There’s been something of a trend in recent years for movies that have long, really long shots. Some, like Birdman, make the effort to have a faux single take. This effect tends to draw you in, hypnotizing you into the story with the constant movement, no jarring reminders that you’re watching something play out. And […]
Category Archives: A Night At the Movies
Out of Sight and its romantic repartee
Watching Out of Sight, which appeared on HBO Now at the start of September, was a choice made as part of my knee-jerk search to find strange artifacts of film from my middle/high school years that achieved critical recognition despite being unknown to me personally. Wow. That’s a paragraph. Point being, the movie was supposed […]
Hereditary – Two Parts Drama, One Part Demons
Horror tends to be the most polarizing of genres – either you like it, even love it, or you can’t stand it. Those in the latter camp have the potential to be lulled in by Hereditary, which keeps its scary cards slipped up its sleeves throughout most of the film. Like a magician’s flourish, you’ll see […]
The Haunting of Hill House and the Fun of a Good Scare
Yes, I know it’s Thanksgiving and here I am writing about scary stuff. I’ve never been much for timing, so consider this in line with my usual habits. A couple of nights ago, the wife and I watched the first episode of Netflix’s The Haunting of Hill House. It’s one of a newish genre, that of a […]
Castlevania, Season 2 and doing Slow Burn right
In the hyper-active modern era of entertainment, saying something is a ‘slow burn’, meaning it takes time to build to its active thrust, seems like it should be a death sentence. Why do I have to wait for the demon-slaying, the gigantic space battles, or the pivotal scene where the main character tells the love […]
The Incredibles 2 and the wild fun of B Stories
Read or watch most full-length novels and films and you’ll find what’s often called the B story or subplot. Sometimes more than one. If done well, subplots can add all kinds of crazy flavor to a tale, like a great appetizer or wine paired with an entree. Done poorly, they’re boring slogs that cause people […]
The ‘Lego Ninjago’ Movie and Relying on Broad Themes to Save You From Nonsense
Every time I start one of the Lego Movie films, I experience a sense of bewilderment that what I’m about to watch actually exists. Of all the various merchandise brands that could be movie series – I’m waiting for you, Nerf: The Movie – Lego is somehow gracing the big screen nearly once a year. They do it, like […]
Choosing to Disbelieve
Fiction of any sort – be it a poem, a song, a movie or a book – requires its audience to be flexible. To silence the inevitable voices in their minds telling them that dragons do not exist, that magic is, well, just that. Space ships don’t shoot lasers, and one man armed with a single pistol […]
The Phantom Thread and Too Many Genius Jerks
One of the survival mechanisms of a long flight is watching as many movies as possible to the point where the hours you’re spending stuck in a chair, inhaling what amounts to the stale taco breath of a hundred other people, blur into a haze that ends as soon as possible. I tend to use […]
The best part of The Americans is family dynamics
Yes, yes, I know it’s a spy show. I know there’s guns, conspiracy, murder and more. Yet, somehow, I’ve stuck the words “family dynamics” up there in the title of this post where, presumably, it wouldn’t be without some reason. I shall, in the method of blogs, explain. Spy thrillers make a habit of […]