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A few weeks ago, I had no reason to think about Spider-Man. The priority was a trip with my beloved family to Central Europe. Time was well spent experiencing the faded glory of Vienna, discovering al…
A few weeks ago, I h…
A few weeks ago, I had no reason to think about Spider-Man. The priority was a trip with my beloved family to Central Europe. Time was well spent experiencing the faded glory of Vienna, discovering all that Munich had to offer, exploring the cobblestoned streets of Prague, and seeing what kind of trouble we could get into in Krakow, Poland’s intellectual and artistic capital. But before all that was the Spider-Man of it all. That’s because I discovered that the day before our flight left, the critic’s screening of Spider-Man: Brand New Day, the latest installment in the Marvel Cinem…
Tim Brennan
August 17, 2026
If you are a person who a) watches movies and b) is alive, you have seen a time-loop movie. It feels like they’ve been around forever, and while Groundhog Day didn’t create the time-loop movie gen…
If you are a person …
If you are a person who a) watches movies and b) is alive, you have seen a time-loop movie. It feels like they’ve been around forever, and while Groundhog Day didn’t create the time-loop movie genre, it did elegantly set up the tropes as we understand them. We meet a protagonist who either has a personal flaw they need to resolve, or they must find a way to escape a dramatic situation. We learn in the second or third loop what moments are important, when they occur, and why they matter. We see the protagonist try different scenarios to escape and fail repeatedly. We see them overcome …
Tim Brennan
July 27, 2026
As best we can figure, Homer wrote “The Odyssey” somewhere between 725 and 675 B.C.. If you wanted to experience it, you couldn’t buy a print version, considering that the Gutenberg printing pre…
As best we can figur…
As best we can figure, Homer wrote “The Odyssey” somewhere between 725 and 675 B.C.. If you wanted to experience it, you couldn’t buy a print version, considering that the Gutenberg printing press didn’t exist until 1455 A.D.. Instead, you’d find yourself a bard, who would have memorized the gist of the tale, while putting their own spin on it. For the majority of the human experience, that’s how we told one another stories. If you were a king or other nobility, the bards would perform for you at your palace. If you were part of the unwashed masses, traveling bards would trave…
Tim Brennan
July 20, 2026
As a registered Movie Guy, you know I have no problem with movie stars. Part of it is the comforting familiarity of it all, where you know you’re going to get Harrison Ford pointing and being salty,…
As a registered Movi…
As a registered Movie Guy, you know I have no problem with movie stars. Part of it is the comforting familiarity of it all, where you know you’re going to get Harrison Ford pointing and being salty, Ryan Gosling screaming, or Tom Cruise - President Hollywood himself - running. Part of the fun is when stars invert their well-crafted image, such as Dwayne Johnson playing a broken addict in The Smashing Machine or Julia Roberts as an ethically-compromised professor in After The Hunt. Movie stars rule, but if I’m being honest with you, my heart goes with character actors any day of the we…
Tim Brennan
July 13, 2026
Every year when movies are released, the knives come out. Audiences, critics, or both cast their gimlet eyes across the cinematic landscape and when a victim has been selected, they proceed to tear it…
Every year when movi…
Every year when movies are released, the knives come out. Audiences, critics, or both cast their gimlet eyes across the cinematic landscape and when a victim has been selected, they proceed to tear it to shreds. As long as I’ve been into film, I’ve noticed this, and every single year people get up in their feelings about a movie. This year’s victim is Supergirl. As I write this, it’s bombing. It was made with a budget somewhere between $170-$186 million, and thus far it’s earned $68 million. To break even, it will have to pass $300 million, which looks vanishingly unlikely. On Rot…
Tim Brennan
July 6, 2026
Not long ago, an article caught my eye about the not very good Jurassic World: Dominion. It dug into the film’s budget, a stroke-inducing $531 million. Presumably, it was insanely expensive due to t…
Not long ago, an art…
Not long ago, an article caught my eye about the not very good Jurassic World: Dominion. It dug into the film’s budget, a stroke-inducing $531 million. Presumably, it was insanely expensive due to the visual effects, usage of sets, salaries of stars, and lengthy production time.* That film is allegedly the second most expensive movie ever made, with Star Wars: The Force Awakens being the most expensive with a budget of $536 million.** Because I enjoy annoying myself, I looked up the most expensive films in history, and Wikipedia helpfully listed them here. Do me a favor, please, and check…
Tim Brennan
June 29, 2026
