![]() ![]() Feared and revered throughout the land for her warrior skills, she continues on her mission sans tiara, sword and sensible shoes, with Evan, the troll prince. Brendar has been demoted from Warrior Princess to Barbarian, because she has taken up more than a fair amount of quests to find the demon who killed her mother and took her brother Kendar. So imagine how I rejoiced when this new series premiered - a show that brings a meek troll prince together with a princess who was kicked out of the order of Warrior Princesses for no other reason than her independent streak. Thanks to Jim Henson, I’ll always be a big fan of puppetry. (Apple TV+) - Jennifer Day April 16 “Collective” Children will want to watch it again and again - as children do - but parents won’t mind. The result is an affecting shift in perspective and some of the deepest looking 2-D animation you could imagine. Some computer-generated effects are used - judiciously and well. The town the Lord Protector reigns over is all cool-hued geometry the forests of the wolves are as glorious and tangled as Mebh’s fire-red hair. Hand-drawn images bring to mind the belovedness of storybooks and the dynamism of comics. The animation here is mesmerizing - and completely unlike most of the computer-generated junk kids are so used to consuming. It’s the third in filmmakers Tomm Moore and Ross Stewart’s “Irish Folklore Trilogy,” which includes Oscar-nominated “The Secret of Kells” (2009) and “Song of the Sea” (2014). It’s a smart, brisk story that explores the tension created when the villain Lord Protector attempts to civilize wild lands, and a daughter stakes out her independence despite her father’s entreaties to stay home. Oscar-nominated “Wolfwalkers” unspools a yarn about Robyn, an English girl in 17th century Ireland, who’s bitten by Mebh, a “wolfwalker” - a magical being who shapeshifts between human and wolf. Powers “Night Stalker: The Hunt For a Serial Killer” Had he lived past 52, Zappa’s musical and cultural possibilities certainly would have continued. Winter’s interviews with Zappa’s musicians are most revealing, especially with percussionist Ruth Underwood, who talks about how Zappa’s concerts opened up all musical possibilities for her. Zappa was always in a hurry, too many ideas and too little time, especially after he was diagnosed in 1990 with the prostate cancer that would kill him three years later. Zappa never shied away from politics, and his Congressional testimony against labeling lyrics is given substantial screen time. The film opens, and later returns, to Zappa’s 1991 concert in Prague, where he was revered as one of the cultural heroes for the future Czech Republic’s revolution. Alex Winter’s touching 2020 documentary is filled with all kinds of access to Zappa’s massive music vault, band members and footage explaining the composer and musician whose social commentary often manifested itself behind the goofiness and discomfort of a 13-year-old boy. Growing up listening to “Freak Out!” and “We’re Only in It for the Money” (with his The Mothers of Invention), it wasn’t until 1969′s “Hot Rats” that his intricate, swirling and always surprising music really clicked in for me. Let’s get two words often used about Frank Zappa out of the way: Eccentric. (7 p.m., April 26, on World Channel, ) - Darcel Rockett “Zappa” Set against music by Lilianna Zofia Wósko, the film looks back at a legacy and a time of hope, both cut short. The short work shows Washington’s infectious enthusiasm and skill at connecting with all of those in our very segregated city. The imagery pays homage to the history-making leader at a time when those are needed in larger quantities. George mixes archival video of Washington’s political campaigns of the 1980s with scenes from Chicago’s Black community back in the day. “Man of the People” is an experimental film about late Chicago Mayor Harold Washington by filmmaker Amir George, cofounder of the touring film series Black Radical Imagination. The first two stories “Betye Saar: Taking Care of Business” by Christine Turner and “Elena” from filmmaker Michèle Stephens, are both engaging in their own way, but it’s the latter story that has Chicago ties. Tune into AfroPop’s fourth episode, a shorts collection with stories about modern art, human rights and politics from the African Diaspora. ![]() I don’t know about you, but since the pandemic has put restrictions on my mobility, I have been feeding my travel jones and curiosity through my television, which is where “AfroPoP: The Ultimate Cultural Exchange” comes in (i.e.
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