I've said many a time before that one of my basic philosophies when it comes to film criticism is that I'm much more forgiving of an ambitious failure than I am a safe mediocrity. Essentially, if you take a risk and fall short, that's still better for me than playing things by the numbers and … Continue reading Trouble with the Curve – Despicable Me 4
Happy birthday, America! Or rather, Happy Barbecue and Fireworks Day, as the Supreme Court decided three days ago to essentially kill the republic by declaring the former President a monarch unaccountable to the law. Hey, we had almost 248 years. It was a good run. In that spirit, I have decided that for this month's … Continue reading This Film is Not Yet Watchable – July 2024
I've said before in this space that children are a lot more intelligent than we often give them credit. This is especially true when it comes to cinema, as there's been a rampant increase in the number of films directed at kids that follow a strict formula (concocted by adults who only see dollar signs … Continue reading Limited Imagination – IF
Back in 2006, filmmaker M. Night Shyamalan released what is arguably his worst movie, Lady in the Water. Derided for being incredibly self-indulgent, the project was rightly lambasted for Shyamalan's sanctimonious take on art, writing, and criticism, in which he essentially staged a cinematic hissy fit due to negative reactions to his previous work. He … Continue reading The Play’s the Thing – Asteroid City
Apologies one and all for the lack of content over the past two weeks. It's an unfortunate side effect of Summer Blockbuster season sometimes. There are the odd weeks where the major studios will essentially get out of each others' way and let one film dominate the box office for a cycle. Two weeks ago … Continue reading This Film is Not Yet Watchable – June 2023
As I mentioned in this month's edition of "The Worst Trailer in the World" (currently hovering around 5,000 views; seriously, I love you all!), I really liked the original Despicable Me film. I enjoyed the idea of a villain learning to see the good in himself and apply that to other people once he became … Continue reading Despicable Pre – Minions: The Rise of Gru
I'd say it's kind of hard to believe that we're already halfway through the year, but I understand how calendars work, so it's not like it's a surprise or anything. That said, the last several weeks have been exceedingly busy, so it does feel like time has flowed a bit faster than normal, especially when … Continue reading This Film is Not Yet Watchable – July 2022
With Oscar nominations coming up on Tuesday, there are two more films from 2018 that I want to see and review during the holiday weekend. It's very possible that with these two in the books, I might be so far ahead of the curve that I'll only have the Short categories to tackle for this … Continue reading Drugs are Bad, Mmkay? – Beautiful Boy
My final film of calendar year 2018, Vice, presents a unique opportunity. Written and directed by Adam McKay, it provides another chance for McKay's rapier wit in explaining how the elite grab hold of the seats of power and fuck over the rest of us. He did it two years ago with The Big Short, and now … Continue reading What a Dick! – Vice
In 2010, a documentary called Marwencol chronicled the life and artwork of Mark Hogancamp, an artist from upstate New York who was beaten within an inch of his life because of some sexual personality differences. Unable to draw after his injuries, he instead created a fictional miniature town in his yard, populated by dolls that he … Continue reading Hello Dollies! – Welcome to Marwen
I Actually Paid To See This 