Weekly film review: 'The Long Walk' by Stephen King

Festival Friday

Sept. 12 — A plane carrying more than 300 workers from South Korea – detained during an immigration raid at a battery factory near Savannah last week – took off from Hartsfield-Jackson on Thursday.

☀️ Sunny and 85° today. Rinse and repeat for the weekend.

🚨 Both Clark Atlanta University and Spelman College were on lockdown yesterday after unspecified threats were made to the HBCUs.

🚔 A feasibility study focused on forming a dedicated police department was the subject of Tuesday’s Tucker Civic Association Forum.

🥪 Atlanta-based RaceTrac will purchase Potbelly Sandwich Works for $566 million.

⚕️ Winship Cancer Institute at Emory University has launched a new mobile prostate cancer screening program.

🎭 Theatre critic Manning Harris says City Springs Theatre Company’s production of “The Producers” is a zany delight.

ELSEWHERE

➡ The FBI released surveillance footage of Charlie Kirk’s suspected college-aged shooter fleeing a University rooftop. Authorities recovered a high-powered bolt-action rifle, palm print, and a shoe imprint, and said they fielded more than 7,000 tips. Follow the ongoing manhunt here.

📺 Paramount Skydance is reportedly preparing a takeover bid for Warner Bros. Discovery, a move that would unite CBS News and CNN under the same parent company.

📈 The Bureau of Labor Statistics said consumer price growth rose in August.

🇧🇷 Brazil’s Supreme Court convicted former President Jair Bolsonaro of plotting a military coup and sentenced him to 27 years in prison.
🕖 Here’s what’s in today’s newsletter:

• Weekend festival guide
• Film Review: ‘The Long Walk’
• The Sports Section
AND
• Top Stories of the Week

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1. Your weekend festival guide

The weather is looking sunny and warm for the weekend, so it’s the perfect time to hit up one of the arts festivals and events happening around the Metro.

🍷 Atlanta Food & Wine Festival: Today, Saturday, and Sunday at Home Depot Backyard with tasting tents, chef demos, and more.

🎸 Reynoldstown Wheelbarrow Festival: Saturday, noon-7 p.m. at Lang-Carson Park with a race, live music, a local artist market, yard games, and family-friendly activities.

🚲 Atlanta Streets Alive: Sunday, 2-6 p.m. on Peachtree Street from 15th to Alabama streets. Walk, bike, skate, and stroll without vehicular traffic.

🎨 Forward, Warrior: Saturday and Sunday, all day. Muralists will be creating new art along the Wylie Street walls of Cabbagetown, along with an artists’ market (pictured).

🖌️ Sandy Springs Fall Arts and Crafts Festival: Saturday, 10 a.m.- 5 p.m., and Sunday, 11 a.m.- 5 p.m. on Lake Forrest Drive with more than 100 artists.

🌈 Pride Lake Festival: Saturday, 2-6 p.m. as Pine Lake celebrates LGBTQ+ Pride with drag, art, music, and more.

Atlanta’s most unique festival returns to historic Oakland Cemetery for its 47th year!

SPONSORED BY HISTORIC OAKLAND FOUNDATION

🎉 This year’s Sunday in the Park ft. Tunes from the Tombswill take place on Sept. 28 from noon-7:30 p.m. and promises a little something for everyone – music, history, food, costumes, and plenty of family fun.

Enjoy live performances from four mainstage bands and 12 local bands, an artist’s market, a kids’ area, free cemetery tours, and more.

🎟️ Tickets start at just $15 for a full day of fun, with proceeds supporting the cemetery’s preservation.

2. ‘The Long Walk’ and masculinity in the time of dystopia

WEEKLY FILM REVIEW | BY SAMMIE PURCELL

🚶 Stephen King’s “The Long Walk” is widely considered a metaphor for the Vietnam War. Almost 60 years after King wrote the novel, a new film adaptation of “The Long Walk,” from director Francis Lawrence and screenwriter JT Mollner, proves that the themes King was dealing with then are as relevant today as ever.

But, while timely indeed, the film’s overtly political bent is the least interesting thing about it. The obvious authoritarian allegory in “The Long Walk,” borne out in a Trumpian figure called The Major (Mark Hamill), is an overly broad one, almost cartoonish in its execution. But the walkers themselves – 50 in the movie instead of the book’s 100 – are far more richly considered.

“The Long Walk” is most interesting as a parable about how toxic masculinity and authoritarianism go hand-in-hand – and is at its best when it explores how the political environment informs the young men at the center of the story, rather than considering the political signifiers on their own terms.

🇺🇸 Click here to read Sammie’s review.

🍿 Stay in the picture with Scene by Rough Draft, our weekly newsletter about Georgia’s film industry. Subscribe for free.

3. Dream to face Fever in Round 1; Tech, UGA open conference schedules

BY RYLIE LIVINGSTON | SPONSORED BY NYO

🏀 The Dream will enter the WNBA Playoffs as the third seed after Las Vegas beat Los Angeles last night. Atlanta will play Indiana in Round 1 beginning Sunday at 3 p.m.

🏈 Week three of college football continues this weekend. Of local interest:

Clark Atlantabeat Fort Valley State 26-21 last night.
No. 6 Georgiaplays at No. 15 Tennessee tomorrow at 3:30 p.m. (ESPN; 95.5 FM).
Georgia Techhosts No. 12 Clemson Saturday at noon. (ESPN; 93.7 FM).
Georgia Statehosts Murray State Saturday at 7 p.m. (ESPN+; 88.5 FM).
Mercer heads to Wofford Saturday at 6 p.m. (ESPN+).
Georgia Southern hosts Jacksonville State on Saturday at 7 p.m.
Morehousetravels to Howard University tomorrow at 1 p.m.
West Georgiahosts East Tennessee State University at 6 p.m. tomorrow (ESPN+).

🏈 The Falconswill have a national audience when they play at Minnesota on Sunday Night Football (NBC; 92.9 FM).

⚽ Atlanta Unitedhosts Columbus at 7:30 p.m. Saturday (Apple TV+; 92.9FM).

⚽ USWNT and Angel City player Alyssa Thompson announced her move to Chelsea last weekend and will play her first match with the club Sunday at noon against Aston Villa.

🏃‍♂️ The World Track and Field Championships begin tomorrow in Tokyo, with Americans Noah Lyles defending his 100m title Sunday.

🏈 Tonight’s High School Game of the Week is top-ranked North Oconee (3-0) at fifth-ranked Jefferson (4-0). The game will be televised live at 8 p.m. on the Peachtree Sports Network (cable and YouTube TV), and streamed digitally on the Atlanta News First (ANF) website/ app and the NFHS Network. Tune in at 7:30 p.m. for the Georgia High School Countdown to Kickoff for pregame festivities and our guest picker, and stay tuned after the game for the Georgia High School Postgame Show, televised live from the Score Atlanta Studios with game highlights and scoring results from games around the state!

🎬 Experience the power of story at Art Farm’s first Film Showcase Weekend. Join us for a special screening of “Parrot Kindergarten” and a live conversation with the director and the film’s subject. Tomorrow, Sat., Sept. 13. Get tickets here! SPONSOR MESSAGE