and writing. Juggling all the three hats with ease time and again has been one of the most defining aspects of his career.

    He could have chosen to make a simple enough movie about is about Virgil Starkwell (Woody Allen), the world’s most inept bank robber. Which is what the film is about. But he mostly took that one line gag and turned it into a mockumentary complete with interviews, sound bites, and flashbacks about what makes the guy so useless as a robber. 

    Mockumentaries can often get a very tricky thing to pull off, especially when it comes to its execution. It has to flirt with a thin line of being convincing or not, and there is a point where you know its a farce. Some pull it off well like This is Spinal Tap and some, not so much. (Looking at you, I’m not there.)

    Peter Jackson also managed to fool many people by initially billing Forgotten Silver, his mockumentary of a New Zealand filmmaker who invented many of the standard cinematic techniques used today as an actual documentary. The reason why he managed to do that is he played it straight. With Take the Money and Run, Woody Allen wants to leave no doubt in your mind that what you are watching is anything close to something real. He makes the gags as outrageous as possible to imagine it to be a true story. The trick then is probably not to look at it as a rockumentary but a fictional tale even if it hard to shake of its format. 

    Woody Allen also manages to throw in just enough gags to show the ineptitude of Virgil. It is not an understatement to call him a terrible bank robber, the extent to which the jokes are played out to make it look like he is truly worthy of that title. It indeed looks like this man can find a way to get caught even if he is alone in a room n a secluded island the key to which might be locked and kept in the very bank he tried to rob. Disastrously, of course. 

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zrc706HsKPQ

    Though it is a lot less funny than it thinks it is and the gags can be a hit and miss, the visual gags are there in abundance, and the movie also keeps the funny lines coming. Watch out for a memorable scene where Woody goes into a bank to rob it with only a gun and a piece of paper explaining the situation to the staff. Only to be thwarted as the staff gets into a debate about the ransom note, as they can’t figure out if they are being robbed with a gun or gub. It is a scene that escalates perfectly and sticks the landing well with Woody having an awkward conversation over the phone with his sweetheart explaining he might not be able to make it home for dinner.

    Woody Allen would later go on to perfect the mockumentary format with movies like Zelig (about a mysterious loner in the 1920s) and Sweet and Lowdown (about the world’s second greatest Jazz Guitarist). But a lot of it that came started right here, from the movie where it all started. Some of the childhood flashback sequences also bring back memories to similar scenes in some of his later classics, like the childhood of Alvy Singer in Annie Hall. Those are enough reasons to seek out and watch this movie.