It's been just over two years since my mother passed away, and the world hasn't been the same since. I know that's patently obvious, as any major loss will alter one's perspective and worldview, but it's hard to put into words until you experience it for yourself. I jumped to the "Acceptance" phase of my … Continue reading Apollo’s Creed – The Friend
Life is, if nothing else, a continuous learning experience. That old adage of picking up new information every day might be trite, but it's also extremely accurate. For example, I just found out today that I've been doing the title of this column wrong for all these years. I'm supposed to capitalize "Is" because despite … Continue reading This Film Is Not Yet Watchable – March 2025
In many ways, you can look at the Ghostbusters franchise as the comedy version of Jurassic Park. We had one groundbreaking, timeless entry that changed the way audiences look at film, followed by decades of attempting to recapture that same magic, sadly with diminishing returns for all but the most hardcore fans who dig themselves … Continue reading Breaking Containment – Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire
In the vast and infinite incompetence, er, wisdom of Kevin Feige, the first three phases of the Marvel Cinematic Universe are now canonically and collectively referred to as "The Infinity Saga." Phase Four, which began with Black Widow and will continue through Phase Six, is called "The Multiverse Saga." Now, the idea of several parallel … Continue reading Pick a Damn Lane! – Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania
Apologies for the radio silence over the past couple of weeks. Things have been incredibly hectic since I hit the big 4-0. I finished up one gig, prepared for the next one only to see it fall through, panicked about my finances, and then went home for a few days that were heavy to say … Continue reading This Film is Not Yet Watchable – September 2022
The calendar has finally turned over, and of course, because we just can't have nice things, the universe decided to take Betty White out at the last fucking minute. But anyway, the official book has closed on 2021, a year where we almost, kinda, sort of got back to something resembling normal, only for the … Continue reading The Best (and Worst) of 2021
It's a fine line that filmmakers have to walk when they're catering to a specific audience. Ideally, you want to create something that will not only satisfy that core group, but also have a wider appeal to draw in new fans. A lot of multimedia franchises pull off this gambit with varying degrees of success, … Continue reading Fan Service: The Movie – Ghostbusters: Afterlife
I've mentioned before that the films of Wes Anderson are fairly hit and miss for me. He is no doubt a great writer and spectacular visual artist, creating brilliantly whimsical set pieces that feel like living in a painting at times. But how that fanciful approach hits you is essentially a crap shoot. For me, … Continue reading As Fun As Having a Magazine Read to You – The French Dispatch
For the purposes of legal protection, I will say upfront that I can't prove that the 90+ members of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association are bribed for their votes at the Golden Globes. It is merely an opinion, mostly presented tongue-in-cheek, based on the history of truly baffling nominations and awards that repeatedly smack of … Continue reading Here’s Some Money, Please Validate Me! – 78th Golden Globe Nominees Announced
The hardest love stories to tell are the ones that happen after the fall. It's so easy to show people finding one another and getting that triumphant moment of romance or familial rapport. But what happens once those relationships become routine, when one settles down and settles in for the long haul? That is the … Continue reading A Smooth Story with a Neat Relationship – On the Rocks
I Actually Paid To See This 