Like Its Predecessor, Tron: Legacy Is a Symmetrical Film

Posted on October 7, 2025 by Robert Lockard, the Deja Reviewer

What an interesting situation this is. You see, Tron was the first complete Cinematic Chiasmus I found as a result of a reader making that suggestion to me. That was Jordan, the same one responsible for Escape from New York, Dreamscape, Akira, Conan the Barbarian, Scream, Four Weddings and a Funeral, Goldfinger, Revenge of the Sith, X2: X-Men United, The Running Man, and Forbidden Planet.

However, this time the credit goes not to Jordan but to another amazing reader of mine. Jo recently asked me to see if the 2010 sequel Tron: Legacy is also a chiasmus. And it turns out that it is! Jo previously showed me that How to Train Your Dragon 2 is a chiasmus, and she helped me find the chiasmus in How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World, The Lion King, and The Hunt for Red October, too.

So I’d like to give a huge round of applause to Jo for suggesting Tron: Legacy to me. Its chiasmus was a delight to discover, and now I’d like to present it to you. Continue reading →

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The Passing of a Prophet of God

Posted on September 30, 2025 by Robert Lockard, the Deja Reviewer

Death is always a sad thing, even if we can take solace in the fact that it is not the end of one’s existence. When the person who dies is righteous, then we can find joy in the eternal rewards they are reaping. In that spirit, I would like to take a moment to acknowledge the passing of a great man named Russell M. Nelson. He had just turned 101 years old, making him the oldest President of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in history. Continue reading →

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Phil Connors and Becoming the Perfect Job Candidate

Posted on September 23, 2025 by Robert Lockard, the Deja Reviewer

“I am really close on this. Really close.” That’s how Phil Connors describes his prospects of becoming the ideal guy for Rita Hanson. How many of us (as job seekers) have said those words when reading job descriptions? That’s right, I’m going to compare Groundhog Day to job seeking and see if there are some interesting parallels.

No, I’m not saying that every day seems like exactly the same thing when you’re hunting for a job. Rather, I want to talk about how trying to get a job is a lot like finding a mate. Continue reading →

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An Historical Parallel That Brings Hope to This Sad Time

Posted on September 16, 2025 by Robert Lockard, the Deja Reviewer

I live in Orem, Utah, just a couple of miles from Utah Valley University where a good man named Charlie Kirk was assassinated last week. I’ve seen an amazing amount of love and positivity from the people around me in response to that devastating attack, and it inspired me to write about it. I would like to share a story from the past and find some parallels to this time of tragedy and hope. Continue reading →

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10 Great Songs That You Probably Don’t Remember the Movies They Came from

Posted on September 9, 2025 by Robert Lockard, the Deja Reviewer

I love movie soundtracks. Sometimes they bring specific scenes to my mind, and other times they exist all by themselves as distinct entities of pure music. I’d like to share 10 examples of music that are so detached from the films they sprang from that they’re really hard to place. Continue reading →

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Rudy and the Current Job Market

Posted on September 2, 2025 by Robert Lockard, the Deja Reviewer

Rudy is a film about many things. Courage, determination, faith, and underdogs all come to mind. How about job seeking? Okay, this movie isn’t exactly about that, but I think we can liken it to the current challenges of the job market. In the process, we might even discover that there’s hope. Continue reading →

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God Help the Outcasts

Posted on August 24, 2025 by Robert Lockard, the Deja Reviewer

I hadn’t seen Disney’s 1996 adaptation of The Hunchback of Notre Dame in many years, but I’m glad I revisited it recently. It has a song that really spoke to me on this viewing. It’s called “God Help the Outcasts.” Continue reading →

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Dark City and the Answers to Mysteries of the Human Mind

Posted on August 19, 2025 by Robert Lockard, the Deja Reviewer

I read an article a few weeks ago that I’m having trouble finding again. It was entitled “Consciousness Remains Science’s Greatest Mystery: 25 Things About Your Mind Scientists Can’t Explain.” The link to that article no longer works, so I apologize I can’t show you what I read in it. But I’ll press forward nonetheless.

The gist of it was that there are things about the human mind that continue to baffle scientists. They don’t understand how consciousness arose from inanimate matter, why we sleep, why the placebo effect exists, whether or not free will is real, and other such issues.

I’m surprised that people who study the mind for a living and are acknowledged as experts would so readily admit that they don’t understand important topics. At least they have the humility to do that. And out of that humility we could possibly be open to a fresh perspective. When we fail to find answers for a really long time, we might want to examine the preconceptions that are preventing us from discovering the truth. Continue reading →

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Third Man on the Mountain Explains What It Means to Be a Man

Posted on August 12, 2025 by Robert Lockard, the Deja Reviewer

What does it mean to be a man? There’s probably no end to the number of definitions we could come up with. Rather than give you my answer, I’d like to look to the past for time-tested wisdom.

A forgotten 1959 film entitled Third Man on the Mountain answers that question in an astonishingly adroit way. That film is about an 18-year-old who is referred to as a boy for most of the film. It’s only when he begins to make certain choices that he is finally referred to as a man: the titular third man on the mountain.

Let’s go through this wonderful film and see how it answers the question of what it means to be a man rather than a boy. Continue reading →

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What About Bob? Is an Incredibly Positive Movie

Posted on August 5, 2025 by Robert Lockard, the Deja Reviewer

I participated in an interesting thought experiment a while ago. I was asked to watch What About Bob? and count all of the times when someone acts or speaks negatively in it. I’m a pretty attentive guy, so this piqued my interest. Determined not to let any instance of negativity slip past my gaze, I started watching the movie.

I added to my count every time Bob Wiley cried out in mental anguish and whenever Dr. Leo Marvin lost his temper. I came up with a huge number. The person who gave me that challenge was impressed. She said that I had found more instances of negativity than anyone she had ever given that challenge to. Continue reading →

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