At the end of 2022, I wrote an article called “Final Destination Is Unique Among Movie Series.” I felt safe in making this pronouncement because it had been 11 years since the debut of the last film in the series, Final Destination 5. The series appeared to be well and truly dead.
Boy was I wrong. Continue reading
Life doesn’t always go the way we expect. My mom used to joke, “If you ever want to hear God laugh, tell Him your plans.” That’s not to say that God is cruel, but I suppose it’s like hearing a child tell his parent that he wants to raise unicorns and fawns in Narnia when he grows up. We who know better can’t help but laugh at such a wrongheaded idea.
I’ve always known I wanted to be a writer. And I have felt divine guidance in that quest, so I don’t think that plan was off-base. In addition, I have strived to better myself by forgiving as I would like to be forgiven, being a friend to everyone, loving my wife and children to the best of my ability, and humbling myself rather than being forced to be humble. As I did these things, I readied myself for the hard times that inevitably come. Continue reading
Bluey is a great TV show. The music is excellent to listen to, often referencing classical compositions. The visuals are compelling and rich. And the stories are frequently moving. Its primary audience is children, yet it also speaks to adults in surprising ways. I’ve enjoyed watching it for the past few years, and I’ve loved all the lessons it shares, such as:
There’s a difference between meekness and weakness. “Circus” and “Granny Mobile” demonstrate this dichotomy.The thing is that there’s a throughline in all of these lessons. Can you tell what it is? That’s what I want to talk about in this article. Continue reading
A wise king once said, “Are we not all beggars?” That begs the question: who are we begging from and what have we borrowed? I’ll answer that a little later. First, I’ve been hearing on the news about people worried about how to repay their student loans in addition to all the other debts they have. Credit cards, buy now pay later, car loans, and even mortgages are weighing heavily on people’s minds.
A vanishingly small number of people can claim to be debt-free. And even they are still indebted to someone. Borrowers are becoming hopeless, but I want to make it clear that there is a way out of this awful situation. Continue reading
For someone like me, throwing a party is hard. I’m not eager to make a public spectacle of myself, but I do love making personal connections with good people. My shyness is partly why it took me nearly three years after I paid off my mortgage to actually throw a mortgage-burning party in celebration of being debt-free.
I’m happy to report that my mortgage-burning party went perfectly. About 70 of my friends came and enjoyed great food and conversation, and they got a signed copy of my joke book. I gave a little speech in which I read the poem I wrote called “Ode to the Bank” and then I burned the mortgage itself.
Here are three things I learned from throwing this party. Continue reading
Unlike Ben Richards, I definitely do requests. And when my amazing reader Jordan asks me to analyze a film to see if it’s a chiasmus, I always say yes! He has a perfect track record, helping me discover the chiasmus in Tron, Escape from New York, Dreamscape, Akira, Conan the Barbarian, Scream, Goldfinger, Revenge of the Sith, and X2: X-Men United.
Now he gets to add The Running Man, the classic 1987 Arnold Schwarzenegger action movie, to his trophy case. That’s right, a movie about a dystopian future where mankind is ruled by a totalitarian regime and lulled to sleep by bread and circuses is told in a way that is perfectly symmetrical.
Let’s find out how The Running Man manages to create a chiasmus. Continue reading
I mentioned weeks ago that Jordan asked me to see if X2: X-Men United is a chiasmus, and I agreed. Unfortunately, I got very sick shortly after that, so it took me quite a while to make good on that promise. But I’ve mostly recovered my health, and I have finally figured out that yes, indeed, X2 is an extraordinarily symmetrical film.
Jordan is the same incredibly gifted reader who has an unblemished record of recommending films that turn out to be chiasma. He’s already recommended Tron, Escape from New York, Dreamscape, Akira, Conan the Barbarian, Scream, Goldfinger, and Revenge of the Sith. And all of them turned into amazing articles.
Let’s cut to the chase and see how X2’s chiasmus looks! Continue reading
I love The Sound of Music. It’s one of my favorite films. And I recently discovered something special about it I would like to share with you. Each song in The Sound of Music seems to represent a unique aspect of love. Now that I’ve seen it, I can’t help but apply it to every song in this film.
Let’s go through each song in The Sound of Music and see how love shines through in all of them. By the end, we could easily call it “The Feeling of Love” just as much as The Sound of Music. Continue reading
I like old TV shows more than new ones. In general, I’m not a big TV watcher. But when I got sick last month and wanted to get my mind off the pain I was experiencing, I figured a medical drama could be just what the doctor ordered. So I gave an old show I had never watched before a chance. It’s called Doogie Howser, M.D.
This TV show is about a child prodigy who becomes a medical doctor at age 14 and begins saving lives at a hospital. We get introduced to him on his 16th birthday.
I knew of that TV show when I was growing up, but I never got to see a single episode of it. I’ve now seen four episodes, and I’d like to share my thoughts on what I saw. Continue reading
A few weeks ago, I got a fantastic tip from Jordan to analyze X2: X-Men United and see if it’s an example of Cinematic Chiasmus. I was excited to take a look at it. However, many things got in the way, and I’ve had to put off that pleasure for an inordinate amount of time.
On Friday, March 21, 2025, I started to get sick. It’s the kind of illness that made me unable to eat anything and made breathing difficult. I was basically bedridden and unable to function for 12 days. My inability to eat more than a few bites of food a day led to me losing 16 pounds in those 12 days. And I’m already a lean guy, so it’s a shock when I lose that much weight.
I was prevented from doing the writing I wanted to get done, which is why I’m writing this quick article with what strength I have. Thankfully, I went to the doctor on April 1 and found out why I wasn’t getting any better. He put me on powerful antibiotics, and I’ve been faithfully taking them and feeling better as a result.
I can finally eat again, and breathing is much less of a strain. I now appreciate every bite and breath I take, and I also enjoy being able to walk without pain. It’s the little things in life that seem to bring the most joy.
When we’re sick, we long to be healthy again. And when we’re healthy, we tend to take what we have for granted. I don’t want to do that. I want to finish my analysis of X2 for Jordan and live my life to the fullest.
I’m so grateful to be able to get back to work doing what I love. I hope we will all enjoy good health and strength in the coming days.
This is the Deja Reviewer bidding you farewell until we meet again.
Want to Support the Deja Reviewer? If you’d like to support the Deja Reviewer, please consider donating a few dollars to keep this site going strong. I’ll even send you an original joke if you do! Try it, and prepare to enjoy a good chuckle. $5.00
