“The Nostalgia of ‘Hocus Pocus 2’ Only Serves Itself”

Yes, my reaction to the unnecessary sequel to the original is predicated on a fart joke; no, I don’t agree that this is an overreaction. Continue reading →

“With ‘Pearl,’ A24 Perfects Its First Horror Franchise”

For your consideration: Mia Goth, smiling like if she doesn’t, her face will crack apart. Continue reading →

“‘Hamilton’ Is As Powerful As Ever On Disney+ & Produces Much-Needed Joy During Trying Times”

It’s “Hamilton.” That’s it. That’s everything. Continue reading →

“‘Onward’: Pixar Takes A Step Backward In A Film Rife With Fantasy Clichés”

Onward, but not upward, or forward, just mostly backward. Continue reading →

“‘Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker’ Falls Under the Weight Of Its Own Franchising”

Good morning everyone! Let’s get popular on the Internet. Continue reading →

“‘Frozen 2’s’ Themes Become Darker Even as the Kid Gloves Stay On”

Hell yeah, a grown-ass man beating up on the adorable kids film, because my HEART is COLD as ICE. Continue reading →

Review: Moana, 2016, dir. Ron Clements & John Musker

I’m a 32 year old man and I love princess movies. There. I said it. Moana is no exception, but this is also because I love Dwayne Johnson and have since my days as a wrestling fan. (“In between now and then, I’ve grown up,” says the guy who still think farts are hilarious.) Anyways, so … Continue reading →

Review: Pete’s Dragon, 2016, dir. David Lowery

Pete’s Dragon worked for me. This is as surprising a development for me as it is for everyone who knows me. Let’s examine the facts: I’m not a huge fan of Lowery’s last film, Ain’t Them Bodies Saints, such that I have not bothered to go back and see his other films. Ain’t Them Bodies Saints is … Continue reading →

Review: The Finest Hours, 2016, dir. Craig Gillespie

  For me, watching The Finest Hours reinforced the necessity for watching movies before interviewing the talent involved in their production. Grant that this is very much an irregular practice for me, and that nobody on a set visit has seen the movie beforehand for obvious reasons. All the same, it was only inevitable that my … Continue reading →

The Finest Hours: The SS Pendleton Story, Fact & Fiction

“If adapting the tale of the 1952 SS Pendleton rescue – in which officers in the Coast Guard rescued the crew of the SS Pendleton and the SS Mercer off the coast of Massachusetts during a vicious nor’easter – for the movies sounds like a no-brainer, that’s because it was: when Casey Sherman, author of … Continue reading →

Review: Cinderella, 2015, dir. Kenneth Branagh

“The most inventive thing about Kenneth Branagh’s Cinderella may be that it’s not particularly inventive at all. That’s because it doesn’t have to be—it’s Cinderella. Branagh’s take on the ages old fairy tale is a handsomely made affair, but it’s the vein of self-assurance running beneath his aesthetics that makes his film feel vital. Rather … Continue reading →

The Sky is Falling: Cars 2 and the Pixar Backlash

What happens when Pixar– animation giant, champions of quality kids’ movies, purveyors of heartfelt entertainment– releases a sequel to a film other than Toy Story? Apparently, and depending on who you talk to, an outcry across the Internet. Virtual rioting. Armageddon. Ragnarok. Götterdämmerung. Forty years of darkness, the dead rising from the grave, dogs and … Continue reading →

Gender In Pixar

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 →