The beauty of storytelling is its ability to transport someone to another place, another world, without moving from one's seat. And more than any other artform, it has shaped the destiny and progress of humanity. From the ancient epics to oral histories to the written word to music to the visual media of television, film, … Continue reading The Blood Moon Rises Once Again – Night of the Kings
It's always fun to fantasize about what the various greats in a wide array of fields would say to one another if they ever met. It's a great hypothetical that can be applied to just about any aspect of society or the arts. What kind of a conversation could have taken place had Dr. Martin … Continue reading Oh What a Night! – One Night in Miami…
I hope that's the worst joke you read/hear today. Five years ago, the first Shaun the Sheep Movie was nominated for Animated Feature at the Oscars, eventually losing to Inside Out. I had never seen the TV show before, but I was familiar with the world of Nick Park and the charming British claymation style. … Continue reading It’s Not Baaaaaaad – A Shaun the Sheep Movie: Farmageddon
I swear to God one day I'll get better at budgeting my time. Lost in the shuffle of the last week of foraging for documentaries and foreign submissions, as well as mainstream fare potentially vying for the Oscars, I forgot that Tuesday was the unveiling of the nominations for the Writers Guild of America. The … Continue reading Write it Down Before You Forget – Writers Guild Nominations
I apologize profusely for the headline reference. Anyway, one of the big contenders this Awards Season is at last available to be seen by the public, after it's scraped up a bunch of Golden Globe, Independent Spirit, and other nominations. Written, directed, produced, and edited by Chloé Zhao (The Rider), Nomadland has finally been released … Continue reading Life is a Highway – Nomadland
While Disney and Pixar will always get the largest heaps of praise when it comes to American cinematic animation, Japan's Studio Ghibli stands as an ever-constant reminder that the rest of the world exists, and can always compete with the best of them. From lighthearted children's fare like My Neighbor Totoro and Kiki's Delivery Service … Continue reading Ghibli Enters the Third Dimension – Earwig and the Witch
The shortlists for this year's Academy Awards were released just over a week ago, which means I'm already in prime mode, trying to clear off as many potential nominees as possible before the official finalists are declared in just about four weeks' time. As ever, that includes the goal of clearing the shortlist for Documentary … Continue reading DownStream – Doc Stuffin’
A good crime procedural requires basically two things to work. One, a compelling cast of believable characters, and two, a case/mystery that can intrigue the audience enough to invest in the step-by-step process of figuring everything out. Now, there are only so many of these types of stories to tell, so naturally over the years … Continue reading CS-Sigh – The Little Things
There's a strange, yet telling line in Hong Kong's Oscar submission, Better Days, that seeps deeper than anything else in the film. "You're either a bully, or you're the one being bullied." Essentially, it means that there are no innocent bystanders, but it sticks out because there's a disturbing wisdom to it. Even if you … Continue reading Disabusing Yourself – Better Days
We've already had one highly creative documentary for 2020 dealing with the aging process and dementia, in the form of the wonderful Dick Johnson is Dead. It was kind, heartfelt, and led by an absolutely charming central figure. It helped me deal with the grief and stress that I've been processing over the last year … Continue reading Espion-Age – The Mole Agent
