My grandma turned 99 this year, and whenever she talks about the future she laughs and says she wants to live long enough to see the next election because she’s excited for a civil war. I think there’s a dark anarchy to my grandma that scares the shit out of me, but I also can’t […]
Film
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Neo Noir and Action Cinema Unbound
‘Love Lies Bleeding’ and ‘Monkey Man’ don’t play by the rules
One of the reasons I think movies are such a powerful and transformative medium for artistic expression is that the boundaries of genre keep expanding and changing. Production companies like A24, Neon and Janus Films realize that horror, crime dramas, noir, science fiction and fantasy shouldn’t be treated like lesser forms of the medium. Instead […]
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Godzilla x Kong x Audience Expectations
The Monsterverse remains entertaining, if shallow
I guess I should get this out of the way up front: Do not go into “Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire” expecting something like “Godzilla Minus One.” That was a character-driven monster movie that explored generational trauma, PTSD and a nation’s collective fear of a crusty radioactive kaiju that indiscriminately destroys Japan as easy as […]
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Talking Svengoolie and the ’70s with David Dastmalchian
Late Night with the Devil is an absolute spook-a-blast
Even though his name might not be widely known yet, I guarantee you’ve seen David Dastmalchian on the big screen at least once before. In an acting career that’s already bordering on legendary, the man knows how to pick a project that will enhance his idiosyncratic brilliance into something truly remarkable. Whether he’s a supporting […]
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May the Source Be With You: March Edition
Canceled shows and cultural ‘casts
I don’t know what got me started doing it, but lately I’ve been watching a ton of shows that got canceled before their time, and mostly just focusing on pop culture podcasts. I think I just don’t have it in me to listen to political stuff right now, as I just feel the stress levels rising […]
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Big Screen Kenergy
The best and worst of the 2024 Academy Awards
Well, another Academy Awards is in the books and I’m not sure we really gained anything from it. There were a few nice moments, three amazing speeches and one fairly big upset award, but otherwise it was a fairly predictable night all around. It moved a bit faster than it usually does, which was nice, […]
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Fear is the Mind Killer
“Dune: Part II” is a work of epic scope and imagination
Look, Frank Herbert’s “Dune” was such a large part of growing up for me that I was always going to be obsessed with any cinematic attempt to capture the weird desert magic onscreen. While there have been many terrible adaptations of books that I love (the “Golden Compass” and “Dark Tower” movies come to mind), […]
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The Future of Cinema is Female
Celebrating women filmmakers
Here’s a painfully obvious statement: It’s so much easier for men to make it as filmmaker in Hollywood than women. Then once a woman director gets huge and critically acclaimed, it’s almost like Hollywood only has the bandwidth for one or two at a time. The studios are at a point right now where they’re […]
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No Love for the Snubs
Great films not nominated for a single Oscar
Working in a movie theater (Tin Pan) that’s showing several of the Best Picture nominees means that I get into a lot of discussions about what I think the actual best movie of the year is, out of the 10. Don’t get me wrong, most of the nominees this year are fine examples of the […]
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May the Source Be With You: February Edition
Warm-blanket shows, movies and podcasts
Everyone has different shows and movies that give them comfort when they’re sick, sad or some other combination of unpleasantness. I know people who have watched all nine seasons of “The Office” multiple times that treat the show like a cozy blanket on a cold night, although for my money “Parks and Recreation” is a […]