Posted this last year, but since I watch the film every year, I might as well post this every year as well. When Independence Day came out, it was a huge hit, but ever since then it’s kind of become the poster-child for the big, dumb, CGI-fueled blockbusters of the late 90s. And, yes, … Continue reading REPOST: Why I Love ‘Independence Day’
Movies
WALL-E at the Federalist
For the ten-year anniversary of one of my favorite films. The film is often described as an environmental parable, or a caution against consumerism. Those things are present, but they are subordinate themes. The main thesis of the film is something much more universal, interesting, and timely. Fyodor Dostoyevsky famously said in “The Idiot” that … Continue reading WALL-E at the Federalist
‘Incredibles 2’ at the Federalist
Latest essay is up at 'The Federalist,' this one on 'Incedibles 2.' Aside: there seems to be a lot of, shall we say, competing opinions on this film. I'll say for my part I really liked it; it's not in the same league as the original, and it has some very notable problems (I've heard … Continue reading ‘Incredibles 2’ at the Federalist
The Wisdom of Walt Disney Relaunch!
Today we're announcing the relaunch of my essay collection The Wisdom of Walt Disney: The Themes, Ethics, and Ideas of His Greatest Films. In it I take a closer look at twelve of Uncle Walt's most important films to dig out the morals and ideas woven into the story: essentially, considering the films as examples of … Continue reading The Wisdom of Walt Disney Relaunch!
Infinity War at the Federalist
A new Federalist article is up, this one based off of Avengers Infinity War and talking about some of the same things I've been writing about recently. Sample: In other words, Thanos is a classic student of Thomas Malthus: a believer in the threat of overpopulation, only on a universal scale and with a blend of Marxist … Continue reading Infinity War at the Federalist
How I Would have Written ‘Black Panther’
As I've said before, the more I think about Black Panther the worse the writing in the film gets. As a side effect, I found myself thinking about how I might have done it instead, had I been in charge of writing it. The result was the following rough outline, which I now present to you … Continue reading How I Would have Written ‘Black Panther’
Thoughts on ‘Rampage’
Over the past few weeks I've been to see Steven Spielberg's film about a world bounded only by the imagination, the ultra-hyped latest entry in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and a Dwayne Johnson vehicle based on a cheesy arcade game. Guess which I think was the best. Go ahead; guess. Rampage is basically a sci-fi … Continue reading Thoughts on ‘Rampage’
More on Black Panther
One of my favorite YouTube critics, Maulr, absolutely tore into 'Black Panther.' After watching his video, I think I still liked the movie better than he did, but...yeah, it's really not a well-put together film at all. Something he brings up repeatedly is that there really is nothing binding T'Challa to the Black Panther: it's … Continue reading More on Black Panther
Thoughts on Black Panther
Finally got out to see Black Panther while it was still in theaters. My reaction is definitely ‘good not great.’ It was…fine. There was a lot to like about it, though on the whole it wasn’t really that impressive to me as a film, or even compared to the rest of the Marvel universe. First … Continue reading Thoughts on Black Panther
Thoughts on ‘Ready Player One’
Today I went and saw ‘Ready Player One.’ It was more or less what I expected: shallow pop-culture porn, only not as good. I won’t say I didn’t enjoy parts of it, but the enjoyment was mostly of a very simple nature: ‘oh, hey, this is cool, oh, I recognize this.’ I think there is … Continue reading Thoughts on ‘Ready Player One’
Serpent's Den 