The Scout Scene [Moneyball]

Few movies are able to communicate their main idea, using only one scene, better than Moneyball does when Billy Beane first meets with his scouts and talent developers. The scene is perfect. The film had established the depths to which the Oakland A’s had fallen in the wake of their team’s pilfering at the hands of richer

Movies Inspired by [Neuromancer]

I recently gave Neuromancer a second read-through. But it was more than just another romp in the Sprawl or buzz through Freeside, it was a second chance of sorts. I hadn’t read it for a very long time, and for lack of understanding and the passage of time, I did not remember most any of

Advertising For [Jurassic World] and [Jurassic Park]

I am intrigued by the Jurassic World additions to the Jurassic Park trilogy because of the unaddressed but very present notion that after the terrible events of Jurassic Park, where people were eaten, children were lost, and a T-Rex ravaged suburban America, not only did a greedy business corporation decide that a real life dinosaur

I Got Hitler On My Mind [Jojo Rabbit]

Due to the strangeness of certain decisions in the film, as well as an overarching public narrative about it being too odd, it’s easy to dismiss Jojo Rabbit as ludicrous and silly. This is especially true in the beginning of the film, before it descends into more familiar WWII terrain (heavy despondency and meta-commentary about how we

Pennywise the Clown [It]

I want to start with a simple premise: Pennywise the Clown scares the shit out of a lot of people. To expand on this premise, I want to state that I don’t only consider those who jump in their seats when Pennywise lunges towards pre-pubescent appendages, as well as those who now give sewer drains six feet

[Nightcrawler] Movie Review: An Uncomfortable Relationship

Nightcrawler was released in 2014, and since then has, very unfortunately, become more and more prescient in its understanding of the escalation of news and the complicated relationship we form with documentation of life.  That was a fun sentence… here is what I mean… Nightcrawler displays subtle genius in the scenario it uses to comment

Noteworthy Book-Movie Adaptations

This isn’t a list of the best book-movie adaptations, or a list of movies that are better than the books or vice-versa. I just think these are some of the most interesting combinations of film and writing that I have come across and of which I have something to say.  Jurassic Park Whenever I get

The Setting Of [Prisoners]

During my first watch, I didn’t notice if Prisoners stated it was located in a certain town or city or state, and I didn’t feel any need to go back and check. The setting spoke for itself, lending weight to the story without any overt mention of how that area’s way of life could add to the

Is Ivan Drago Overhyped? [Rocky IV]

Ivan Drago is often revered as Rocky’s most feared opponent, living in infamy as the man who killed Apollo Creed and as one of the greatest boxers of all time. And yet… I’m not sold. I’m not. I don’t think Drago was that great of a boxer. I don’t even think he was Rocky’s greatest

Can We Talk About [Vice]?

Something’s been bothering me this whole movie, and I just figured it out… I loved Vice, but it seemed to slip by everyone in the movie world, raising some hackles, receiving some congratulations, but generally untouched, like a film leper. …the whole thing’s liberal. It’s got a liberal bias. So I wanted to talk about why