VIDEO PREMIERE: Scranton documentary ‘Half Empty’ explores ‘Life in America’s Unhappiest City’
An oft-cited study of the “unhappiest” cities in the country by researchers at the University of British Columbia and Harvard University, released in 2014 by the National Bureau of Economic Research, placed Scranton at No. 1 in a list of “the least happy American regions.” How can someone find happiness in America’s unhappiest city? Do […]
EXCLUSIVE: A first whiff of ‘Tray,’ the upcoming documentary about NEPA pizza
Scranton natives using Indiegogo to crowdfund movie about food and community
In Northeastern Pennsylvania, pizza is curiously ordered by the “tray,” not the pie, and that’s not the only thing unique about the area’s relationship with the cheesy Italian dish. Growing up in Scranton, Jeremy Saltry and Joey Dominick know just how ingrained – baked in, if you will – pizza is in NEPA culture, so […]
NEPA SCENE PODCAST: The best movies of 2015 and the 2016 Oscars
Professionally recorded every Monday at The Stude in TwentyFiveEight Studios in Scranton and released exclusively on nepascene.com every Tuesday, the NEPA Scene Podcast is a free supplement to the website, expanding on the arts and entertainment stories covered on the site and going beyond them to discuss other news and entertainment topics. Each week, the […]
WILDLY FRUSTRATED: Nerdy things I missed ranting about in 2015
We might only be a few weeks into 2016, but I am still feeling a bit reflective when it comes to 2015. Then again, how can I not? 2015 proved to be quite a year; there was an awful lot to get pissed off about. And the fact is, because there was so much going […]
MOVIE REVIEW: A truly scary premise gets lost in ‘The Forest’
This movie had everything going for it – it really did. It had a lead actress in Natalie Dormer, who I have enjoyed before, particularly in “Game of Thrones” and her OK performance in “The Hunger Games” films. She’s likable in most things, really – just not “The Forest.” Dormer plays Sara Price, an American […]
Scranton library’s Albright After Hours series screens ‘The Trouble with Cali’ and ‘Beyond the Valley of the Dolls’
Copies of actor and director Paul Sorvino’s disasterpiece “The Trouble With Cali” may not be able to leave the building, but the Albright Memorial Library in Scranton will be making it a bit easier to see the controversial film with a screening at the library on Friday, Feb. 12 at 6 p.m. Sorvino spent $500,000 […]
Documentary about Holocaust survivor ‘Blue Tattoo’ screens Jan. 24 at The Cooperage in Honesdale
From a press release: At first glance, Dina Rosenberg Jacobson and Joe Crookston seemed like unlikely collaborators. When they were introduced in 2008, the 86-year-old Holocaust survivor with white hair and a tattooed left forearm and the youthful folk singer/songwriter from Ithaca, New York came from different worlds. But Jacobson’s story inspired Crookston to write […]
MOVIE REVIEW: Excellent performances in ‘The Revenant’ are only surpassed by the cinematography
Have you ever wanted something so bad that you ache for it? Something that consumes your every thought, action, and decision? Some powerful urge you just can’t satisfy no matter how hard you try? No, I’m not talking about how badly Leonardo DiCaprio wants an Oscar. I’m talking about the characters in “The Revenant.” Another […]
MOVIE REVIEW: ‘The Danish Girl’ addresses today’s transgender issues through a true story from 1926
Last year, the public spotlight was cast on transgender issues. For the first time, a high-profile transition had captured the general public’s attention. Caitlyn Jenner was an inspiration for many, raising questions for some and bringing out deplorable hate speech from far too many others. 2015 introduced people to a struggle that those in the […]
MOVIE REVIEW: Fans of violence, tension, and Tarantino will love ‘The Hateful Eight’
I’m going to lay out a scenario for you. You’re stuck in a remote lodge in the middle of a terrible blizzard with eight people you can’t stand. You have one job, one objective: to deliver your prisoner to justice. You get the sickening sense that at least one of the other people in the […]
