I rewatched this after having positive memories of seeing it on television long ago. Plot recap: Dee Wallace is Karen, a TV news anchorwoman in LA who has been getting messages from a serial killer who is obsessed with her. She agrees to meet with him, while wearing a wire,Continue Reading
Last year, I finished most of a draft of the sequel to Waking Up Naked In Strange Places (working title: Stripping Down to Scars). For a while I set it aside, because I was caught up in doing things related to the published novel, but during the Clarion West Write-a-ThonContinue Reading
Premise: An exiled Puritan family trying to survive in the wilderness is targeted by an enigmatic supernatural threat, but the worst threat might be the paranoia that drives them to turn on each other. Briefly: Beautifully made, with an excellent cast and a haunting soundtrack. The archaic language is aContinue Reading
I want to talk about Star Wars, but that’s dangerous for me, because I don’t want to deliver any spoilers, but apparently I don’t know what a spoiler is. I think a spoiler is “a shocking or unexpected plot twist that’s important to the story.” Gandalf dying, then coming back fromContinue Reading
Short answer: atmospheric dark fantasy with some memorable scenes and Scarlett Johansson naked, but slow and lacking in story. Cautiously recommended, as long as you’re prepared to be kinda bored. Longer thoughts below — spoilers ahead.Continue Reading
A few months ago I saw the movie Room 237, a documentary about obsessive super-fans of Stanley Kubrick’s movie The Shining, who have watched it more times than you’ve seen Star Wars and developed interesting interpretive theories about Kubrick’s film. These range from the relatively plausible (small incongruities aren’t continuityContinue Reading
(Now that I have updated the website, I am doing some electronic housecleaning. Sometimes I run into a fairly complete, but unpublished essay, such as this one.) So, we saw the new Tron movie. I have inexplicably fond feelings for the old one. I saw it as a teenager, butContinue Reading
Saw Pacific Rim on Sunday… another movie I wanted to love, and unfortunately didn’t. Guillermo del Toro! Nerd obsessions! Giant monsters! Mako Mori! Idris Elba! It looks pretty and there are some parts of it that work great, but overall I was bored too often and surprised and delighted tooContinue Reading
This recent Slate article [Save the movie!] suggests that an over-reliance on the beat sheet from Blake Snyder’s “Save the Cat” books is ruining Hollywood movies, but I think it’s completely wrong. The problem with dull blockbusters isn’t that they are following Snyder’s beat sheet — it’s that they aren’tContinue Reading
As part of my birthday shenanigans, we visited the newly remodeled Sundance Cinema in the U-district. (It used to be the Metro) It is now 21-and-over, and you can get a cheese plate and beer and drink in the theater. Also, reserved seats, and really nice big seats with lotsContinue Reading
Short, spoiler-free review: if you liked Jackson’s LOTR movies, you will probably like this as well.Continue Reading
This was inspired by the concept of “chick flicks” revealed in the movie Sleepless in Seattle. Boy, I hated that movie.Continue Reading
This was inspired by the concept of “chick flicks” revealed in the movie Sleepless in Seattle. Boy, I hated that movie.Continue Reading