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Daily Archives: May 9, 2021
40 Must-See New Movies to See This Summer Season – IndieWire
Posted: May 9, 2021 at 11:02 am
Well say this with cautious optimism: the summer movie season isback? After the coronavirus pandemic upended the 2020 release calendar, pushing back some of the years most hyped films and inspiring new avenues of distribution for others, the summer of 2021 is shaping up as platform for blockbusters (from the latest Fast and Furious to the post-apocalyptic survival of the A Quiet Place installment all the way through a seventhConjuring film) and rife with discoveries (including some festival hits that date all the way back to 2019).
Of course, the distribution landscape has changed radically over the past year, and not every anticipated summer movie will simply head to the multiplex. This seasons lineup includes a wide variety of viewing options that go beyond the brick and mortar theater. Its a summer defined by options not only in terms of what you see, but how you choose to see it.
This list includes only films that have confirmed release dates from May through August, though many of IndieWires most-anticipated 2021 films from reliable distributors have yet to announce their release plans. These include Neons Pig, Titane, Memoria, and The First Wave, along with Netflixs daring Fear Street trilogy. As spring and summer festivals begin in earnest, we expect a fresh round of new films to be excited about that just might sneak in their own summer release plans after bowing across the circuit.
That all means that everything remains in flux, and as plans continue to change, this list will be updated. Whether that includes changing release dates, the method of a films release, or adding in some of those anticipated titles that have locked in an official date in 2021, this preview remains particularly fluid. For now, however, these are the films we are most excited to see in the coming months.
Eric Kohn, Christian Blauvelt, Zack Sharf, David Ehrlich, Ryan Lattanzio, Jude Dry, Tambay Obsenson, and Chris Lindahl contributed to this article.
American Zoetrope
Combining the ultra-cool gauziness of her aunt Sofias films with a nuance and sensitivity all her own, Gia Coppola did the family name proud with her 2014 debut Palo Alto, which holds up as one of this centurys best movies about being young in America. Coppolas long-awaited second feature finds her re-teaming with key collaborators (like musician Dev Hynes and cinematographer Autumn Durald) for a major change of pace: An original film that marries the snowballing narcissism of Elia Kazans A Face in the Crowd with the self-affirmation of the social media era.
Maya Hawke, in her first leading role, stars as an orphaned LA bartender named Frankie whose insular life is turned upside down when she crosses paths with a mysterious drifter named Link (Andrew Garfield in one of the years first you have to see it to believe it performances). Introduced wearing a giant rat costume and ranting at blinkered mall shoppers about how people need to look up from their phones and eat the art around them in real life, Link has some loftily righteous takes about the content-ification of the human experience, and its only a matter of time before he becomes a viral sensation unto himself once Frankie starts uploading his speeches to YouTube. Little does she know that shes creating a monster.
What ensues from there is a heightened, aggressive, love-it-or-hate-it satire of a very online world that cant stop rubber-necking at its own wreckage, and Garfields spectacular, loathsome performance is burning bright in the center of it all as the part of ourselves that we just cant seem to extinguish. DE
Guy Ritchie bounced back from the lows of 2017s King Arthur: Legend of the Sword with back-to-back box office hits Aladdin (2019) and The Gentlemen (2020). Can Ritchie make it three hits in a row? Enter Wrath of Man, which should be an easy attraction for action movie fans hungry for a rock-em-sock-em theater experience, as it reunites the filmmaker with his longtime star Jason Statham. The action movie veteran first teamed with Ritchie on the filmmakers cult 1998 hit Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels, then reunited with him for the films Snatch and Revolver.
In Wrath of Man, a reimagining of Nicolas Boukhriefs 2004 French heist thriller Le Convoyeur, Statham stars as a truck security guard who surprises his co-workers during a heist in which he unleashes unexpected precision skills. The crew is left wondering who he is and where he came from. Soon, the marksmans ultimate motive becomes clear as he takes dramatic and irrevocable steps to settle a score. The film also stars Jeffrey Donovan, Josh Hartnett, Scott Eastwood, Raul Castillo, and Post Malone. ZS
AFI FEST
Best-selling author Kelly Oxford goes behind the camera for her long-in-the-making debut, which premiered at SXSW in 2020 and will debut on MTV (commercial-free!), where the accomplished first feature should reach its ideal audience. The charming and insightful 90s-set coming-of-age dramedy stars Jessica Barden as Winona who, just as Oxford did in suburban Calgary, struggles with an anxiety disorder after dropping out of college and moving back in with her parents. The films supporting cast includes rising stars Rosa Salazar, Odeya Rush, Lewis Pullman, and Devon Bostick, in addition to household names like Michael McKean, Marcia Gay Harden, Henry Winkler, and Mary J. Blige.
Pink Skies Ahead got its start as an essay that chronicles Oxfords own diagnosis, No Real Danger, which appeared in the anthology When You Find Out the World Is Against You. It was a moment of fresh anxiety that pushed Oxford to turn it into a script, just as she was grappling with the fallout of her 2016 divorce and trying to determine what was next for both her family and her career. The resulting film is funny, sad, and deeply honest, the kind of debut feature that makes it clear that Oxfords newly minted filmmaking career is one to watch. KE
Over the last two decades, prolific French horror director Alexandre Aja has delivered a gorier take on Wes Cravens The Hills Have Eyes, crafted a funny and gratuitous B-movie homage with Piranha 3D, and delighted critics and audiences with disaster thriller Crawl. For his ninth effort, Aja is trying his hand at sci-fi horror with Oxygen, which stars Mlanie Laurent as a woman who wakes up in a cryogenic pod. As shes running out of oxygen, she must figure out who she is and how she ended up in the potentially fatal predicament.
Best known to American audiences for her work in Inglorious Basterds, the Cesar-winning Laurent has a wide canvas to showcase her skills given the claustrophobic setting. Such a performance, coupled with a cerebral script and a director known for his transgressive instincts, could deliver a truly terrifying and thought-provoking survival drama. CL
With a movie called The Killing of Two Lovers, one might know what to expect from the start, but Robert Machoians gripping thriller plays off the prediction of its title at every riveting moment. David (a disheveled Clayne Crawford) is already at wits end when the movie begins, hovering over his estranged wife (Spideh Moafi) and her new boyfriend as they sleep in their small-town Utah home. A gun sits in his sweaty hand, but he has yet to pull the trigger.
From that unnerving start, the movie drifts through Davids fragile existence, as he makes repeated attempts to reconnect with the love of his life and their four children, juggling his simmering rage with the semblance of sanity still percolating in his head. This material could turn melodramatic at any moment, but Crawfords jittery performance and Machoians naturalistic style joins forces with an ominous sound design that brings the fragility of its protagonists mindset to life. The result is a fresh and bracing new look at the dissolution of a nuclear family that redefines edge-of-your-seat filmmaking through the sheer talent on display at every moment. EK
Lionsgate
The Saw horror franchise is coming back for a ninth go-round on the big screen with the upcoming Spiral, starring Chris Rock and Samuel L. Jackson. Rock came up with the idea himself for this reimagining, which looks like it has more in common with David Finchers Seven than with any previous installment in the long-running horror franchise. Rock stars as a detective working in the shadow of his esteemed police veteran father (Jackson) who gets drawn into a serial killers morbid game that somehow connects to the Jigsaw killer.
