Tag: Cinema Sugar
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4 Lessons on Creativity from Roger in ‘101 Dalmatians’
Originally published at Cinema Sugar. Roger Radcliffe is ultimately a supporting player in this story of dogs trying to avoid being skinned for their fur (you know, a Disney movie for kids). But as the hero of his own story, he’s an excellent example of an artist at work. Here’s what we can learn from…
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Six thoughts on ‘Titanic’
Cinema Sugar asked on Threads: “What movie do you refuse to watch?” It provoked some interesting responses, the most common by far being Titanic and Barbie. I get the Barbie backlash since it’s new and somewhat (weirdly) politically charged. Titanic, though, is nearly 30 years old and one of the most awarded and highest-grossing movies of…
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How ‘In the Heights’ explains the COVID era
Originally published at Cinema Sugar. Scheduled to be released in theaters June 2020, the film adaptation of Lin-Manuel Miranda’s musical In the Heights was in the first wave of movies that were delayed by the COVID-19 pandemic. It got pushed back a full year to June 2021, when as part of a slate of Warner…
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Talkin’ WALL-E
In January, my Cinema Sugar compadre Kevin and I went on the Baby’s First Watchlist podcast to talk all things WALL-E as a tie-in with Animation Month. It was my first time as a podcast guest and was a lot of fun. They pulled out a few clips to share on social media that included…
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Why the Nicole Kidman AMC ad matters
If you’ve been to a movie at AMC in the last two years, you’ve seen their now-legendary in-house commercial starring Nicole Kidman where she walks into a theater extolling the magic of movies, moviegoing, and AMC: It’s sincere, borderline saccharine, and immediately after its debut in September 2021 became a lightning rod for hot takes…
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Somehow I interviewed Glenn Frankel
One of the great things about running an online magazine like Cinema Sugar is that I can just decide that I want to try to interview someone, and then watch as that dream miraculously becomes reality. That happened recently in conjunction with Westerns Month. I remembered that I’d read two excellent books about westerns by…
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How ‘Hairspray’ and ‘Once’ made me love musicals
Originally published at Cinema Sugar Josh, you’re in a musical. That’s how musicals work. When you’re too emotional to talk, you sing. When you’re too emotional to sing, you dance.” — Melissa, Schmigadoon I went through a phase as an adolescent when I didn’t get musicals. Not only that: I actively resented them. They’re cheesy…
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My ‘Back to the Future’ bonanza
Well, I finally did it: I finally revealed my decades-old collection of Back to the Future memorabilia. With it being Sci-Fi Month at Cinema Sugar, I thought the timing was right to show-and-tell such items as: I had a blast doing this, so please watch, enjoy, and share:
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The High School Movie Party: That’s L-I-V-I-N
Originally published at Cinema Sugar. Too many unsupervised teenagers at a fancy house. Red Solo cups strewn about. A couple making out. A skater kid sliding down the stairs into a tower of beer cans. Someone throwing up at just the wrong moment. Welcome to a high-school movie house party. Despite seeing this kind of…
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A spoonful of Cinema Sugar
I’m very excited to share a new thing I’m part of that’s now live on the internet: Cinema Sugar, a website/newsletter/social media destination for people who love to see, think about, and talk about movies. Our mission statement: We are not interested in celebrity culture. We are not interested in hate-watching, takedowns, or tasteless criticism.…