Suspension of disbelief in the horror genre is a tricky thing. Horror movies are mostly about rules. Michael Myers is an unstoppable killing machine, but we don’t know why…he just keeps getting up. Freddy Krueger kills in dreams, but can’t do much damage in the real world. Jason Voorhees can take a lot of damage, […]
Movies
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The Fault in Our Mars
Love and Rockets
As a human male grown to maturity, I am not the target demographic for “The Space Between Us.” Judging from the trailers, I would have thought the demo would be teenagers, spinsters or possibly cats left at home with the television on. Instead, I now believe the film is for no one. It should be […]
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Timeless
20th Century women is a small wonder
Dorothea Fields is a specific and contradictory type of free spirit. Played by Annette Bening, Fields has a shrewd smile and an open heart, viewing the world as a giant ball of mystery. Her 15-year old son, Jamie (Lucas Jade Zumann), is in love with his best friend, the 17-year old Julie (Elle Fanning), who […]
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A Flood of Movies
2017 will be a milestone year in film
Now that we’re ever so slowly inching our way out of January, the theatrical doldrums of the post-holiday world will be mostly behind us. While 2017 will see a ton of new sequels, reboots, remakes and the like, there are also quite a few interesting original properties headed our way. Here’s a look at just […]
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Ben Affleck Has His First Stumble as a Director
A review of “Live By Night”
Ben Affleck was a joke a little over a decade ago. He was tabloid fodder every week due to his relationship with Jennifer Lopez, while at the same time having a string of terribly received films starting with 2003’s “Daredevil.” With 2007’s “Gone Baby Gone” Affleck quietly slipped into the director’s chair and made one […]
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I’m Friends With the Monster
Dealing with loss: A children’s primer
The story behind the book version of “A Monster Calls” is a tragic one. Siobhan Dowd was an activist and a writer in the UK. She was diagnosed with breast cancer and, during her terminal illness, came up with the story of a young boy fighting to come to terms with his mother’s fate. She […]
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Space Racism
“Hidden Figures” turns separate but equal into a crowd please
The trailers for “Hidden Figures” have been omnipresent for at least six months. I've seen the trailer for “Hidden Figures” at least 50 times over the last few months and it made me feel like I’d already seen the film. Luckily, the film is such a warmhearted crowd pleaser that it’s hard to hold its […]
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A Little Night Music
“La La Land” is cinema magic
I try to go into films wide open, hoping to love each one I see. I take no pleasure in ripping a movie to shreds, because the amount of work that goes into making them is staggering and no one intends to make a terrible film. Still, I wasn’t quite sold on “La La Land.” […]
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The Great Wall
“Fences” is an undisputed masterpiece
I had a pretty terrible stepfather growing up; a redneck cop who spent his free time encouraging me not to read, think or grow. When I moved out, I carried this weird mixture of fear and rage with me. I eventually grew up and tried to let it go. I barely think about him anymore, […]
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Flicks that Ripped
The Source’s top 10 movies of 2016
Whittling down to 10 top movies of the year was hard, but my #1 never changed. These might not be the “Best” movies of the year, but they are most certainly my favorite. 10 Morris From America: A romantic coming-of-age drama about a 13-year old American boy falling in love for the first time while […]
