My short story, “Winter’s Cinema,” has been published by The Rusty Nail! It’s also the first time my character The Winter Saint has been published, so it’s a big deal for him too. He gets to show his sensitive side a little bit in the only way he knows how. So, click the title and enjoy, and I’ll post a little bit of the Winter Saint in the coming weeks.
“Let the bullets fly a while.”
What can be said about Let the Bullets Fly? It’s a wickedly funny action movie with great dialogue–even if it goes by so fast that it’s easy to miss the subtitles. The back and forth between the three main players is enough to keep the movie fast-paced even without the action, but when the action does come, it’s great. It also has a really interesting narrative–a bunch of thieves trying to save a small town from a mob ruler. Both sides lying about who they really are. There’s a few parts that weren’t that needed–or just made the movie slow down when it really didn’t have to, but overall, it’s a really fun movie.
There’s one aspect of teaching that sucks—endless grading. It’s the soul-crushing monotonous beast that always takes much longer than you anticipate and gets you down, man. It’s because of this that sometimes it feels—or, at least, I feel—that nothing I do as a teacher really matters. Especially when these essays and papers are riddled with errors, or when the students seem to refuse to follow directions. For example, I gave a half-hour lesson and lecture on MLA style. And I tell my students this:
Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Movies∞.
“I knocked out Adolf Hitler over 200 times.”
I love Captain America. And though many find this an enjoyable film, they would be hard-pressed to rank it as high as Thor or Iron Man (1). A lot of reviewers had problems with the fact that Steve Rogers is a genuinely good person and had no vices, as Thor, Iron Man, and Hulk presented in their films. But that’s Steve. He has flaws, but he is good and strives to do good for the world. He’s also one of Marvel’s more…corny characters. He wears a flag, hard to get much cornier than that. But Marvel embraced this and even made it part of the film’s tone. This is a fun, Indiana Jones-esque WWII adventure film that celebrates it’s own warmheartedness. Hugo Weaving’s over-the-top Red Skull, Toby Jone’s exaggerated Igor-like sidekick, Dominic Cooper’s womanizing Howard Stark, Stanley Tucci’s goofy Einsein-ish scientist, Haley Atwell’s good-girl-with-a-hard-edge, Sebastian Stan’s rebellious-but-not-too-rebellious-right-hand-man, and Tommy Lee Jones’s American General each compliment Chris Evan’s Captain America. It’s also going to make it much more interesting when darkness comes to Cap’s world in next year’s Captain America: Winter Soldier.
Movies∞. The Endless Frontier
“I like this ship! You know, it’s exciting!”
Yes, Abrams has been in the news a lot since he is going to be directing Episode VII of Star Wars, but hopefully he’ll never be forgotten for his work on Star Trek. Sure, Into the Darkness might not even be out yet, but it’s one of the summer movies I am most looking forward to. But that’s down the line. Let’s focus on his first installment–which was simply a wonderful movie. Paced well, great action, good story…but what shines the most in this film (besides the lens flares that Abrams loves so much) is the cast–a very well-chosen cast even if Winona Ryder feels out-of-place. I’m talking about the Enterprise crew. Kirk, Spock, Scottie, Bones, Uhaura, Sulu, and Chekov. Getting this group together was critical, and they all have wonderful chemistry together. That’s what I’m looking forward to most in the sequel, is more interaction between the crew of the Enterprise. Especially Kirk with Bones and/or Spock. When it feels like the cast gets along beyond the filming (and they may or may not), it’s just better to watch. And Star Trek is one I can watch again and again.
And here’s another one. Movies∞.
“Experiences like this, however painful, are necessary and inevitable; without them, how can we know life?”
This was a…well, it was a Cronenberg movie. That’s really the best way to explain it. It’s going to be brutally honest and have sex scenes, because that’s what Cronenberg does. The script could have been better–it was a little dry. But besides that, we’ve got a triumvirate of great performances by Fassbender, Mortensen, and Knightley. Knightley especially goes places that most actresses would be afraid to go to. Overall, it’s a difficult film to watch, about mental illness, but a very well made movie. Who wold have thought Frued and Jung were so interesting?
Keeping them coming. Movies∞. Enjoy!
“Let’s kill something.”
Horror movies rarely intrigue me–luckily, this is not a horror film, it’s a comedy. It’s actually more of an action comedy than a horror film, and that’s a good thing. One thing is very clear in this: Colin Farrell had one hell of a time filming it. Sometimes you can just see when an actor is enjoying the role, and that’s what we get here ad he terrorizes a small Vegas suburb as Jerry the Vampire. In fact, aside from David Tennant, most everyone else is a little forgettable. This only works to the benefit of the movie, though–we want to remember Jerry and his craziness, not the girlfriend who gets in the way (and what an unfortunate name for an actress). There’s also no need for deep analysis, which every so often is great. You just go in, have a good time, and leave smiling. Thank god for these kind of movies.
