Archive. Portfolio. Fun stuff.
“The champ is here! The champ is here! The champ is here!”
Like the champion whose name it shares, Ali is imperfect and important. A work about a man who stood among the greatest Americans.Continue reading “ALI: Defining Muhammad Ali Through Performance and Cinema”
Is there a better title for a horror movie like this? Not outright terrifying, just an all around crowd pleaser that just leaps off the screen. Fright Night. It has that special zing when you say it.Continue reading “A DOUBLE-BILLING OF ’80S POP HORROR: WELCOME TO FRIGHT NIGHT”
“The night, it’s deafening.”
One of the first images in Near Dark is young Adrian Pasdar as Caleb, slapping a mosquito as it draws blood from his arm. A nuisance, not something to be thought of twice. Caleb is relaxing against the moody Midwestern sky without a care in the world. The only thing drawing his attention is friends, alcohol and a gorgeous girl wandering the streets seemngly without a care herself. The night beckons him.Continue reading “BLOOD, HEDONISM, AND HUMANITY IN NEAR DARK”
Better late than never? 2017 was a seriously great year for movies (like I mentioned here) so in a lesser year, any of these could have made my top 10 list. So I’m going to be greedy and write about 25 of my favorites movies from last year. I am human so I didn’t see everything (I will witness you soon, Florida Project) and let’s just call it a subjectively objective list. Feel free to check out my 2017 in Film roundup which is still mostly accurate to the list I’ve culminated below.
Here are some quick honorable mentions: Wonder Woman, Okja, Gerald’s Game, The Big Sick, Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle
A farewell to the Cesar trilogy of Apes legacy. Continuing the thematic and narrative threads of Monkey Moses might be far less subtle than its predecessor’s, though Reeves camera has never felt more appropriate. A throwback to classical blockbuster filmmaking with new gen technology, War takes elements of Apocalypse Now and The Great Escape to close out the Cesar trilogy with the most optimistic ending for the Apes at the expense of acknowledging the darkest exploration of humanities remnants.
Effectively satirizes the cinematic legacy of Batman while never failing to acknowledge why the character has endured for several generations and will continue for countless more. Batman’s dark, broody nature has reached peak ridiculousness and way the story maneuvers through the tragic heart of the character wisely brings forth his ultimate secret weapon: Batman is incomplete without a family.
Continue reading “Top 25 Movies of 2017”
Art is strange. It makes people feel emotions that and there’s no real way to prepare for immediate gut reactions. So we talk about it as a community because we want to understand. Art is subjective. Art is not universal. Art is worth talking about. That’s what I’m doing here.
Film criticism is weird. There’s a misconception about criticism revolving around pretentious “holier-than-thou” attitudes in a fight to prove who is right and who is wrong. That is, of course, bullshit. What it really boils down to is the discussion. A love of movies. Whether it’s on twitter, a personal blog post or for website I’m contributing to, I love to participate in these discussions any way I can. I’m just looking to open up a dialogue.
I have several avenues of exploring film criticism with other groups of people (all of whom I am proud to create alongside with) but this patreon, and my wordpress are for me, myself, and I.
If you like what I have to say, or are at least interested, please consider supporting me and my work officially over at Patreon or just buy me a cup of coffee over at Ko-Fi.
Continue reading “Looking Back and Boldly Going Through 2017”
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