While Rock and Jacksons involvement is sure to draw viewers, diehard Saw fans know Spiral is not one to miss as it marks the return of filmmaker Darren Lynn Bousman to the horror franchise. Bousman wrote and directed 2005s Saw II and helmed sequels Saw III and Saw IV before departing the franchise. Bousmans return signals that Rocks idea was worthy of the Saw legacy. Horror fans will be keeping a close eye on this one this summer. ZS
Focus Features
The best and most harrowing addition to the emerging sub-genre of movies that take place entirely within the space of a computer screen,Timur Bekmambetovs Profile brings a new and much-needed dimension to its conceit by using it in the service of a semi-realistic story. Thats almost uncharted territory for a type of filmmaking born out of shlock (though Bekmambetov, who produced Searching and Unfriended, has been pushing for more projects with this approach, which he calls Screenlife). Very loosely based on a true story about a French journalist who essentially catfished an ISIS recruiter for a story, Bekmambetovs latest isnt going to be confused for a documentary, but theres nevertheless a gripping verisimilitude to watching desperate freelancer Amy (Valene Kane) flirt with and develop feelings for a Syrian jihadist (Shazad Latif) via Skype.
As broad as it is unnerving, Profile is one of the only films of this upcoming semi-pandemic summer that might actually be a better experienced when streamed at home on a computer monitor rather than seen on a movie screen. Watch this thing on a laptop and it inspires you to instinctively click on Amys Skype windows, as though the movie is being shared on your screen in real-time. Thats a terrifying, immediate sensation, and one that points to a new kind of interactive storytelling in which a guy like Bekmambetov might be able to physically meld with audiences in a way that the worst of his previous work (Wanted, Ben-Hur) has always wished that it could. In other words, this is the rare Netflix acquisition where everyonewins. DE
Netflix
With Justice League behind him, Zack Snyder is jumping from Warner Bros. to Netflix to kick off what could be another massive new franchise with Army of the Dead. The film marks the directors return to the zombie genre after he made the jump to features from music videos with his 2004 debut Dawn of the Dead. Starring Dave Bautista, Theo Rossi, Tig Notaro, Garrett Dillahunt, Ral Castillo, Omari Hardwick, Hiroyuki Sanada, and Ella Purnell, Army of the Dead follows a group of mercenaries who plot a heist on a Las Vegas casino during a zombie outbreak.
With smarter zombies (Snyder imagines the undead here as capable of forming groups and being organized) and a zombie tiger, Army of the Dead promises the kind of R-rated violent mayhem that tends to connect in the summer season. And thats just the beginning, as Snyder is producing a German-language prequel and an animated sequel that explains the origins of the universes zombies. ZS
There Is No Evil spends 30 minutes establishing its premise, and another two hours taking it in surprising new directions. Iranian director Mohammad Rasoulofs brilliant anthology feature unfolds across four stories about military men tasked with executions as they grapple with their options, contend with the fallout, and witness the impact it has on the people closest to them. It starts with tragedy and builds to a remarkable series of last-minute escapes and morality plays. The deserving winner of the Golden Bear at last years Berlinale, There Is No Evil is the perfect opportunity for Rasolouf to expand his audience (and will satisfy anyone who has appreciated his taut storytelling before).
The filmmaker, who has been barred from leaving his country since 2017, has made an absorbing ride defined by the paradoxes of its people. Nobody in There Is No Evil has it easy: Theres no simple moral code when every possible option leads to a point of no return. EK
Melinda Sue Gordon / Netflix Inc.
However good or bad The Woman in the Window turns out to be, it is surely destined to be one of the buzziest summer offerings from Netflix. Directed by Joe Wright and adapted from A.J. Finns bestseller, the film stars Amy Adams as agoraphobic woman who believes she saw her new friend murdered in the apartment across the street. Will anyone believe her?
Featuring a star-studded cast that includes Julianne Moore, Gary Oldman, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Anthony Mackie, Bryan Tyree Henry, and Wyatt Russell, The Woman in the Window has had a notorious road to release plagued by delays due to the Disney-Fox merger and poor test screenings. Some will watch The Woman in the Window because of its star-studded pedigree. Others will watch to see if its the train wreck that reports out of test screenings suggest. Either way, The Woman in the Window is going to be a Netflix hit that will have social media buzzing this summer movie season. ZS
Taylor Sheridan returns to feature directing for the first time since 2017s indie sleeper Wind River with Those Who Wish Me Dead, a neo-Western set amid a forest fire blazing in middle-of-nowhere Montana. Written by Sheridan with crime writer Michael Koryta (adapting his own novel), along with Blood Diamond scribe Charles Leavitt, the film features Angelina Jolie leading an impressive ensemble.
Also starring are Nicholas Hoult, Tyler Perry, and Jon Bernthal in this story of a 14-year-old murder witness on the run from twin assassins. Sheridan brings his deep pedigree for suspenseful Westerns grappling with a depressed America, as he earned an Oscar nomination for writing 2016s Hell or High Water, and serves as the co-creator, as well as writer, director, and producer, on TVs hit series Yellowstone. Sheridans crowning achievement remains the taut script for Denis Villeneuves Sicario, another film about a deadly chase through a dark corner of the world. RL
Actress-turned-filmmaker Natalie Morales is on a roll: Earlier this year, she premiered her co-directing debut Language Lessons at Berlin and SXSW, a pandemic-era charmer she made alongside Mark Duplass that made an early claim for this particular writers most tear-soaked film ending of the year. Now, Morales is rolling out her next offering: her solo directing debut, a teenage quest comedy entitled Plan B.
Written by Prathi Srinivasan and Joshua Levy, per its official synopsis, the Hulu original picks up after a regrettable first sexual encounter, a straight-laced high school student (Kuhoo Verma) and her slacker best friend (Victoria Moroles) have 24 hours to hunt down a Plan B pill in Americas heartland. The film sounds like the perfect next entry into the burgeoning andnecessary genre of girl-centric coming-of-age tales with very big, very real issues on their mind, from Booksmart to Never Rarely Sometimes Always and Unpregnant. Just two films into her career, it seems as Morales can do just about anything she sets her mind to.KE
Courtesy of filmmaker
Nearly 30 years after The Crying Game depicted a mans revulsion at discovering his partner was trans, Port Authority sets the record straight. When Paul (Fionn Whitehead) learns that ballroom dancer Wye (Lenya Bloom) is a femme girl soon after their romance has blossomed, he doesnt retch or try to flee. The nature of Wyes gender identity should be obvious to anyone paying attention to her surroundings, so the truth only comes as a twist for Paul; for most audiences, the suspense of the movies first half stems from watching him confront that fact and just deal with it. And then: They have in a levelheaded debate about the ethics of communication, and he more or less gets over it so the rest of the movie can go on.
Director Danielle Lessovitzs gentle debut utilizes the template for a gritty, naturalistic New York City love story about inner-city troublemakers with a keen eye for the authentic and touching two-hander at its center. At the same time, it doesnt negate the edginess of its metropolitan backdrop. (Executive produced by Martin Scorsese, it may as well take place in his expanded universe.) As this scrappy little movie to strike a quietly progressive note, it suggests a happy medium between Kids and Paris is Burning, building to a rousing finish right on schedule. EK
Jia Zhangkewas able to premiere his latest documentary, Swimming Out Till the Sea Turns Blue, at Berlin last February, just before the coronavirus shut down most of the world, and the film will finally be released to wide audiences more than a year later. The doc finds acclaimed writers Jia Pingwa, Yu Hua and Liang Hong discussing the evolution of their craft and how it emerged from changes to the society as a whole.
