When Art Imitates Life, the Victims and the Audience Deserve Better – Slender Man

In May of 2014, a young girl in Wisconsin was stabbed multiple times and left for dead by two of her classmates. Thankfully, she was found in time and was able to recover. The two former friends, who are now institutionalized, tried to murder her to appease an internet horror creature called "Slender Man," created … Continue reading When Art Imitates Life, the Victims and the Audience Deserve Better – Slender Man →

Two Girls, A Guy, and a Piece of Intel – The Spy Who Dumped Me

In an odd way, it makes sense that in the same month that another Mission: Impossible movie debut, there would also be a spy movie spoof. And in an even odder way, the two sort of complement each other. Fallout had a bit of humor, a lot of action, almost no sexuality, and a by-the-numbers plot. The Spy … Continue reading Two Girls, A Guy, and a Piece of Intel – The Spy Who Dumped Me →

Is it Possible to Stay Fresh After Six Movies? Yes! – Mission: Impossible – Fallout

One of my favorite shows from the past decade is HBO's animated version of The Ricky Gervais Show, a podcast featuring Gervais, his writing partner Stephen Merchant, and former radio producer-turned-avatar for the people, Karl Pilkington (seriously, he's my spirit animal). In the third (and final) season of the animated show, there's a segment where Karl … Continue reading Is it Possible to Stay Fresh After Six Movies? Yes! – Mission: Impossible – Fallout →

Everyone Has a Price, Including the Director – Generation Wealth

Lauren Greenfield is a brilliant and accomplished photographer and documentarian, with great work like THIN and The Queen of Versailles to her name. Her latest effort, Generation Wealth, was one of the opening entries at the Sundance Film Festival this year, and has received decent press. However, I can't entirely get behind it, mostly because I don't care … Continue reading Everyone Has a Price, Including the Director – Generation Wealth →

Living Just Enough for the City – Blindspotting

I had an odd observation while watching an advance screening of the new film, Blindspotting with my girlfriend last night. Earlier this year, through MoviePass, we got to attend an advance screening of Flower, which reminded me of Kevin Smith's debut, Clerks, in that the joke about a girl sucking 37 dicks was essentially the main character trait of … Continue reading Living Just Enough for the City – Blindspotting →

It Like, Um, Kinda, You Know, Isn’t That Good – Eighth Grade

In preparation for Eighth Grade, written and directed by comedian Bo Burnham, my girlfriend and I watched his 2016 special, Make Happy. It was weird, confusing, and utterly brilliant, because he was able to combine stage effects, music, and jokes to send up everything from pop culture to technology to politics to race relations. In particular, there … Continue reading It Like, Um, Kinda, You Know, Isn’t That Good – Eighth Grade →

Spinning Around Until You Wipe Out – Don’t Worry, He Won’t Get Far on Foot

John Callahan was an American cartoonist who often dealt with macabre and off-putting subject matter, usually as a means to cope with his disabilities, having become partially paralyzed in a drunk driving accident at the age of 21. The title of his memoir - which is also the title of the film - is itself … Continue reading Spinning Around Until You Wipe Out – Don’t Worry, He Won’t Get Far on Foot →

Use Your Inside White Voice – Sorry to Bother You

Written and directed by rapper and founding member of The Coup, Boots Riley, Sorry to Bother You is a brilliant satire about life in corporate America - quite possibly the finest put to screen since Thank You for Smoking. But what elevates this film from just being really good and really funny to the pantheon of 2018 … Continue reading Use Your Inside White Voice – Sorry to Bother You →