Movies

(500) Days of Summer Year: 2009 Rating: PG-13 Length: 95 minutes / 1.58 hours I’ll be the first to admit that I’m biased when it comes to this film. In 2009, I experienced my first ever relationship. I also experienced a breakup from said relationship in the same year. Consequently, I can relate to the […]

A War of Gifts Year: 2007 Author: Orson Scott Card Length: 145 minutes / 2.42 hours Side stories are a somewhat odd occurrence in the literary world. They’re essentially like the “deleted scenes” from movies: they don’t add to the plot, even if they are interesting by themselves. A War of Gifts is a side […]

Pacific Rim: Uprising Year: 2018 Rating: PG-13 Length: 111 minutes / 1.85 hours I think the trouble with some sequels, no matter how much I loved the original films, is that there’s almost an unspoken meshing of elements that made the first movie enjoyable but can be hard to reproduce a second time. That being […]

The Gunslinger Year: 1982 Author: Stephen King Length: 440 minutes / 7.33 hours With the recent release of The Dark Tower (2017), I became interested in the book series that inspired the movie. I already knew the books would likely take a different direction from the film, and I was prepared for them. Up until […]

Avengers: Infinity War Year: 2018 Rating: PG-13 Length: 149 minutes / 2.48 hours It’s difficult to codify something like Avengers: Infinity War (2018) without including everything that led up to it. In reality, it’s probably more along the lines of the 19th episode of a television series that’s taken ten years to realize fully. Because of the interconnected […]

On Stranger Tides Year: 1987 Author: Tim Powers Length: 721 minutes / 12.02 hours Since I knew the fourth Pirates of the Caribbean movie was based on this book, I decided to give it a read to see if it was any better than the so-so extension of the Pirates franchise. Let’s just say that […]

Black Panther Year: 2018 Rating: PG-13 Length: 134 minutes / 2.23 hours Anymore, superhero films are a dime a dozen. I get that they’re adding up to a greater narrative for Avengers: Infinity War (2018), but a lot of them seem almost indistinguishable from each other. Enter Black Panther (2018). Not only is this superhero not white, but almost […]

It’s hard to deny that the United States is the capitol of action films. Our big-budget summer blockbusters just scream, “Explosions! Guns! Michael Bay!” While it can be simple enough to recycle the same material over and over again in a formulaic fashion without leaving the country’s borders, sometimes American films can be from foreign... Read more.

One wonders if Angelina Jolie would have become an actress had her father not been Jon Voight. Perhaps her upbringing allowed her exceptional connections and nurturing of thespian talents that eventually allowed her to break into Hollywood. Of course, much of Jolie’s talent subsists in her sultry appearance and demeanor, which could have likely brought... Read more.

The irony of the spy genre in Hollywood is that any spy who is really good at espionage is unlikely to be caught. If a spy is not caught, then there is no chance that they’d have to escape via a high-octane action sequence. This would be a boring movie. Anymore, most spies are experts... Read more.

What were we talking about? Oh yes, amnesia. While this trope is usually associated with soap operas, it has been used in a variety of diverse formats and for a variety of different reasons. Sometimes the effect can be used for humorous purposes, much like the plot of 50 First Dates (2004). More often than... Read more.

It is to the credit of an actor to be recognizable. Often, this involves acting in roles for many years. The more prolific an actor is, the more likely audiences will begin to recognize them. Usually, with enough performances under their belt, these actors will be able to move up to leading roles and thus... Read more.

Friedrich Nietzsche once wrote, “That which does not kill us, makes us stronger.” This statement is most relevant when it comes to the idea of revenge. A concept almost as old as time itself, revenge puts justice in our own hands after someone wrongs us. Often, the people who have done the wrong will wish... Read more.

One of the benefits of going to college is the networking that can occur via the conglomeration of like-minded individuals. If the cliques of high school were bad, imagine living in an entire house of these people. Jocks and nerds tend to segregate into their own little social circles, but sometimes they even go so... Read more.

1962 was an exciting time. From the civil rights movement to the Vietnam War, a lot of change was happening in the world. While there was plenty of turmoil for adults to worry about, most teenagers were worried about school. Whether they were high school students concerned about what to do after graduation or college... Read more.

For a director who has only directed six films in his career, George Lucas is one of the most recognizable names in the industry. Of course, this is also partly because of his film studio, Lucasfilm is responsible for the Star Wars and Indiana Jones franchises. When the main draw of a movie is the... Read more.

When it comes to acting, the Shakespearian actor is often seen as the epitome of the profession. Being able to bring the Bard’s work to life on the stage requires a vast amount of skill and talent if it is to be done correctly. While many of these actors will remain in this highest form... Read more.