by Jack Brown | Dec 2, 2019 | Articles, Cinemadope, Columns, Featured
If you talked much politics over the Thanksgiving table this year, you probably noticed that very few of those involved knew what they were talking about. Which is to say that most of us, however passionate we might be about a particular issue, often lack a true...
by Jack Brown | Nov 26, 2019 | Articles, Cinemadope, Columns, Featured
If you’re out and about in Franklin County this weekend, you might want to make some room in your Saturday calendar. In an area that is often on the quiet side for film events, this weekend is shaping up to be a busy one for film lovers in the northern half of the...
by Jack Brown | Nov 19, 2019 | Articles, Arts, Cinemadope, Columns, Featured
The mob movie is the shadowy reflection of the American Dream. Stories of success despite humble beginnings, of hardscrabble times and strong work ethics, of family bonds and the desire for a better life — all the usual tropes apply. What makes it work so well in the...
by Jack Brown | Nov 12, 2019 | Articles, Cinemadope, Columns, Featured
The Twilight Zone was always a show that got better after it ended. At its best, the science fiction/fantasy/horror of the series did its strongest work in the minds of viewers left dumbstruck by a twist ending or unexpected detail that upended everything that had...
by Jack Brown | Nov 5, 2019 | Articles, Cinemadope, Columns, Featured
The sequel is a strange and fickle beast. For people on both sides of the box office, there is a great desire to see them do well; those studio bigwigs in their top hats and monocles love the allure of a built-in audience, and all the dollars they carry; we mere...
by Jack Brown | Oct 29, 2019 | Articles, Cinemadope, Columns, Featured
As this issue of the Advocate hits the streets, October will just be starting to fold up its skeletons and plastic spiders to make way for the inflatable Santas. (Thanksgiving fan? Sorry, enjoy your single Thursday afternoon.) For many horror fans, it’s the end of...
by Jack Brown | Oct 22, 2019 | Articles, Cinemadope, Columns, Featured
People in the Valley are a creative bunch. At my day job, one woman I work with is a talented seamstress who creates wonderful clothes and stuffed toys; another works with local potters to decorate clay vessels and cups. My old Advocate editor — a published poet —...
by Jack Brown | Oct 17, 2019 | Articles, Cinemadope, Columns, Featured
When I first moved to Northampton a couple of decades ago, my partner at the time took a job as a chambermaid at a local hotel. I can’t recall now exactly how long it lasted, but I know it wasn’t long — the hours, the amount of labor involved, the indifference (or...
by Jack Brown | Oct 10, 2019 | Articles, Cinemadope, Columns, Featured
There are so many stories that never get the audience they deserve. Whether overshadowed by events of their era or lost to the circumstances of their creators lives, there will always be those narratives that — if they are ever recorded at all — deserve a better fate....
by Jack Brown | Sep 23, 2019 | Articles, Cinemadope, Columns, Featured
One of the most magical things about great storytelling is the ability of the storyteller to transform a seemingly simple thing into a grand or heart-pounding adventure. A guy chases a whale (or a shark chases some people). Two teenagers fall in love, but their...
