Entertainment
Calculated, chaotic victory in The Queen’s Gambit
Mix genius, addiction, personal tragedy and triumph, and you get coming-of-age miniseries The Queen’s Gambit. Premiering to rave reviews on Netflix last year, The Queen’s Gambit tells the story of Beth Harmon, an introverted young girl (then woman) who discovers her masterful affinity toward chess. The seven-episode miniseries is based on the 1983 novel of…
Read MoreAn unexpected Christmas film
One wouldn’t normally expect a Christmas movie to start with a bank robbery, but Hope for the Holidays takes us there from the get-go. Just in time for the season, Hope for the Holidays is available to rent or purchase on Amazon Prime. When our publisher Dee Rendon suggested I review it, and we watched…
Read MoreMortality and The Life Ahead
After ten years, Sophia Loren has returned to film – and it feels like she never left. The Life Ahead, a 2020 film available to stream on Netflix, marks Loren’s third collaboration with her son, director Edoardo Ponti. The film, full of the life and color and architecture only Italy can provide, offers heart-wrenching drama…
Read MoreGLOW shines above the rest
or: what’s the deal with Netflix canning critically-celebrated series? If the character-driven narrative doesn’t capture your attention, perhaps the spandex and vibrant colors of the 1980’s will. Netflix’s GLOW, a series spanning three seasons, is a smart and endearing show that solidifies this era as the golden age of television. Starring a diverse cast, all…
Read MoreThe gift and the curse of The Social Dilemma
I joined Facebook when I was 13 years old. A bit too young, in my present opinion. I posted things I probably shouldn’t have – my old content is mostly embarrassing, but some of it is, by today’s standards, problematic. Hindsight is, as they say, 20/20. Quickly after Facebook I joined the various other social…
Read MoreSTC Theatre goes virtual this season
In the midst of an unprecedented pandemic, STC is aiming to preserve the art of theatre while staying safe. The South Texas College Drama Department is taking the 2020-2021 season virtual, with subscriptions and online shows. Drama Department Chair Joel Jason Rodriguez and Theatre Support Services Coordinator Roberto De Hoyos spoke about adapting to the…
Read MoreFried to perfection
Southern Fried, a restaurant based originally in McAllen, has arrived in Mission. One of the charms of the establishment, which boasts a menu of fried fish filets, shrimp, chicken strips, wings and homestyle sandwiches, is that it is local, and family-owned and operated. Conveniently located just two minutes from the Progress Times office, Southern Fried…
Read MoreWhat it’s like to go to the movies in the age of COVID-19
The smell of buttered popcorn was so strong that it penetrated my cloth face mask and the face shield I was wearing as I entered the lobby of Cinemark’s Hollywood USA Theater Monday. With that aroma, I was instantly transported to the before times-when I spent every weekend at the movie theater up until last…
Read MoreThe heat from Little Fires Everywhere
Little Fires Everywhere, a new miniseries streaming on Hulu, doesn’t make its drama known with fireworks – it smoulders. Tension crackles beneath the surface of the show’s world, set in Ohio in the 1990’s. As each of the eight episodes pass, tensions rise, culminating in an eruption that takes each character by storm. The series…
Read MoreThe quiet reclamation of power in Unorthodox
Driven and delicate after a strictly religious upbringing, 19-year-old Esty is determined to forge a new path in Unorthodox. Unorthodox, a TV mini-series produced by Real Film Berlin and Studio Airlift, was distributed and released by Netflix earlier this year. Four episodes fly by as viewers are given an inside look at a Hasidic community…
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