Romance has been a part of storytelling for centuries. There’s a Greek myth that Zeus tore humanity from their original form of two heads, four arms, and four legs because he worried about their strength, thereby causing humanity to search… Read More ›
Content Warning: Photosensitive viewers may have trouble enjoying Quantumania as there are many sequences involving flashing lights. The 31st Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) release is also the kick-off the fifth phase of the MCU as a whole and the second… Read More ›
My first true introduction to Jackie Chan was in the summer of 1995. 15-year-old me witnessed Quentin Tarantino (Pulp Fiction) give an enthusiastic speech about the infectious manner Jackie’s films had in the theater. Before presenting him with his lifetime… Read More ›
When people talk about the career of martial artist and actor Jackie Chan, there’s one film that almost everyone mentions because of the incredible stunt work in the climactic battle: Police Story (1985). That film would go on to start… Read More ›
“ZEPPELINS. BOMBS. BORDELLOS. BURIALS. RIGG. REED.” This is one of several taglines attached to the marketing for the Basil Dearden-directed (Dead of Night) action comedy The Assassination Bureau, a film adapted from a Jack London (The Call of the Wild)… Read More ›
Perhaps my favorite movie-going story is how right after graduating college I went on a long-awaited trip to Europe with my mother and, at the same time, Ari Aster’s debut film, Hereditary (2018) was released into theaters. My Twitter timeline… Read More ›
The New Gods series from Light Chaser is a refreshing approach to cultural stories. Each one of their films, even if not listed with the New Gods label (White Snake and Green Snake) allows the audience to engage with the… Read More ›
Comedy is tragedy plus time. – Author Mark Twain Though Edgar Allen Poe’s 1841 story The Murders in the Rue Morgue is widely considered the first detective story, there’s a long standing relationship between murder and storytelling. Whether in dramatics… Read More ›
Few villains in any medium of storytelling are quite as iconic as Bram Stoker’s Count Dracula, also known as The Prince of Darkness, also known as Vlad the Impaler, also known as The Dark One, etc. (he has an Erykah… Read More ›
Over the course of writer/director Terry Gilliam’s career, whether it’s been Monty Python-related or not, each of his films have shared a fairly standard commonality: he’s written or adapted them. In the beginning of his career, his intention was to… Read More ›
Martial artist. Stuntman. Action director. Comedic Actor. Romantic lead? The first four absolutely describe world-renowned physical performer Jackie Chan, but the last? Certainly during his time making films with studio/distributor Golden Harvest, that’s not something the actor dared pursue as… Read More ›
Let me paint you a picture: It’s May 1993 and Walt Disney, via distributor Buena Vista Pictures, is about to release a film co-written by Ed Solomon (Men in Black/Bill & Ted franchise), starring Bob Hoskins (Who Framed Roger Rabbit?),… Read More ›
The concept of “punk” is a rebellion against the mainstream. As it relates to music, the term was used to describe rock bands of the late-‘60s to early ‘70s that played rock tunes fast, hard, and, often, in brief. For… Read More ›
Personal feelings have a way of clouding one’s more practical or pragmatic judgement. If we’re excited or enamored with something, we’re more likely to excuse or soften something’s harder edges. If we’re not interested or already turned off by something,… Read More ›
Did you know that Pinball machines used to be outlawed? I didn’t either, and when I saw the trailer of this lost piece of history, I knew I had to check out this film that took me back to a… Read More ›
In the surreal and quirky With Love and a Major Organ, director Kim Albright deftly examines the difficulty of finding love and connection inside a world ruled by the algorithm. Based on a play by Julia Lederer, who also wrote… Read More ›
How do you know if you’ve lived a good life? That’s a hard question to answer objectively because of the various cultural and social rules that come to define what “good” is. Do intentions really matter if someone gets hurt… Read More ›
Whiplash, La La Land, First Man — each one directed by Damien Chazelle, two of three written by him, and each one (love or hate them) makes a declarative statement regarding its subject. It shouldn’t surprise that the Oscar winner… Read More ›
In 2020, during the height of this pandemic were still finding ourselves in, I was sitting on my couch with my partner wondering what to do on the first night of TIFF (Toronto International Film Festival) and Twitter was recommending… Read More ›
I love the movies. Gosh, I love movies. I love watching them and I love making them. – Keanu Reeves, May 14th, 2019. We should all be so lucky to be able to do what brings us joy, what fulfills… Read More ›