I respect them the most because theyre very, very honest and brave not only in terms of how they write, but how they express themselves, Jia told IndieWire last year. Through the making of this film, I absorbed a lot of the strength of these authors. Over the decades of making films, the difficulties Ive experienced have made me feel discouraged at times. The changes are so slow and sometimes the situation gets worse. Through my collaboration with these three authors, I felt that changes are possible if we just keep doing what we can not only individually but as a society. EK
Paramount
John Krasinskis much-hyped followup to his smash hit A Quiet Place was one of the first major 2020 tentpoles to get pushed back during the first days of the coronavirus pandemic. But Krasinski and co. remained set on their desire to open the film in theaters, and while it took over a year for that to happen, the sequel should serve as a major attraction for moviegoers looking to get back into the multiplex swing of things.
While Krasinski, who also co-starred in the first film, is not back on the screen (spoiler alert to anyone who didnt see the original back in 2018), the rest of his stars are, including his real-life wife Emily Blunt and teen breakouts Millicent Simmonds and Noah Jupe. The trio are joined by Cillian Murphy, here cast as another survivor of the alien invasion that effectively ended the world and set the stage for the first film.
The sequel was already screening by the time it was delayed, and strong first reactions continue to pump up enthusiasm for a film thats actually worth the wait: a worthy, world-expanding followup that builds on the original and finds its own thrills and emotional stakes in the process. Audiences should still be banned from eating crunchy snacks during any and all screenings. KE
With seven installments and a worldwide gross nearing $2 billion, few horror franchises can compare to the impact of The Conjuring universe. The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It marks the third direct sequel to the original 2013 movie and once again follows paranormal investigators Ed and Lorraine Warren (Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga). The movie tracks their involvement in a 1980s Connecticut exorcism and subsequent murder trial known as the Devil Made Me Do It case.
This will mark the first of the sequels without horror maestro James Wan in the directors chair; that job goes to The Curse of La Llorona director Michael Chaves in his sophomore effort. While La Llorona was far from a standout in the franchise, a story-by credit for Wan and a script from The Conjuring 2 scribe David Leslie Johnson-McGoldrick suggests The Devil Made Me Do It could live up to the high expectations set by the first two Conjuring movies. CL
NYFF
Shape of Water fans dying for another nymph-human love story, get ready: Christian Petzold has you covered. The German auteur behind Phoenix, Barbara, and Transit excels at taut, surreal thrillers about clandestine identities. Here, he follows Berlin tour guide Undine (Paula Beer) as her relationship collapses with her unfaithful partner and she falls for a curious industrial diver.
But as Undine maintains an eerie fixation on her breakup, the movie takes on a series of dreamlike twists as Petzold builds up his usual Hitchcockian suspense throughout. Undine may be losing her grip on reality, but reality has a few surprises in store for her as well right down to a stunning fantastical ending that will keep people talking, and which further confirms that Petzold is one of the most exciting European directors working today. EK
All Light Everywhere winds its way through fragmentary observations about modern surveillance society, unearthing a wide range of amorphous connections about its subject. However, Theo Anthonys ambitious documentary unearths one brilliant connection a fascinating lineage between the camera and the gun and roots it in historical fact.For that reason alone, the filmmakers strange and alluring rumination on the ways technology exerts control over human life is a worthy follow-up to his 2016 debut Rat Film, which used Baltimores rodent infestation as a savvy metaphor for gentrification.
All Light Everywhere investigates how little we see about the way the world looks back at us, careening from a warehouse that develops tasers and police body cameras, to training sessions for officers who wear the devices, the machinations of a spy plane entrepreneur, and the history of camera pigeons in WWI.In the most compelling passages, Anthony journeys back to the late 19th century, unearthing the little-known history of astrophotography and mug shots, finding a remarkable set of connections between camera technology and weapons of war. All of that comes full circle in a climactic confrontation about the nature of privacy in a world governed by corporate power, as the film coheres into a compelling riff on the ominous forces governing everyday life thats both alarming and awe-inspiring at once. EK
If ever there were a movie that could reignite the box office after such a down year, its a new musical from Lin-Manuel Miranda. Long before Hamilton, the hit-making multi-hyphenate wrote a more traditional musical set much closer to home: Washington Heights, the majority Puerto Rican neighborhood where he was born and raised.
In the Heights won the Tony Award for Best Musical and Best Original Score after premiering on Broadway in 2008, and just a few bars of the opening number will have audiences humming all the way to the box office. The movie version, directed by Jon M. Chu (himself no stranger to movie musical magic thanks to the Step Up franchise) stars Hamilton star Anthony Ramos as charmer protagonist Usnavi, and a host of established as well as up-and-coming names fill out his closely connected community. With Mirandas name recognition, as well as a catchy and upbeat score that rivals Hamilton in melody and lyrical flow, In the Heights is way overdue to give the Latino community their huge Hollywood hit. JD
Franois Ozons sexy, melancholic coming-of-age romance Summer of 85 sizzles against the banks of a seaside resort in Normandy. Its also got a killer soundtrack including The Cure and Bananarama, pop-colored cinematography, enough Breton shirts to outfit a French New Wave movie, and a cast of easy-on-the-eyes French cinema favorites. It channels the talky, beach-set films of ric Rohmer but with a rebellious edge, hinging on the stolen-hours love affair between introverted teen Alex (Lefebvre) and the slightly older but hardly wiser David (Voisin), the square-jawed Adonis who cuts a raffish figure on a motorcycle. The highs and lows of their summer fling collide in a sudden and mysterious tragedy foregrounded in the movies opening scenes, which makes their evolving connection, ignited by the actors volcanic chemistry, all the more suspenseful.
Adapting Aidan Chambers 1982 novel Dance on My Grave, Ozon captures the intoxicating pull of first love, and the loss of control that can make a formative erotic bond so dangerous and addictive. The evocative filmmaking is matched by the charms of its leads, who, in case you needed another selling point, enact one of the hottest guy-on-guy kisses ever thrown onscreen.RL
Sundance
A straightforward but delightful and unusually spirited love letter to the least straightforward (but spirited) art pop duo in the history of British-sounding American music, Edgar Wrights 135-minute Sparks documentary The Sparks Brothers is a beat-for-beat celebration of the bands deathless creative odyssey, an irresistible invitation to join their small but devoted cult of diehard fans, and a beautifully wrapped gift to anyone whos ever had angst in their pants about Ron and Russell Mael before.
Wrights love-in of a film is particularly enamored by the Maels Prestige-like commitment to their art, and even the most accomplished of the films 80 interview subjects exude an authentic sense of awe. Beck, Jane Wiedlin, Jason Schwartzman, Andy Bell, half of New Order, and Gilmore Girls creator Amy Sherman-Palladino represent just a tiny fraction of the famous and civilian fans that Wright gathers here, and every single one of these people including the bands frequent collaborators seems giddily mystified by the force of nature that is Sparks.
