2 Best Releases From the Genre TV Movie

When we talk about thankless jobs, we think teacher, or nurse, jobs that society cannot function without, but which are consistently undervalued and unappreciated. But what about the humble parole officer? They get it from both sides, in which they’re treated with hostility by the clients they’re tasked with monitoring, and suspicion from polite society who believes they’re at least partially responsible for whatever said clients do going forward. If the practical challenges of being a parole officer weren’t hard enough, sometimes they’re faced with the supernatural as well, as seen in Lynne Davison’s Mandrake, which efficiently checks off all the folk horror boxes, but not much else. Continue Reading →

In the final hours of the 1971 Attica Prison Riot, a helicopter circled the nearly 1,300 prisoners of the Attica Correctional Facility in upstate New York. It blared the words, “You will not be harmed,” assuming the inmates would be spared any violence if they cooperated. While this phrase repeats, correctional officers and state troopers open fire on the prisoners, killing and injuring those that were fighting for basic human rights. That moment could represent the entire carnage of those five days in Attica.  Continue Reading →