The act of splitting a movie's narrative into multiple parts can be pretty tricky. I'm not talking about series like Lord of the Rings that adapted source material with natural breaking points, I'm more referring to The Hobbit, which was a singular story that was planned to be two movies before getting bloated to three. … Continue reading Acceptable – Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning
By most measures, this year's Oscar Blitz has been smoother than usual. I've kept ahead of schedule on the videos, I don't find myself scrambling for things to write each night, and since I don't have a gig at the moment, I'm not stressing myself out pulling double (or triple) duty. However, there was one … Continue reading DownStream – TUDUM! Part Four – More Animation (and an Apology)
As I've mentioned a fair few times over the last fortnight, the timeline for this year's Oscar Blitz had to be compressed due to the fire-induced delay in announcing the nominees. What is usually seven to eight weeks for this process is reduced to just over five, leaving me with little time to do anything … Continue reading This Film is Not Yet Watchable – February 2025
As artificial intelligence becomes increasingly part of our lives, the biggest issue is that it's presented to us as an automatic, universal good. Whether it's tech companies like Google and Apple forcing it down our throats through their products and advertising (which we can't opt out of even though we've given them little to no … Continue reading Learning to Fly – The Wild Robot
Whatever your personal opinions may be when it comes to Tom Cruise as a person - and believe me, I have some issues - it's still important to note that over the last few years, he's been the driving force in saving the theatrical model of the film industry. When he insisted that Top Gun: … Continue reading The Human Element – Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One
There is one true master when it comes to stop-motion animation filled with delightfully macabre imagery, and that's Henry Selick. Beginning his directorial career with The Nightmare Before Christmas, he's never shied away from giving audiences a dark, funny, and sneakily emotional treat through his work. But it's been a long time since his most … Continue reading Death’s Rich Pageant – Wendell & Wild
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
I Actually Paid To See This 