Minority Mindset

Rafael Manuel’s Filipiñana feels like a unique and captivating newcomer at the Park City festival. It stands out with its precise, stylized approach, offering a refreshing contrast to more conventional, heartfelt films. It’s a movie that demands your full attention and willingness to observe—not because it’s slow or confusing, but because it’s constructed entirely from carefully considered details. (Influential director Jia Zhangke produced the film and mentored Manuel, who also worked on Jia’s recent acclaimed film, Caught by the Tides.) In Filipiñana, even small things—like the way a golf club is held, a piece of fruit lying on the ground, or a simple look—can be surprisingly suspenseful, moving, or breathtaking.

The film’s title, One in a Million, hints at both incredible luck and the overwhelming scale of displacement. While Israa and her family survived a dangerous journey – a fate many others didn’t share – it also acknowledges that they are just one family among millions uprooted by war. Directors Azzam and MacInnes, who lived in Damascus when the conflict began in 2011 and later fled to London, tell Israa’s story. Upon arriving in Cologne, the family finds a modest but welcoming home, and Israa starts school where she’s met with kindness and curiosity. But as time passes, things become more difficult. Israa feels increasingly scrutinized and begins to push back against her family, especially her father, Tarek. They were once very close, but now he seems stuck in the past and unable to adapt to their new life. The typical challenges of adolescence are amplified for Israa by the cultural differences she experiences both at home and with her peers.

On a recent episode of his podcast, Las Culturistas with Matt Rogers, Yang shared a story about having to go back to 30 Rock to retrieve some belongings. Unfortunately, he chose a terrible time to visit – right when everyone was returning to work after a break. He ended up having to sneak around, probably to avoid causing a scene, and I’d love to see the security camera footage of the whole thing!

Crawford later clarified that her character’s storyline might have hinted at a romantic connection from the beginning. She explained that the audition scene felt like it established a chemistry similar to scenes later in the show. Crawford also suggested that the future of the characters Dunk and Tanselle remains open-ended. While a romance is possible, it isn’t certain. She wanted their relationship to feel authentic, like getting to know someone naturally, rather than being immediately obvious.

As a huge sci-fi fan, I remember being so excited when Stargate SG-1 premiered on July 27, 1997! It was a direct continuation of the awesome 1994 movie Stargate, picking up the story a year later. The show follows SG-1, a team of soldiers sent through the Stargate to basically explore the universe, find potential allies, and, crucially, locate anything that could help protect Earth from alien enemies. I originally watched it on Showtime back in the late ’90s, but it eventually moved over to the Sci-Fi Channel, where it ran until its fantastic finale in 2007. It really was an iconic series!

Ryan Gosling’s 2012 crime thriller, The Place Beyond the Pines, will be available to stream on Peacock starting February 1st. The film, set in rural New York, tells a complex story in three parts. It begins with a stunt rider who turns to robbing banks to provide for his family, then shifts to the police officer trying to catch him, and finally follows the officer’s son years later. Here’s what the movie is about:

The shooting at PittFest was a shocking event, but it also served as a powerful conclusion to the first season of The Pitt. It brought intense drama, sadness, and challenging medical cases to the show. Now, after episode 3 of season 2, it seems like this season is developing a similar turning point. If that’s the case, the ‘code black’ situation at the end of the episode could create the same level of suspense and upheaval.

Despite the risks, numerous safety measures are in place to prevent any issues during Alex Honnold’s climb. The ascent is scheduled for 9 a.m. local time in Taipei, allowing the morning sun to dry any dew. According to Smith, they can delay the live broadcast by up to an hour, or even postpone it to the next day if needed. Mansfield explained that a ‘two-tick system’ ensures everyone is confident: Honnold must feel completely ready, and the production team must also be fully satisfied with the conditions. Honnold is under no pressure to climb if he has any doubts, even with a live broadcast underway. Conversely, the team reserves the right to cancel the climb if they have safety concerns, even if Honnold wants to proceed. Honnold will climb the Taipei 101 building at 8 p.m. ET on Netflix’s Skyscraper Live only if both Honnold and the team are completely confident in the conditions.