If Wrights documentary is so rigidly structured along chronological lines that it cant hope to embody the same zigzag genius that shaped the bands career, the one-album-at-a-time approach reflects the relentlessness of Sparks output, as well as the sheer tenacity required to weather so many cultural sea changes over the years. Fans of the band will feel like theyve died and gone to heaven. As for everyone else well, by the time The Sparks Brothers is over, theyll be fans of the band, too. DE
Historical documentaries pose a unique challenge when it comes to dramatizing lives rarely captured on film. When it comes to literary figures, theres no shortage of written records whether by them or about them to communicate the essence of a writers life. In the case of the new documentary Truman & Tennessee: An Intimate Conversation, filmmaker Lisa Immordino Vreeland utilizes correspondence between the two monumental figures as well as public comments each made about the other to weave her tale.
Described in its opening shots as an encounter between those lifelong friends in their own words, Truman & Tennessee charts the parallel careers of Truman Capote and Tennessee Williams, contemporaries with similar backgrounds who faced many of the same personal and professional struggles. The film plays like a kind of live reading of both writers diaries, except Vreeland highlights particularly poetic bits of wisdom and framing them around a uniting theme. The visuals consist mostly of still photos and talk-show footage, which arent used creatively enough to justify a cinematic treatment. Framing the narrative around their relationship is a slightly more inspired choice, and if the film illuminates new sides of both authors, it has served a purpose. JD
Disney
Pixars 24th feature film Luca hatches from the mind of Italian storyboard artist Enrico Casarosa, making his directorial debut with this summery, coming-of-age buddy movie located in the irresistibly sultry Italian Riviera. But the catch is that the friendship in play is between a pair of real boys who also happening to be seas monsters disgusting themselves in human form.
Thirteen-year-old Luca is voiced by Jacob Tremblay, making his Pixar debut, opposite We Are Who We Are breakout Jack Dylan Grazer, who voices his new pal Alberto. Scooter rides, Mediterranean swims, endless pasta, and gelato abound in this seaside adventure also featuring voice work from Maya Rudolph, Emma Berman, Marco Barricelli, and Jim Gaffigan. Hot off an Oscar win for Soul, Pixar is sure to deliver another delightful family favorite. RL
Sony Pictures Classics
Lauded documentary filmmaker Heidi Ewing made a bold leap into narrative filmmaking with a star-crossed romance based on a true story. The result is a timely romance that blends fiction and non-fiction to enact the poignant story of two undocumented Mexican immigrants in love. The film, which debuted at Sundance in 2020 before kicking off a robust run of festival screenings, revolves around aspiring chefwhose burgeoning romance with another man threatens to affect visitation rights with his young son. When he decides to cross the border to the U.S., he encounters a host of new challenges.
Arresting in its specificity and real-life themes, I Carry You with Me lays bare the painful reality for many undocumented immigrants in the U.S. through a tender human lens. JD
Its a Fast and Furious film that adds John Cena and brings back Sung Kang (justice for Han!). What more do you want to know? Okay, how about this: they go to space.KE
Hulu / screencap
Broad City scribe Ilana Glazer takes a page out of fellow comedian Jordan Peeles book, making her mark on the socially conscious horror genre popularized by Get Out. Written by Glazer with director John Lee, False Positive centers around a couple (played by Glazer and Justin Theroux) undergoing fertility treatments at the hands of sinisterly handsome doctor (Pierce Brosnan). After getting pregnant, they realize their dream-come-true isnt as perfect as it seems. Produced by A24 and with a Tribeca premiere already on the books, Glazer is coming out guns blazing with the first feature film shes written and produced. JD
If the evolution of creativity in the 21st century means that Twitter feeds can fuel feature-length adaptations, Zola is a terrific place to start. Director Janicza Bravos zany road trip comedy about a pair of strippers on a rambunctious 48-hour Florida adventure embodies its ludicrous source while jazzing it up with relentless cinematic beats.
Bravo, who co-wrote the movie with Slave Play breakout Jeremy O. Harris, applies the surreal and edgy sensibilities of her unsettling dark comic short Gregory Go Boom and the similarly outr Lemon to another jittery look at anxious people driven to self-destructive extremes. This time, their antics result in a rambunctious crowdpleaser made all the more compelling because its truekinda. In October 2015, Detroit-based stripper Aziah Zola King unleashed 144 tweets chronicling her madcap journey with new pal Jessica, who invited her on a quick jaunt down south to hit the clubs.
Now, that has become the template for a bawdy road trip adventure starring a terrific Taylour Page and Riley Keough as they fall in and out of their friendship over the course of a dark comic journey. The men in this movie arent exactly great people, but theyre fun to watch: Succession breakout Nicholas Braun plays a hilarious goofball boyfriend while the extraordinary Colman Domingo proves quite the menacing pimp. You wanna hear a story about why me & this bitch here fell out? the real-life Zola tweeted. Its kind of long but full of suspense. Bravos raucous movie does that tease justice and then some. EK
On the nextpage (click continue reading below), check out our picks for must-see summer movies coming out in July and August.
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MTV: Who is Tyler from Catfish? Updates on his relationship with Stefany! – Reality Titbit – Celebrity TV News
Posted: at 11:02 am
Tyler has turned to MTVs Catfish: The TV Show for help, in a bid to hopefully find out who Stefany really is. Lets get to know him
It is a series like no other, which sees dating researchers Kamie and Nev help people get down to the real truth of who their online friend is.
Known as a porn star kind-of catfish, MTVs latest project follows the journey of Tyler and Stefany, who met on a porn site two years ago.
So, who is Tyler? And what happened next for him and Stefany? We done some digging to find out how their online relationship played out.
Tyler is a 26-year-old coffee shop worker from Monroe, USA.
He also has a side job as a Massachusetts-based porn star which he started doing to make an extra income.
The Catfish: The TV Show star initially began making home videos and uploading them on video porn site PornHub.
After becoming successful on the site, he started doing it professionally, which led to him making money and meeting Stefanny.
Have yall found Tylers videos yet?!? Im tryna see something! #Catfish
Tyler and Stefany have been speaking to each other online for two years.
After chatting on PornHub, Tyler revealed he fell in love with Stefany Dunngar, who he shared every detail about his life with.
After his last relationship, Tyler is not ready to have his heart broken again, especially if he finds out that Stefany isnt who she says she is.
Both of them used to speak on the phone for hours, but Tyler had a slight doubt in his mind that their connection was all a lie.
But Kamie and Nev found there was a woman called Stefany Dunngar, aged 35, living in Florida, whose photos she had sent Tyler were on several porn sites with some dating back to 2014.
She agreed to video call Tyler, but appeared to look completely different from the photos she had sent, which were copied from a Facebook profile.
Tyler has been through so much heartbreak already #Catfish
After it was shockingly discovered that Stefanny appears to be married, fans started to feel for Tyler, who was clearly heartbroken.
He was devastated that she had lied to him about her appearance for two years, and said he would need time to think if he wanted to stay in touch.
Although Stefany gave him the space he wanted, it was later revealed that he decided to end things with her due to the lies she told him.
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Celine is a journalist with over five years of experience in the media industry and the chief staff writer on Reality Titbit. After graduating with a degree in Multimedia Journalism degree she became a radio newsreader and reporter, before moving into her current role as a reality TV writer.
