Tag Archives: movie review

The Big Lebowski Has Symmetry to Spare

With apologies to my wonderful reader Jay, I have to admit this has been the hardest of the four movies he sent me to write about. Perhaps it’s because Goodfellas was crammed with so much violence, foul language, and drug … Continue reading

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Goodfellas Is a Chiasmus, as Far Back as I Can Remember

As far back as I can remember, there have always been symmetrical movies. All the way back to the Buster Keaton classic The General, where the film is structured (appropriately enough) like a railroad track. Well, today we’re going to … Continue reading

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Die Hard Isn’t Just a Christmas Movie, It’s a Chiasmus Movie

The story structure of Die Hard forms a really cool chiasmus, meaning that its first and second halves mirror each other. This is the second film I was sent by a reader named Jay. He mapped it all out for … Continue reading

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The Truth Shall Set You Free

I recently received an email saying that I had been caught on a Web camera doing horribly lewd things. The sender wanted me to pay a lot of money to keep it quiet. It sounded like I was in quite … Continue reading

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Always Listen to Your Parents

My mom and dad love great Steve Martin comedies. That means I grew up enjoying movies like Three Amigos, Roxanne, and Father of the Bride. So, as a child, when I saw Steve Martin’s first movie The Jerk on TBS one time, I thought I … Continue reading

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A Fun Detail I Never Noticed Before in Groundhog Day

Groundhog Day is one of my favorite movies, and (like Bronco) I’ve seen it over a hundred times. Okay, maybe just a dozen or two. However, there is a wonderful detail I never noticed until recently. I’m probably the last … Continue reading

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The Hurricane Is a Natural Follow-up to The Shawshank Redemption

I remember hearing about The Hurricane when it came out in 1999, but I wasn’t able to go see it. And then I just kind of forgot about it. Until recently when it popped into my head, and I haven’t … Continue reading

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Movie Matchups: Mrs. Doubtfire vs. Liar Liar

Remember that amazing mid-‘90s comedy about a divorced man trying to be a good dad that stars a legendary comedian at the height of his career? That’s right, I’m talking about Liar Liar pants on Mrs. Doubtfire. That is, I’m … Continue reading

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I Figured Out What Dune (1984) Is Missing

Frank Herbert’s Dune is one of my favorite books. And David Lynch’s Dune (1984) is a guilty pleasure of mine. For a long time, I’ve been fascinated by its failure. What is it about that interpretation of Dune that doesn’t … Continue reading

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The Brilliance of Clue’s 3 Endings

Clue is a remarkable movie. It managed to accomplish the seemingly impossible task of turning a simple board game into a richly dark comedy. The brilliance of the filmmakers is that they realized this isn’t an Agatha Christie whodunnit where … Continue reading

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