Past Entries: -Star Wars I wasn’t sure whether I’d including the Holiday Special in my Star Wars rewatch, for the obvious reason that it’s not really part of the series proper. But, in the end, I decided that, since I had it (in the Rifftrax version), I might as well take another look in context … Continue reading Thoughts on ‘The Star Wars Holiday Special’
Movies
REPOST: Why I Love ‘Independence Day’
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’
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
Lazy Writing and Lack of Consequence
Something I’ve noticed about a lot of contemporary films is that they seem to have an almost childish inability to consider real-world consequences. I’m not talking about complex things that the average person wouldn’t think of; I’m talking major factors about how people behave or how the world works. Let me illustrate with two particularly … Continue reading Lazy Writing and Lack of Consequence
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’
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’
Thoughts on the Greatest Showman
The other day I got out to see The Greatest Showman before it left theaters, which I’d been meaning to do for a little while. I’d known almost nothing about the film before, except that it was about P.T. Barnum and the founding of his circus. Then a month or so into its release I … Continue reading Thoughts on the Greatest Showman
Thoughts on ‘Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle’
Today my family and I finally got out to see Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle, this season's sleeper hit. Having seen it, I absolutely can understand why it's found the success it has, because, yeah, it's really very good. The story has four teenagers - nerd, jock, popular girl, awkward girl - being sucked into a … Continue reading Thoughts on ‘Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle’
Serpent's Den 