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Populism is pushing research-based policymaking to the sidelines: Research pioneer N Bhaskara Rao – Scroll.in
Posted: at 11:02 am
With political parties dominating policies, there has been greater emphasis on winning elections. This concern has become the priority for research. This obviously meant conducting studies that cater to the populist appeal which included election studies and poll surveys meant to influence voters while change measurement and long-term implications became secondary (2010-20). But this has not yet sensitised the political leaders nor the concerned agencies in the government.
The governments recent campaigns such as Swachh Bharat or Smart Cities has brought about a new kind of research. Endorsement research or supportive research or justifying studies has garnered more preference recently. Whether research is independent is no longer the preferred criteria. Even the credibility of independent institutions, which have been the primary sources for the countrys statistics, have come under questioning. There has been more reliance on audit- based methodology than evaluative research (2015-20).
Despite national policy becoming the latest craze among leaders in power, primary or independent research remains ignored. Instead, there is more reliance on the consultation route. Although the consultation process is overall effective for policies, it is necessary to question whether this process should be used to get endorsement.
Today, every ministry claims to be developing a national policy. In fact, every time there is a new minister, there is a call for a new policy. I recall how some ministries like the I & B were against a national policy until a few years ago as it also meant restrains, controls, and centralisation.
These trends are not distinct points as there is an overlap in their implications. They also reflect what the country is prioritising in its public policies and research opportunities.
A retrospective analysis or reverse tracking of these developments indicates two trends with implications on the kind of research being conducted in the country. First, the idea of public policies is getting diluted in the extent of concern for the public. As these policies focus more on voters, they are becoming increasingly politically oriented.
Second, public policies are being driven more by fewer groups or individuals. This trend is becoming more evident with every election. Third, as populism suits the rhetoric, a populist scheme has become the pursuit, even in research. One result of this trend is supportive research or endorsement.
Populism is an outlook of leaders, and a methodology and strategy of those in power to control, command, and exert their authority. What we are witnessing today is an altogether new populism where ideology has little importance. The new instruments of communication and network have changed the course to such an extent that populism is being made to appear or sound synonymous to democracy and development, when in fact it can turn out to be a countervailing phenomenon.
What is being regarded as a boom may turn out to be a bubble. This depends on the leaders grip or control over the instruments of administrative authority or political power. In populism, the difference between ends and means becomes blurred.
The new wave of populism sweeping across the nation is rhetoric-centred. That is, it purports people as masses but is led by a few who are masters of rhetoric. Here, institutions matter less, as do future implications and research and feedback. Populism depends on revisiting the past rather than focusing on the future beyond three-five years. Polarising people through destabilisation is part of the strategy. Perpetuating hate, anger, and resentment form the core of populism and help sustain the phenomena. Doubletalk also comes handy in this process.
Citizen activism, debates, deliberations, and checks and balances are no longer virtues, and may even be snubbed. Populism does not care so much for self-correctives or plurality. Populism needs an imaginary or a virtual villain or an enemy to prompt realignments. It submits a polarisation that thrives in terms of We of now and They of the past.
Populism implies making people dependent on the government and reducing them to being beneficiary citizens. Introducing new tools (Aadhar, bank account, etc) provides an even easier grip over the masses. Homogenising people with other emotional issues also maintains populism (one nation, one language; or one nation, one election; or one nation, one market; or one nation, one policy). Political leaders think such methods are far more reliable to control and command than transparency, feedback, and research. (The National Register of Citizens is a new found measure along these lines.)
When concern for consequences is no longer a priority, the scope for feedback and research, scientific basis, or logical rationale gets marginalised. As do ethical responsibilities. In fact, even public opinions become less important while surveys matter more. Populism propels new alignments that surpass ideologies. Increased income in equalities has added to populism and added support to populist parties. Economic insecurity is another aspect that drives voters to populist parties and sustains populism.
Populism is a global phenomenon today. As a political phenomenon, it includes two streams. The first stream is economic that is based more on the anxieties and expectations of people, including jobs and means to fulfil basic needs, as well as the lure of attractive-sounding schemes and sops which may exist only on paper. Shortages and crisis situations become the stimulus for, and sustain, populism. More often, this stream is based on positive inducements.
The second stream is emotional populism which is euphoria and rhetoric-based, often giving negative signals. Emotional populism often promotes and exploits majoritarian prejudice and has no concern for long- term consequences at all.
Both these streams of populism are short-sighted, cynical, and not really concerned with sustaining fair governance, democracy, or even development.
Populism is a fantasy, a mirage. It does not necessarily imply welfare, as is being claimed across the world today, particularly by those in political power. A common belief is that populism wins votes, and hence the power to govern. It is a mirage because it has no end. Populism is not the same as being popular or being liked or making oneself interesting to people. It has different meanings in different contexts.
In India, populism refers to the phenomena of appealing to the base interests or emotions or the lower instincts of people. It is not an ideology of any political party. There cannot be one consistent view of populism. In recent years, however, populism in terms of elections has become all-pervasive and has been driven more by competitive compulsions for polls.
Populism often involves promises unconcerned with budget or their feasibility. For example, despite the Supreme Court striking caste/community-based reservations, promises continue to be made. Populism is believing something that is temporary and is not an honourable or ethical way of seeking support for a productive or sustainable cause.
Populism is a lure, a bait for short-term advantage. Such populism has become a tactful strategy intended to induce or tempt people to support a leader or the government. Politics has become an art in populism, as an election-time tact. In this process, populism can very well be deceptive.
Considerable research has been undertaken on how or what should be done to create a populist course or to sustain support. Populism may also work as a trap when promises are not kept and cannot be explained to the concerned public. Populism is a tricky affair. It can sometimes be rewarding in temporarily and sometimes in a lasting manner.
Someone concerned with long-term interest may not find populism the preferred method despite its immediate benefits. There are examples where populist moves by governments have not found popular support. A 2016 referendum in Switzerland that granted basic income to every family was a populist move, but the motion was rejected by an overwhelming majority as people were against dependence on the government and were concerned about the governments sustainability and productivity. But such examples are rare.
Recently, in Telangana as well as Andhra Pradesh, there were demands that every household be given one million rupees for their household expense. It should not be a surprise if this demand becomes a manifesto promise of parties just before the next elections in 2023.
That populism is becoming the norm in India has been too obvious in recent decades. The more this trend grows, the bleaker the chances for evaluative research and independent data and statistics.
Excerpted with permission from The Third Eye of Governance: Rise of Populism, Decline in Social Research, N Bhaskara Rao, Speaking Tiger.
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Best Nootropics – What Brain Supplements and Smart Drugs Really Work – L.A. Weekly
Posted: at 11:01 am
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Nootropics are dietary supplements that can improve mental performance, brain function and concentration. They are also known as smart drugs or brain pills.
In recent years nootropic supplements have become increasingly popular with people wanting to increase their cognitive function, memory and focus. The Bradley Cooper film Limitless, featuring the fictitious smart drug NZT-48, inspired countless people in search of a pill to improve brain function.
If you want to experience the benefits of a smart drug we have compiled a list of the best nootropic supplements for 2021.
