Friends! I forgot to share this…forever ago, when I went on the Spoilerpiece Theater podcast with my good buddies David Riedel and Kristofer Jenson, and by “forever ago” I mean like two weeks ago (which is forever in Internet time). Anyways: We talked, hucking spoilers all over the place of course, about Nancy (which I wrote about … Continue reading
In retrospect, this piece I wrote about Damsel for The Week might be a little unkind to poor Parson Henry; he is indeed pathetic, and he is in distress, but he’s genuine and honest and frankly every other character in the film takes advantage of him or otherwise abuses him without thinking twice about it. It’s nigh-impossible … Continue reading
June has arrived, and also it’s about to end, the month-long worldwide celebrations of my birthday winding down* as I settle into my new age-number and look ahead to the rest of the year**. Thus, this, my Best Things halftime report, expanded once more from merely a ranking of film and TV to include music, … Continue reading
The central metaphor behind Savages‘ title doesn’t play at being elusive; its dual meanings are front and center in the first act. In the conflict between independent marijuana growers Ben (Aaron Johnson) and Chon (Taylor Kitsch), and the ruthless Baja Cartel, both sides see one another as– surprise of surprises– savages, and the longer their … Continue reading
Watching Andrew Stanton’s adaptation of Edgar Rice Burroughs’ seminal science fiction pulp novel, A Princess of Mars— here blandly labeled John Carter— is equivalent to a genre-fueled out of body experience. You’ve seen this film before. You’ve seen it in Star Wars (both the original trilogy and the prequel films), you’ve seen it in Avatar, … Continue reading
Dreamworks’ 2010 resembles something of a roller coaster, climbing to the peak of ascension in March with the outstanding How to Train Your Dragon before racing back down the rails with May’s Shrek Forever After. This November, the studio has risen back up to the middle with their original (if one can call it that … Continue reading
Pixar’s 2009 3D animated feature, the truly excellent Up, follows an old man’s bid to see out his deceased wife’s wish of living atop a hidden valley located somewhere in South America; accompanying him on his journey is a Wilderness Scout seven decades his junior. Eventually, they meet a talking dog, a highly intelligent and … Continue reading
A Constant Visual Feast 