It might seem like putting the cart before the horse, but I would like to share my second favorite robot fight in a film. Why not share my favorite one before the second favorite? To draw out the suspense! But not too long because I will reveal my favorite next week. Continue reading
There are plenty of reasons to dislike 1997’s Batman & Robin. Chief among them is the fact that it tarnished its perfectly decent predecessor, Batman Forever. Everything Batman Forever got right or at least didn’t do too bad a job at, Batman & Robin found a way to completely botch. And it makes Batman Forever look bad when you see what it led to.
The two films are structured almost identically from the opening scene to the final shot. Let’s go through some of the moments in Batman & Robin that cast a pall over Batman Forever. This list is by no means exhaustive, but they are some of the moments that just irk me. Continue reading
Last week we dissected the Two-Face Meets the Riddler scene in Batman Forever, and this week we’re going to revisit that scene and add a little twist. Have you ever noticed that this scene mirrors the one in The Dark Knight in which Two-Face meets the Joker? Take a look at them back to back and you’ll start to see some interesting similarities. Continue reading
Batman Forever doesn’t get enough credit for its subtly ingenious moments. For example, there’s the scene where Two-Face meets the Riddler. It’s cleverly written and staged, so that there’s actually quite a bit of subtext to what’s happening on screen between the characters. Continue reading
Some jokes are meant to be so absurd that they are impossible to take seriously, even though they are dealing with a serious subject. Take, for example, a brilliant scene in 1984’s Top Secret! An American pop singer goes to communist East Germany during the Cold War and participates in a state-sanctioned ceremony. At the end of the ceremony, the government official at the podium and all of the citizens in the crowd sing the East German National Anthem. It starts out just fine, but by the end it’s clear that this is just a farce. Continue reading
A crucible has three main definitions:
1. A ceramic or metal container in which metals or other substances may be melted or subjected to very high temperatures.
2. A place or occasion of severe test or trial.
3. A place or situation in which different elements interact to produce something new.
I submit to you that the Fantastic Four movies figuratively adhere to all three definitions, serving as the crucible of the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU). All of the dross burns away until something new emerges on the other end. Continue reading
I love Groundhog Day because it offers something new every time I watch it. And on my most recent visitation, I noticed something really cool about the snowman-building scene. Continue reading
Everything about The Boss Baby appeared to be designed to repel me. By the time the movie hit the 17-minute mark, I was just about ready to shut it off because I thought I knew exactly where it was going and why I was going to hate it.
But then something strange happened. By the 42-minute mark, the movie had completely turned around and won me over. I was suddenly invested in the characters and enjoying the story. I didn’t know what to expect, but I was excited to find out what would happen. It was a weird experience to go from intensely disliking a film to thoroughly enjoying it within such a short timeframe, and I’d like to take you on that emotional rollercoaster of a journey.
I can see why some people are perplexed by the fact that The Boss Baby was nominated for the Best Animated Feature Academy Award. I admit it isn’t in the same league as How to Train Your Dragon, Kung Fu Panda 2, or other beloved films that have been nominated for that particular Oscar. But even though the film isn’t perfect, it works a kind of magic on me that makes me respect it in a way that movies that are perfect the whole way through do not.
Here’s how The Boss Baby won me over. Continue reading
I am a product of the ‘80s and ‘90s, so I absolutely love much of the children’s entertainment that came from those beloved decades. What I particularly enjoyed from those years was the subtle way that TV stations snuck important life lessons into fun formats. And there is no better example of this than the “Totally Kids Detective Agency” on Fox.
This was my introduction to John Walsh before I saw him on America’s Most Wanted, I believe. He came across as a trustworthy authority figure, and I took his words seriously, even though now I see that he was obviously having a bit of fun while appearing in some of these. Check out nearly two dozen of these cute segments. They’re all nice and simple, and some of them even have a little twist at the end. Continue reading
On December 8, 2017, I accepted a challenge from a few of my friends to grow a mustache. One of my friends said that he would only grow a mustache if I did, and so I thought that he was nervous about doing it and he just needed a little push to go ahead and do what he already wanted to do. Unfortunately, I totally misread the signs. He actually didn’t want to grow a mustache at all, and he was hoping that pinning it on me would guarantee that he would never be forced to grow one because I had never had any notable facial hair before in my life.
Lo and behold, he and I (along with a few other friends) painted ourselves into a corner and started growing our ‘staches for the next month. To mark the occasion, I decided to take pictures of myself at the same time every single day from December 8, 2017 to January 10, 2018.
My mustache turned out really well, if I do say so myself. Here are the before-and-after photos so you can see the transformation for yourself. Continue reading
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