Tag: movies
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Media of the moment
An ongoing series Nirvanna the Band the Show the Movie. A delightfully lo-fi sci-fi goof centered around Back to the Future? You know I’d be into it. If there were any justice in the world Matt Johnson would get an Oscar nod for his wonderful, wacky performance. The Odyssey. Truly what cinema is for. Zeus’s…
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On Glen Hansard, grace, and goodbyes
Glen Hansard died. I’ve been listening to and writing about him and his music for damn near 20 years, so this is a gut punch. A few years ago I wrote an essay for Cinema Sugar about how seeing Once in the theater in 2007 completely changed how I viewed movie musicals, and much more.…
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‘National Treasure’ is a national treasure
I don’t believe in the concept of guilty pleasures (just watch and read what you want!). But if I did, the beautifully bonkers 2004 history-nerd film National Treasure would top my list. Read my America Month piece at Cinema Sugar celebrating all the reasons why the Nic Cage-est of Nic Cage movies still endures, if…
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Lovin’ Spielberg’s ‘Lincoln’
Just published a new essay at Cinema Sugar as part of America Month called Lincoln is the Better Angel of Biopics. It’s a celebration of Spielberg’s masterpiece as both a biopic—a genre I’m generally suspicious of—and a portrait of the man beneath the myth at a crucial juncture in history. Regular readers of this blog…
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Media of the moment
An ongoing series This Is A Gardening Show. Heard about this new Zach Galifianakis limited series on Netflix from friends, and it’s a delight. Funny, informative, family- friendly. Great hang. Project Hail Mary. Saw this with some dad friends, which felt appropriate since it’s both very dad-coded but also widely appealing as its box office…
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My sons’ media of the moment
A spinoff of an ongoing series A Real Bug’s Life. This National Geographic miniseries on Disney+ uses macrophotography to capture tiny insects in dramatized settings, supplemented by Awkwafina’s affable narration. Monsters, Inc. Before ever even seeing the movie, the two year old got absolutely transfixed by a figurine of Mike Wazowski (or as he calls…
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Don’t read the book before the movie
I say this as both a librarian who loves books and a cinephile who loves movies: Do not read the book before seeing the movie. I cannot emphasize this enough. Whenever there’s a new movie coming out that’s based on a book, people will think “Oh, I gotta read that so I’m ready for the…
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Papa with his quotes
These days our two year old has taken to saying, “What you say, papa?” To which I reply: “I say that what you say… is what I say.” Which is, of course, from the iconic ’90s masterpiece Newsies. This is just one of countless examples of me dropping quotes and cultural references my boys (and…
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Complexity at scale
Alan Jacobs wrote about his admiration for two “enormously complex projects that only became possible after the Industrial Revolution”: the manufacturing and logistical challenges the Allies faced in World War II leading up to D-Day and the studio system in the classic Hollywood era: It’s hard for me to imagine how D-Day did not end…
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The grammar of filmmaking
Steven Soderbergh in an interview talking about the grammar of filmmaking: There’s a certain way you put a sentence together to get the idea across; you can fuck with that, but at a certain point you fuck with it so much the idea is lost. That applies to almost any form. When I’m on set…
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Media of the moment
An ongoing series Christmas music. ‘Tis the season! Some newer albums I’ve been enjoying: Happy Golden Days by The Arcadian Wild, Sleigher by Ben Folds, and Family Christmas Album Vol. II by The Oh Hellos. Homestar Runner. I didn’t realize this web series was still around, but browsing the website was a blast from my…
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Vega + aurora borealis = a movie sequel waiting to happen
Thanks to a few large coronal mass ejections from the sun, Chicagoland was treated to a brilliant display of aurora borealis tonight, which I attempted to capture through the trees outside our front door: Don’t think I’ve ever seen it in person before, so that was neat. Also neat? (Stay with me here…) If you…
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Media of the moment
An ongoing series The Naked Gun (2025). Cheers to a movie that knows exactly what it is and how to be that for just the right amount of time. Still giggling about random bits from this days later. Weapons. I’m typically a matinee guy but I stayed up past my bedtime to go see this…
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I found religion in ‘Palm Springs’
Originally published at Cinema Sugar. What do you do when you encounter the impossible? Something that doesn’t compute with your understanding of reality and drastically challenges your worldview? You can ignore or deny it, confident the existing story you tell yourself can render any mystery or inconsistency meaningless to your everyday life. You can resent…
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Media of the moment
An ongoing series Black Bag. Felt great to see an honest-to-god movie in the theater with a delightfully twisty plot and inspired casting that made me feel as warm and fuzzy as the film’s lighting. Wouldn’t be surprised to find this on my best-of-2025 list. The Demon of Unrest by Erik Larson. Turns out there was…