It’s a rare occurrence when a movie or series shows something that stops every random thought in my head, every synapse focusing like a laser on the screen. I become Neo in The Matrix when Morpheus leaps to a distant building. “Whoa” is the only correct response. It happened the first time I saw the…

The wrongly accused: Lucas in The Hunt aka Jagten (2012) Back in the 90s I covered a newspaper story in which a run of the mill, middle-aged sex offender was having a bit of a tough time. He’d been sent to clink for touching up some residents at a women’s shelter. In his favor, the…

It’s award consideration season, so here’s my consideration. Synopsis A cave rescue mission. Writing On June 23, 2018, twelve boys and their coach were trapped in a flooded cave system in northern Thailand. Given the recency of the event, extensive coverage at the time, and the known outcome, the movie practically writes itself. The only…

The inspirational:  LouAnne Johnson in Dangerous Minds (1995), Mark Thackeray in To Sir, with Love (1967) and John Keating in Dead Poets Society (1989) It’s time to say hi to our latest graduate from the Kelly McGillis Top Gun School of Absurd Roles. Meet the willowy, effortlessly elegant Michelle Pfeiffer (along with her dazzling smile…

We’ve all had teachers. And I don’t mean in the sexual sense. Good, bad, boring, angry and spaced out, teachers tend to stick in the mind. I remember one guy in junior school who routinely flew off the handle, leaving me scared to attend class. He once reduced me to tears by shouting in my…

It’s award consideration season, so here’s my consideration. Writing There are interesting concepts, but they never fall into a cohesive narrative. In this future, most humans have evolved to no longer feel pain or become infected by disease and many are growing new organs with undetermined functions, only to have them removed to comply with…

It’s award consideration season, so here’s my consideration. Synopsis A juvenile delinquent, two demons with daddy issues, a priest, demon hunters, zombies, corporate executives, and the devil clash for all the reasons. Writing Just because Wendell & Wild is pretty doesn’t mean it has coherent writing. Surprisingly, Jordan Peele co-wrote this mess with Henry Selick,…

I love shit about repressed female sexuality. Take nuns. They’re a bunch of wretched, feeble-minded cowards, women who cling to a fantasy deity and starve themselves of Earthly pleasures because they’re ashamed of their pussy. Now The Devils may well appear to be about religion and politics in 17th century France, but it’s more to…