Although nootropics are still often referred to as a smart drug, the term is not strictly accurate. Nootropic science has evolved considerably in recent years. Chemicals and other synthetic substances are no longer the only options available to people wishing to boost their cognitive functions and increase brain cells.
These days, many of the best nootropics are powered by formulations that harness the brain-boosting capabilities of natural ingredients and organic compounds. They are supplements, not medications. Anyone can enjoy their benefits and no prescription is required.
The market market for natural cognitive enhancing supplements is valued at $2.2 billion (in 2021) and by 2027 could be worth an estimated $6 billion.
Chemical-based cognitive enhancers continue to have a role to play in mental health but their use requires a doctors intervention. They are rarely the right option for healthy individuals who want to enhance their mental function or cognitive performance and trying to get hold of medications of this nature via illegal channels would not be the smart thing to do.
The name nootropic was first used in 1964 by the Romanian chemist and psychologist, Dr. Corneliu E Giurgia. Its a combination of the Greek words noos and tropein.
Noos is the Greek word for mind and tropein means to bend or turn. So nootropics are mind-bending medications or supplements. [source]
Nootropics are very popular. Lots of people use them to obtain an extra edge at work or during study. A good nootropic can sharpen the mind, improve concentration, enhance memory function, and/or provide other benefits that keep your brain in top gear.
Unfortunately, not all nootropics are as good as the manufacturers would have you believe. Unless you are unusually well informed on the subject or happen to get lucky, finding a good nootropic product can be difficult.
Nobody likes to waste money, and we dont like it when people are misled, so weve compiled a list of the four best nootropics available today.
All of our top four nootropic supplements are manufactured and distributed by reputable companies and have excellent customer feedback. They contain high-quality ingredients and none of them have a reputation for causing side effects.
Which one will be best for you? Weve provided product overviews to help you decide.
CLICK HERE TO VISIT WEBSITE AND VIEW LATEST OFFERS
NooCube is a nootropic supplement produced by Wolfson Berg Limited.
The company has more than 30 years of experience in the supplement industry and has a first-rate reputation for producing high-quality products and distributing them at down-to-earth prices.
As with all the products that made it onto our list of best nootropics, NooCube boasts an incredibly good ingredient profile.
The NooCube formulation was developed by a team of top neuroscientists and all the ingredients have decades of research that supports their abilities to boost cognitive function and enhance the mind.
The standard dose is two capsules per day. You take them with breakfast to get a good brain boost at the start of your day.
If you wish to do so, you can gradually increase the dose to a maximum of four capsules per day.
However, each bottle of NooCube contains 60 capsules. Taking four capsules would require you to use two bottles of NooCube per month. You need to be aware of that but, as well as being one of the most powerful nootropics on the market, NooCube is also one of the cheapest. So if you do decide to double-dose, you can do so without breaking the bank.
If you have experience with nootropic products and have been let down in the past, NooCube is one of the best options to choose. Apart from being one of the cheapest high-quality products on the market, it also has a 60-day money-back guarantee.
NooCube has been specially formulated to provide several key benefits:
These desirable mental improvements are made possible by a special formulation that consists of eight key ingredients:
Customer feedback is excellent. A lot of people are praising the product and its abilities. If that were not the case it would not have earned a place on our list.
You can only buy NooCube via the official website.
Although the original price is $54.99 per bottle, Wolfson Berg normally offers significant discounts, often shaving up to $15 off the normal cost for a single bottle of pills.
There are no extra charges for shipping or handling, so the price you see on the site is always the price you pay.
Want to stretch your buck a bit further? The NooCube website offers some very enticing special deals. When you buy two bottles of NooCube, you get a third one for free. However, the best deal goes to customers who order three bottles. Do that and Wolfson Berg will give you three extra bottles on the house. Thats an incredible deal!
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Hunter Focus is a nootropic supplement for men. Not just any men though. Its been specially developed for men who have a burning desire to climb the corporate ladder and get to the top.
However, although the manufacturer created Hunter Focus to be a business brain booster, the benefits the formulation provides will be equally beneficial to men from all walks of life. Women could easily take advantage of its potency too.
The dose is four capsules per day but dont worry about the monthly usage costs. There are 120 capsules per bottle so each one provides a 30-day supply.
Hunter focus is one of three male-orientated supplements distributed under the Hunter Resolve brand name. The other two supplements are a testosterone booster and a fat burner.
Hunter Resolve is a Roar Ambition brand.
Roar Ambition has a lot of experience in the supplement industry and is responsible for producing several very specialized products, including a high-potency energy-boosting fat burner developed for professional fighters.
Hunter Focus provides people who use it with the following benefits:
These mental enhancements are the result of nine key ingredients:
Hunter Focus is another nootropic thats got people talking and saying all the right things. It also has an endorsement from, brainiac, Greg Gostincar.
A seasoned biohacker and brain transformation coach, Greg has tried more than 50 nootropic stacks and agrees Hunter Focus is one of the best.
Hunter Focus is exclusive to the manufacturers website. With a price tag of $75 per 30-day bottle, its the most expensive of our four top picks.
Its a high-quality product though. Its worth the money and the manufacturer is offering a 30-day money-back guarantee.
Needless to say, there are also rewards available to customers who place larger orders and the best deal goes to men who buy three bottles of Hunter Focus and get a fourth one for free.
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Mind Lab Pro is a nootropic supplement that was launched in 2015, by Opti-Nutra. Its a reputable supplement manufacturer thats known and respected all over the world.
Although Mind Lab Pro has always been good, it keeps on getting better because Opti-Nutra continues to keep tweaking the formulation to make it even more effective.
Mind Lab Pro is a universal supplement thats designed to cover all the bases and offer the maximum level of cognitive support.
If you are unsure which nootropic is going to be right for you, Mind Lab Pro may be the best one to choose. It will allow you to enhance your mind and enjoy all the benefits of a complete mental overhaul just by taking two capsules per day.
The formulation is also 100 percent vegan-friendly so, if you prefer to boost your brain without using any animal extracts, Mind Lab Pro is one of the best ways to do it.
If you choose Mind Lab Pro as your daily nootropic, you can expect the following benefits:
The formulation achieves these things by harnessing the natural powers of the following 11 ingredients:
As you can see, the Mind Lab Pro formulation contains a lot of old favorites. Ingredients like Citicoline and Bacopa Monnieri are so beneficial most of the top supplement companies use them.
However, Mind Lab Pro also provides a B Vitamin complex. Thats something new and the combination should help give this formulation an edge.
B Vitamins boost mental and physical vitality by helping the body extract energy from food. The combination provided here also improves blood flow to the brain and helps protect it from harm.
Mind Lab Pro has plenty of customer reviews. People are heaping lots of praise on the product and confirm its ability to deliver the goods.
Mind Lab Pro costs $69 per bottle and you can only get it via the official website. Each bottle provides a 30-day treatment and customers who buy three bottles get a fourth bottle for free.
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BrainPill! Hows that for a name that tells it like it is? Its not just the name thats good though. This brain pill can really deliver the goods. Its one of several highly respected products developed by Leading Edge Health.
The companys slogan is created by nature, proven by science and you only have to look at the BrainPill formulation to see the ingredients it chooses are both of these things.
