Uncharted (2022) — a movie review (plus some stuff about cruise ships, the cubing prewriting process, and what pairs best with Good & Plenty licorice candy)

I watched the 2022 movie Uncharted, starring Tom Holland and Mark Wahlberg, on board the Carnival cruise ship Vista, during a vacation cruise to ports in Belize, Honduras Bay and Cozumel in February of this year. The ship had an IMAX theater, and this was the only movie showing that I had any interest in. […]

Looking Forward (February 2022 Update): New Year, Same Pathology

This is the quadmonthly happiness report for February 2022. Our company motto is “Read. Play. Watch. Listen.” And, then, of course: “Write About It.” “Read” Since the October 2021 update, the following books were completed: Supernatural: Heart of the Dragon, by Keith R.A. DeCandido (urban fantasy/media tie-in) Big Damn Hero (Firefly #1), by James Lovegrove […]

10-List: Guilty Pleasures: Movies I’m Not Supposed to Like (But Still Do)

Guilty pleasures. We all have them. Maybe it’s Dove chocolates that you hide in the cabinet with the aluminum foil and trash bags, so the kids can’t get into them. Maybe it’s the songs from ABBA and Air Supply on your playlist. Or, it’s the fact that you’re addicted to playing Bubble Witch on your […]

The Last Blockbuster (documentary) — a review

I’ve spoken on this topic before. Ad nauseum. You know what I mean. The secret of happiness is always looking forward to something. In my world, that something is largely entertainment choices—new seasons of television or streaming series, a new video game or book, movies, stuff like that. However, as I’ve explored this topic with […]

What Stan Lee Said (Or: Not a Review of Comic Book Confidential [1988])

Comic Book Confidential is a cool documentary from 1988 about the history of comic books. I recommend it just to see a young Frank Miller with hair. Otherwise, you already know the stuff in this documentary. Superman, EC Comics, Dr. Frederick Wertham, underground comics—nothing really new. But, there are a lot of filmed interviews with […]

The Expendables (2010) — a movie review

Sure, this movie is eleven years old at this point and has had two sequels. Plus, it’s a shameless action movie with a lot of gunfire and explosions, with a plot driven entirely by violence with very little in the way of character development. The body count in this one is off the charts. The […]

Dazed and Confused (1993) — a movie review

I missed this movie when it was at the theaters. I’m not sure why. It was the year I left Rose’s Discount Stores to begin working for another regional retailer, Hills Department Stores, in Lynchburg, Virginia. I may have been busy moving and getting acclimated at my new company. Looking at the 1993 film releases, […]

10-List: Tarantino Films (Ranked)

This list of Quentin Tarantino movies does not include his segment from Four Rooms, “The Man from Hollywood,” although it’s worth watching. Nor does it include whatever part of Sin City he directed. QT also directed an amateur short film that I’ve never seen (and has, reportedly, been partially lost) titled My Best Friend’s Birthday. […]

The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen — a movie review

The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen was released in 2003, but I didn’t watch it until sometime after it came out on DVD. I was an avid fan of Blockbuster and Hollywood Video in those days—a card-carrying member. Broadband and streaming videos were being talked about, even then, but that felt like talking about flying cars […]

Enola Holmes (Netflix) — a movie review

In motion pictures, there are two storytelling devices that I’m not wild about. The first of these is the use of voiceover narration. It underscores the point-of-view character in a scene and gives you the same sort of feeling you get when reading a novel or short story told in the first person. Outside of […]

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Read. Play. Watch. Listen .

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