Category: Movies
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Random Thoughts on “The Godfather, Part 2”
Yes, we’re back to this. Again and again, I keep examining these movies. What can I say that hasn’t already been said? Well, I’ll try to surprise you. Mostly because these are almost entirely nitpicks and complaints. Anyway… 1. Cazale Got Stepped Ova! No disrespect to DiNiro for winning Supporting Actor, but with hindsight it…
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Darth Vader’s Phone Chair
Last week was a serious low-point for the United States, humanity and the world. We’ve had some terrible mass shootings (not that mass shootings are ever NOT terrible, but these seemed particularly bad; partly because of the victims involved, partly because they came in such close succession, and partly because the politicians have behaved even…
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Gripes About Film Intros (yes again)
While I might be getting dangerously close to hyperbole AND snobbery, I think film intros is a dying art. Or maybe just an underserved, under-considered art. To be fair, I’m pointing mostly to things like MCU movies. In the MCU, we get a lot of characters kinda just showing up with flat character intros. There…
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Controversial X-Men Opinions
I’m back in it. Again and again. After completing a casual semi-circuit through the films and doing some reading of actual comic books (!!), and then to have my own son start the Younger Series (aka “The Fassbender-McAvoy Series”) all on his own (which is something, considering he’s 12 and generally if I like something,…
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Superhero Film Rank-narok Disparity (race and gender stuff)
While I was compiling this list, I managed to pull in all the critical grades from Metacritic, and compared those to my own rankings. I wanted to see where I agreed and disagreed with the film critic world. This was a bit of an ego trip, and I realized that I should have also pulled…
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The Great Superhero/Fantasy Movie Ranking Full List (aka Rank-narok)
I’ve got them all here so you don’t have to read all about them… but if you want to read, please do! From the bottom to the top… 95: “The Crimes of Grindelwald” 94: “Batman & Robin” 93: “Green Lantern” 92: “Attack of the Clones” 91: “Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull”…
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I Watched “Aquaman” For Some Reason!
Availability is everything. My grandfather lived his entire life in rural Illinois. However, in his later years (around the 2000’s), he once mentioned how his favorite basketball team was the Los Angeles Lakers. This seemed sacrilegious to me. He liked watching sports, sure, but I thought he favored local teams. The Bears, the Cardinals (it…
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Under the Silver Lake: WILD Theories
YES, I’m still thinking about this movie. And YES you can read more about it in prior posts here and here. And YES YES, I’m done with this intro. “Under the Silver Lake” is filled with lots of crazy conspiracy theories, puzzles and mysteries. Consequently, it has inspired viewers to look for patterns and clues…
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Under the Silver Lake: How to Watch It Wrong
Yes, more on this movie. And, yeah, it gets a little grumpy. Sorry. One of the ways modern movie viewing works is through an odd process. With slight variation, it goes like this: See the trailer for the movie Watch the movie Post on social media about the movie Look up other people’s social media…
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The Best On-Screen Writing Scene? Check out “Wu-Tang: An American Saga”
One of the hobbies of any writer is trying to figure out “how you do it.” There are tons of conventions, TedTalks, tutorials, classes and books whose subtext or selling point is that they will show you just how to actually do the writing. This is, of course, a fallacy since the way to write…
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Why the Star Wars Sequels Never Stood a Chance
I’m supposed to be writing a book. I finished one. All but finished. I’m working on another, going through the second or third draft, and I’m hitting a wall. What’s the point? Around my house, the hills are on fire due to local idiots. The Coronavirus is claiming lives all over the world (partially due…
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This Just In: Son Smarter Than Dad
Well, maybe more perceptive. But smarter, too. Long story: my son isn’t really into Batman that much. I’ve often wondered if this is more a rebellion type thing, or if it’s an evolution type thing. I’m not saying all of our current societal problems are hinged around white men obsessing over the details of a…
Phillip Mottaz 