When you look at the BrainPill marketing material, you will see the product is aimed at high-level executives and peak performers seeking a competitive edge. However, although BrainPill is a good fit for its target group, its equally suitable for other men and women as well.
After all, it isnt only business people who have to work long hours, suffer from mental stress, or have an ongoing fight against mental fog. Many people have these problems and BrainPill can help.
Research involving 74 BrainPill users, proves the products ability to fine-tune the mind and you have nothing to lose by buying BrainPill because Leading Edge Health is offering a 67-day money-back guarantee.
BrainPill is designed to offer the following benefits:
These benefits are due to the combined abilities of 13 potent nootropic ingredients:
Again, were seeing a lot of the top natural nootropics but there are also a couple of new faces.
Vinpocetine is a plant extract that increases blood flow to the brain. Its been a trusted nootropic for several decades and, in Germany, its deemed so powerful its only available as a prescription medication.
Ginkgo biloba also boosts blood flow to the brain. Herbalists have been using it to boost cognitive function for thousands of years.
DHA is an Omega-3 fatty acid that boosts memory and thinking capacity by improving important neurological functions.
As with all the best nootropics, BrainPill has excellent customer reviews. Its also doctor-recommended. Not just any doctor either. BrainPill is recommended by Dr. Dave David. If the name sounds familiar, its not surprising. Dr. Dave is a respected MD and cosmetic surgeon who is regularly featured on CNN.
A 30-day supply of BrainPill costs just under $70 and you can only buy it via the official website.
Unfortunately, placing larger orders wont get you any free products but it will help you to stretch your money further by providing reasonable discounts.
VISIT WEBSITE FOR PRICING AND LATEST PROMOTIONS
People buy nootropics for a variety of different reasons. One of the most common ones is poor memory.
Memory function can be hindered due to a number of factors including stress and anxiety, alcoholism, Vitamin B12 deficiency, and disease. Certain medications can affect your memory too.
There are steps people can take to reduce the impact of all of these factors because they are largely lifestyle-related. However, the aging process also impedes memory function. We all get older. Its a natural part of life but that doesnt mean we have to accept the cards we are dealt.
All the best nootropics provide ingredients that boost memory function. Of course, if you suspect your failing memory may be due to Alzheimers or a similar disease, you will need to seek professional advice. If you think it may be age or lifestyle-related, a good nootropic could help.
Huperzine A, Citicoline, and Bacopa Monnieri are a few examples of ingredients that can remove the fog from your brain and improve your ability to access the information stored inside.
Can natural ingredients really make such a big difference to your brain? Absolutely.
For example, Huperzine A is a species of moss. You cant get more natural than that but it can offer mind-blowing benefits to the brain.
Its an acetylcholinesterase (AChE) inhibitor. By inhibiting AChE, Huperzine A prevents acetylcholine from being broken down, helping to maintain adequate levels of circulating acetylcholine.
Acetylcholine is an important neurotransmitter. Higher levels help to sustain better memory and provide improvements in mental clarity and concentration.
The results of one study show Huperzine A improved memory and cognitive function in 58 percent of the participants. All of whom were suffering from Alzheimers disease.
Weve all had those moments where we feel distracted and unable to concentrate. Fatigue and stress can interfere with our ability to concentrate too.
Inability to concentrate can make even simple tasks unnecessarily hard. Fortunately, this is also an area where nootropics can help.
As you may be aware, caffeine is good for improving concentration. Thats why students often take caffeine tablets to help them through late-night cramming sessions.
Caffeine works by boosting the production of dopamine. Its the neurochemical thats responsible for governing mental focus and concentration.
However, caffeine is a stimulant. It can cause jitters and other side effects, so the best nootropics usually use alternative ingredients to boost dopamine instead.
Citicoline is one of several natural ingredients that have this capability. So is L-Theanine, which is famed for its ability to produce a state of alert calm.
Citicoline and L-Theanine are not the only two ingredients that can do this, the manufacturers of nootropic supplements have several others at their disposal and this is, perhaps, a good time to point out all of the best nootropic ingredients benefit your mind in multiple ways.
Nootropics can improve mental focus in several ways. Any ingredient that increases dopamine levels has value in this regard because one of its many roles is to help you tune into the task at hand and avoid unwanted distractions.
So, needless to say, as well as improving concentration, Citicoline and L-Theanine are good for boosting mental focus.
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Best Nootropics - What Brain Supplements and Smart Drugs Really Work - L.A. Weekly
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Former Oregon House Speaker Gets Busted by Prostitution Law He Helped Put in Place – Reason
Posted: at 11:00 am
"Former Oregon House Speaker Dave Hunt cited in sex trafficking sting," the New York Post reported yesterday. It's one of a number of headlines that accuse Hunta Democrat who served in the state legislature from 2003 to 2013of having been busted for sex trafficking.
He wasn't. To be considered sex trafficking (or "trafficking in persons," as Oregon's offense is officially known), a commercial sex act must involve either force, fraud, coercion, or someone under 18 years old. Hunt was simply caught by undercover cops who were conducting a prostitution sting.
The Portland Police Bureau (PPB) posted ads online, pretending to be sex workers. Eight men who took the baitincluding Hunt"were criminally cited on the charge of Commercial Sexual Solicitation," according to a PPB press release.
It seems Portland copslike so many in law enforcement these daysare not above playing hero and pretending to solve serious crimes as they spend public resources on busting adults trying to have consensual sex with other adults. So PPB has shamelessly framed their vice sting as a "human trafficking" operation, complete with grandiose statements about how "human trafficking is not a victimless crime" and PPB is working in conjunction with the feds and other departments to stop it.
Of course human trafficking is not a victimless crimeno one disputes that. But human trafficking is not what Portland cops were actually fighting here.
Huntwho now works in public affairs and serves on the board of Clackamus Community Collegeis being unfairly slandered as a sex trafficker. But before anyone starts feeling too bad for him, note that he voted in favor of a 2011 measure criminalizing the very activity that he tried to engage in.
That measure created the crime of patronizing a prostitutesince renamed commercial sexual solicitationpunishable by up to one year imprisonment, a $6,250 fine, or both when the person being patronized is an adult.
Hunt's attorney told the Portland Tribune that Hunt "denies the allegations, but respects the criminal justice process and will refrain from saying more until he has his opportunity in court."
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Our Friend David Horowitz, the Trump Propagandist – The New Republic
Posted: at 11:00 am
To help sustain the lie, Horowitz was duty bound to deliver another quickie Trump book within six months of the lost election. Not that The Enemy Within provides evidence that a crime was committed on November 3, 2020. Its basically a clip job, repeating the wild and disproven fraud allegations made by Rudy Giuliani, Sidney Powell, Peter Navarro, and other Trump fabulists. In the screed, Horowitz claims a vast criminal conspiracy carried out at polling places in many of the 50 states. Yet theres one little fact missing from the dossierthe name of a single person who participated in the biggest crime in American history. We have heard, of course, of victimless crimes; for Horowitz and his fellow conspiracy theorists, the alleged election fraud is a history-changing crime that hasnt a single named perpetrator.
