Kingsman and Good Ol’ Fashioned Megalomaniacs
I didn’t grow up in the 60’s or 70’s, but I still grew up loving and acting out James Bond movies. My dad was and is a huge fan of the old Sean Connery and Roger Moore Bond movies. We…
Review| Jupiter Ascending
The Wachowskis go big and ambitious once again with a beautiful and intergalactic universe of dynasties, androids, aliens and monsters. While not as explicitly religious and symbolic as their previous work, most notably The Matrix, they still are at least dip…
Shepherding an American Sniper’s Heart
American Sniper opens with a sequence where a young Chris Kyle (Bradley Cooper) is thrust into the protector role of his younger brother, Jeff Kyle (Keir O’Donnell), when he is attacked by a bully in the schoolyard. When their father demands…
Selma and Ghosts of Racism Past, Present, and Future
My snow covered boots hit the tiled floors of Stephen A. Foster Elementary’s main hallway, and a couple African-American students ran past me, followed by a Hmong-American student. I laughed as they skidded by and the voice of Ms. Bialecki,…
‘Birdman’: The Relevance of a Thing
Why am I writing this review? Does it mean something? Does it bear any weight on culture? Will it carry on into the ether of the future, and if so, for how long? Questioning the very form of artistic medium…
‘The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies’ Review
THE HOBBIT: THE BATTLE OF THE FIVE ARMIES The Hobbit was my introduction into the realm of Middle Earth. In Fourth Grade my very good friend Mark and I had been reading the Redwall series, and he suggested I read…
Starred Up Review
STARRED UP One of the few places I would ever like to find myself is locked up in a prison. I am a total wimp and would probably be an even tamer and more limp-wristed version of Andy DuFrane. Not…
‘Exodus: Gods and Kings’ An Old Testament Highlight Reel
I think most of us in the film reviewing business were bracing ourselves for the next wave of controversy over another Biblical adaptation from Hollywood when we heard that someone, in this case Ridley Scott (Gladiator, Prometheus, Blade Runner), was…
The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 1 Review
It is difficult to make a final judgment on this movie, considering it is only half a movie. Much like Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 1, the latest installment in The Hunger Games series and the first…
Being Frank About Art and Fame
BEING FRANK ABOUT ART AND FAME The tortured artist is one of the world’s most common tropes and a common lens through which we tend to view the artistic world. It’s common to believe that the most wonderful art comes from…