As a father, I’m in uncharted territory. For more than a decade I’ve been raising a bunch of young children, but that is changing. I officially have a teenager now. My eldest son is a good soul, which bodes well for the coming years of guiding him, and his younger siblings, on the rocky path to adulthood.
I’d like to share a couple of experiences I recently had with my eldest son that give me hope for him in the future. Continue reading
The end of this month marks 10 years since I purchased my home. And I spent most of that time keeping my expenses to a minimum in order to pay it off last August. And since August, I’ve continued to keep my expenses down because I needed to replenish my emergency cash reserve. I’ve done a pretty good job, but there is always a tradeoff. In this case, my frugality has been at the expense of fixing things up at my home.
I made do with an old dishwasher for years until it started leaking a year ago and forced me to fix my now-warped kitchen floor and get a much better dishwasher. I have owned a good minivan for 11 years, and I now need to replace its tires and fix its anti-lock braking system. I had an unused swamp cooler in my roof that started allowing water to leak into the attic and through the ceiling last month. So I had to remove it, reroof, and repair the damaged part of the ceiling. And there are many other instances of things breaking and causing damage before I knew to respond to them.
In other words, I have been living my life like Lightning McQueen. Continue reading
My parents introduced me to many obscure films when I was growing up. 1981’s Harry’s War, 1984’s Tank, 1989’s Dream Team, and 1991’s Necessary Roughness, to name just a few. They weren’t necessarily of classic caliber, hence their obscurity. But there was plenty to like about them. And there is one film in particular that they showed me, which kind of reminded me of The Karate Kid in some ways, but it went in a different direction.
This is unlike any Forgotten Film Gems article I’ve ever done before because this one is so thoroughly forgotten that even I can’t remember what it’s called. Instead of reviewing it, I’m going to ask for your help in finding it. I believe it was made in the 1970s, and there are no famous actors I can recall starring in it. Here is what I remember. See if any of it rings a bell. Continue reading
This is a love letter to my wife. When we got married 14 years ago, I had never read Pride and Prejudice. But it’s my wife’s favorite book, so she encouraged me to read it. Of course, I had to comply with her wish. I imagine she was equal parts gratified and mortified by that decision. Because I ran to her every time a shocking revelation came to light, even though they were all old hat to her.
“Can you believe who Mr. Collins got engaged to?” I asked her in utter disbelief. “Did Mr. Darcy really just admit that? He’s such a jerk!” I forcefully declared. “How could Lydia do that?” I moaned to her in despair. And much more. And my wife just patiently patted my shoulder and, like Mr. Bennett, simply said, “Read on.”
And now I get to echo her words by telling you, my amazing readers, if you want to see how the 1995 BBC miniseries of Pride and Prejudice works as a chiasmus, read on! Continue reading
Once again we return to Pride and Prejudice (1995), the famous BBC miniseries that just so happens to be a perfect chiasmus. In the first part, we explored how Episodes 1 and 6 match up. In the second part, we did the same to Episodes 2 and 5. And now it’s time to set our sights on Episodes 3 and 4.
Quite possibly the most crucial part of the chiasmus, the middle point is where things come into focus and we see what is at the heart of the story. The chiasmus builds to its climax in the exact center where it repeats itself for the first time. And Pride and Prejudice does not disappoint. It has one of the best turning points I’ve ever seen in a Cinematic Chiasmus.
I’m so excited to finally lay this all out for you to see. Let’s not waste any time.
The chiasmus in Episodes 3 and 4 of Pride and Prejudice can be summed up thusly: Continue reading
Let’s continue this in-depth analysis of the 1995 BBC Pride and Prejudice miniseries to discover more of how its chiasmus works. It’s truly breathtaking. If you thought the first part of this chiasmus was interesting, just wait until you see how it continues into Episodes 2 and 5.
Here is a brief overview of the chiasmus in these two episodes of Pride and Prejudice. Continue reading
Pride and Prejudice (1995) is not only quite possibly the best BBC miniseries of all time, but it is also the most complex Cinematic Chiasmus I have ever found. For this reason, I have chosen to separate this article into three parts. The miniseries itself is separated into six episodes. That made the chiasmus nice and neat because each episode mirrors the one on the opposite side from it. So Episode 1 and Episode 6 mirror each other, as do Episode 2 and Episode 5, and Episode 3 and Episode 4. The turning point of the entire chiasmus takes place at the end of Episode 3 and the start of Episode 4.
In this first part, I will cover the chiasmus contained in Episode 1 and Episode 6. Thus, we will get to see how the beginning and end of the story symmetrically connect.
Remember that this is only the first third of the chiasmus. Here is what it looks like in its briefest form: Continue reading
We’re starting 2023 with a bang. I’ve taken on the unprecedented task of uncovering the incredible chiasmus found in Pride and Prejudice (1995). That’s right, the BBC miniseries. Not a two-hour movie or even a trilogy of movies. I’m talking about a 5-and-a-half-hour miniseries broken up into six episodes. This rivals, if not exceeds, the complexity of my Dark Knight Trilogy Cinematic Chiasmus.
For such an unprecedented task, I’m taking the unprecedented step of publishing this chiasmus over the course of an entire month. Every Tuesday in January will be dedicated to this Pride and Prejudice Cinematic Chiasmus. Here’s how the schedule will go: Continue reading
I recently watched the 1994 remake of Miracle on 34th Street for the first time. I’d seen the 1947 original before, so I was fully expecting a recreation of the famous court scene. However, I was pleasantly surprised to find something totally different. There was no direct proof that Kris Kringle is actually Santa Claus based on physical evidence from the post office. Instead, there was a beautiful illustration of the fact that we, as a country, already believe in a Being we can’t prove the existence of.
You can watch the scene here. It’s less than two minutes in length, and it’s well worth your time on this fine Christmas Day. Continue reading
It’s no secret that I hated Avatar. I saw it on Christmas Day in 2009, and I was sorely disappointed. James Cameron has written and directed some of my favorite films of all time, including The Abyss, Aliens, and Terminator 2: Judgment Day. So it was truly frustrating to watch a genius filmmaker recycle old ideas from his previous films in the most simplistic way possible in Avatar.
That movie made piles of money because everyone else in the world was distracted enough by the beautiful visuals to look past its bland story and characters. So here we are 13 years later with a sequel entitled Avatar: The Way of Water. I watched it on Thursday, December 15, 2022 with some friends of mine who were holding me to a promise I made many years ago.
As I’ve mentioned before, I’m committed to watching every Avatar sequel. Going into the theater, I was expecting to be in immense pain as I would be once again disappointed. However, my worry soon evaporated when I found myself enjoying this film. I’m not saying it’s the greatest movie ever made or anything like that. But it’s not dull, and it’s much better than the first one. I actually found quite a lot I enjoyed about it. And I’d like to talk about the things that won me over. Continue reading