Trumps best legal minds, including Rudy Giuliani and Sidney Powell (and their mouthpieces in Trump media), did put forth the names of two guilty parties: Hugo Chvez (deceased) and Dominion voting machines. But when Dominion began filing billion-dollar lawsuits, most of the Trump world backtracked or recanted. For Horowitz, the Democratic Party is guilty of terrible crimes that no one can prove, while the MAGA criminals who stormed the Capitol under the glare of hundreds of video cameras are as white as snow and as red, white, and blue as the patriots of 1776. The protesters inside the Capitol are heroes, Horowitz tweeted on January 6, as the mob ransacked the Senate and House chambers and threatened to kill his friend, Mike Pence. They will not be able to stop the steal, but they will expose the lies that are defending the steal. Shame on the Republicans who caved to Bidens criminals.
One of the laugh lines in The Enemy Within is the outrage Horowitz directs against what he calls the liberal tax-exempt advocacy culture, a category in which he includes the Southern Poverty Law Center, a nonprofit that uses a successful but sinister political fundraising strategy. Talk about the pot calling the kettle black. According to the official IRS website, all section 501(c)(3) organizations are absolutely prohibited from directly or indirectly participating in, or intervening in, any political campaign on behalf of (or in opposition to) any candidate for elective public office. We arent lawyers, but those prohibitions sound as if they would apply to the Horowitz Freedom Centers relentless support of Trump, as well as its financial support, to the tune of $175,000 (as reported in The Washington Post and The Intercept), of the Party for Freedom of the Dutch ethno-nationalist politician (some would say white supremacist) Geert Wilders, then campaigning for the Netherlands Parliament. (The first of the donations came in March 2014; later that year, Wilders was a speaker at the Restoration Weekend.)
The IRS appears reluctant to provide any serious oversight, so Horowitz manages to raise a significant percentage of the Freedom Centers yearly $6 million budget through tax-exempt donations from conservative foundations and individual big funders. That budget allows Horowitz to take a salary of over $600,000, according to the centers latest tax filing. Some portion of the centers budget is also raised through Horowitzs signed fundraising letters, which go out to a vast email list. Horowitz typically begins each with a personal salutation, and then issues a dire warning: America is about to be overrun by radical Islamists or Central American immigrants, or educators are turning public schools into centers for leftist indoctrination. Then comes the pitch: Send me $35 or $50 so the Freedom Center can continue fighting to save the country.
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Our Friend David Horowitz, the Trump Propagandist - The New Republic
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Bexhill paedophile Andrew Beale cost brother his job – The Argus
Posted: at 11:00 am
A PAEDOPHILE cost his brother his job by failing to confess to possessing sick child sex abuse images.
Andrew Beale was living at the same property as his brother in Bexhill when police got a tip off about indecent images being made.
Some of the images contained horrifying examples of abuse on a baby and upon toddlers.
The 39-year-old was living in a separate outhouse, but there were four adults living in the property at the time of the raid.
But Beale did not immediately admit to being the man responsible for downloading and making the abuse images.
It was a decision which ended up costing his brother his employment with an IT firm, Lewes Crown Court heard.
The finger of suspicion fell on all the adults at the property.
Dominic Benthall revealed how Beale was in possession of some of the worst kinds of child abuse images.
Beale had been looking at indecent images for more than ten years, it was claimed.
The police warrant at the property took place in 2019.
Kevin Light, defending, said nothing was said when police arrived and no arrest was made, and it was only when questioned that Beale admitted his sick crimes.
It included possessing more than 3,000 category C images, along with about 30 category B and 30 category A images, along with other material on old hard drives.
Mr Light said his client was living in an outhouse at the property and said Beale regrets having caused the problems for his brother.
Her Honour Judge Janet Waddicor said the incident had caused great tension between them.
She said: Presumably because this defendant did not say this is all to do with me, the finger of suspicion fell on his brother, who was working in education and lost his job.
Mr Light said Beales brother had worked for a computer firm, and said the brother did indeed lose his job.
Addressing Beale, the judge said: The police went to your home on the basis of information that indecent images of children were being distributed at that property.
You happened to be living in an outbuilding, a shed almost and three other adults were living there.
When police went there, no one put their hands up to having such material. So all four adults were under suspicion.
Three were blameless, one person had possession of these images and it was you. One of the consequences of the police search and removal of equipment was that your brother lost his job.
That is something you feel responsible for, as indeed you are. You did not say to the police the material you are looking for belongs to me.
The judge said victims shown in the images often have psychological problems through their lives.
She said: There is a market created in the abuse of children, marketed down to people such a yourself who derive pleasure, unspeakably, from looking at such images.
You may have persuaded yourself it is a victimless crime, but it is not.
Beale, of De La Warr Road, Bexhill, was given a one-year suspended prison sentence. He was ordered to complete 80 hours of unpaid work and complete 25 rehabilitation sessions.
He was put under the terms of a Sexual Harm Prevention order restricting his access to children and computer equipment, and his hard drives and devices were ordered to be destroyed.
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Bexhill paedophile Andrew Beale cost brother his job - The Argus
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Former reality TV farmer Matt Goyder given two-year jail term over child exploitation material – ABC News
Posted: at 11:00 am
A former star of the popular reality show "Farmer Wants a Wife" has been jailed for possessing and distributing images and videos of child sexual abuse, described by a Perth judge as "vile" and "of the upmost depravity".
Matthew Eric Goyder, who appeared in the 2016 series of the show, was arrested last year after chatting onlineto someone he thought was a 37-year-old woman but who was actually an undercover police officer.
Goyder, who employedthe user name PilbaraBoy90, then sent the officer two videos showing girls aged between fourand eightyears being sexually abused.
Police searched the apartment where Goyder was staying and seized a laptop computer that was found to contain more than 4,000 images and videos of children someas young as 6 months being abused.
ABC News: Jon Sambell
District Court Judge Karen Shepherd said the material was "of the upmost depravity and depicted the most serious sexual abuse of children".
"[Put] simply it is vile ... it depicts high levels of perversion and debauchery and it is degrading," Judge Shepherd said.
The court heard Goyder suffered various mental health issues, including anxiety and depression, and Judge Shepherd accepted that had played a role in his offending.
However, she said those issues were intertwined with Goyder's drug use and he himself had claimed he only offended because he was using methylamphetamine, which made him "hypersexual".
The court was told Goyder had used the drug over many years, and had decided in 2015 to go on the TV reality program to fill a void in his life after a stint in drug rehabilitation in Thailand.
In a letter Goyder provided to the court, he said hewas genuinely seeking love and a relationship, and he did fall for someone but it did not end up how he would have liked.
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Hesaid the program had "really messed" with hismindand ended up shattering his self-confidence,leading to his life "spiraling out of control."
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The court heard Goyder had also suffered a hypoxic brain injury in 2019, which his lawyers submittedhad affected his thinking and made him "disinhibited".
Judge Shepherd accepted that Goyder was remorseful and that he had pleaded guilty at an early stage.
She also noted Goyder had made extensive efforts to rehabilitate himself, including spending 13 months at a drug rehabilitation facility.
The judge also took into account that Goyder, by putting himself in the spotlight, had suffered a degree of public humiliation because of the media attention given to the case.
However, she said the offences were so serious that only a jail term of two years was appropriate.
Judge Shepherd said the crimes were not so-called "victimless" ones, because real children were abused, violated and degraded in the production of the material.
Goyder will have to serve half the term before being eligible for parole, meaning his earliest possible release date will bein May 2022.
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