I can remember an office my wife worked at long ago. Prominently placed was a sign that read, “If less than three people laugh, it’s not funny.” Some of the folks employed there were very kind…
I can remember an …
I can remember an office my wife worked at long ago. Prominently placed was a sign that read, “If less than three people laugh, it’s not funny.” Some of the folks employed there were very kind, some were there simply to punch a clock, and one was unintentionally hilarious.* With the exception of the head of the company, who possessed both a love of horror movies and a deadly wit, most of the people who worked there were not funny. Clearly, they didn’t heed the sign. The people in that office forgot the old saying, that while dying is easy, comedy is hard. It requires timing, int…
Tim Brennan
June 22, 2026
I learned about the Fermi Paradox not long ago. It’s a scientific concept that explains, considering the billions of planets in the universe, why we haven’t come into contact with aliens yet. Part…
I learned about the …
I learned about the Fermi Paradox not long ago. It’s a scientific concept that explains, considering the billions of planets in the universe, why we haven’t come into contact with aliens yet. Part of the problem is that it might be rare for a planet to have just the right conditions to support life. Another problem is that most civilizations simply can’t evolve beyond their self-destruction. Yet another problem is that, considering the vast distances between habitable worlds, the only way to travel or communicate effectively would be faster-than-light speed, which is very hard if not imp…
Tim Brennan
June 15, 2026
Back in the day, legal thrillers were commonplace in movie theaters. It’s easy to understand why, considering they could be made for a reasonable budget, they dug deep into issues of justice and mor…
Back in the day, leg…
Back in the day, legal thrillers were commonplace in movie theaters. It’s easy to understand why, considering they could be made for a reasonable budget, they dug deep into issues of justice and morality, and they gave actors a chance to play flashy roles and spout chewy monologues. Some of the most beloved are: Primal Fear Michael Clayton A Few Good Men The Firm A Time To Kill My Cousin Vinny* The Hurricane Amistad Philadelphia The Verdict That was then. Now, we rarely see legal thrillers, and I think there are a few reasons for that. The true crime genre …
Tim Brennan
June 8, 2026
As far as I know, the proverb “For Want of a Nail” was originally written in the 1600s by the poet George Herbert. Benjamin Franklin, in the 1758 edition of “Poor Richard’s Almanack,” wrote …
As far as I know, th…
As far as I know, the proverb “For Want of a Nail” was originally written in the 1600s by the poet George Herbert. Benjamin Franklin, in the 1758 edition of “Poor Richard’s Almanack,” wrote a longer version: For want of a nail the shoe was lost; for want of a shoe the horse was lost; and for want of a horse the rider was lost, being overtaken and slain by the enemy, all for want of care about a horse-shoe nail. Back then, as now, that proverb reminds us that it’s the little things that can screw up everything. The things we take for granted can whipsaw back - hard…
Tim Brennan
June 1, 2026
I’ve come to a point where I largely don’t care about Star Wars. I should, since it looms large for me as a movie geek. Star Wars was the first movie I ever saw.* I thrilled to The Empire Strikes …
I’ve come to a poi…
I’ve come to a point where I largely don’t care about Star Wars. I should, since it looms large for me as a movie geek. Star Wars was the first movie I ever saw.* I thrilled to The Empire Strikes Back. I thought Return of the Jedi was…pretty good. For a while, that was it, and the Star Wars franchise was the crown jewel of franchises. In 1999, things changed. I stood in line to see The Phantom Menace** with a bunch of other mutants. The buzz in line was real. The excitement was real. Everything was gravy until the part where the actual movie started. As you may or may not know, The Ph…
Tim Brennan
May 25, 2026
One of the dominant stories in twenty-first century America is the story of the side hustle. Practically, it exists to give you a little extra income. Emotionally, though, the side hustle is the place…
One of the dominant …
One of the dominant stories in twenty-first century America is the story of the side hustle. Practically, it exists to give you a little extra income. Emotionally, though, the side hustle is the place where dreams can exist.* If you grind as an influencer, a content creator, a writer, or a crypto investor, you live in a world of possibility. The right thing could happen - maybe? possibly? - and that thing could launch you into the stratosphere. So why not go for it? Why not take a chance, one that could change your life? To my mind, that’s the core philosophy behind cryptocurrency, the id…
Tim Brennan
May 18, 2026
It’s one thing to make an independent film. Plenty of people have rustled up a screenplay, a camera, a ragtag group of actors and a dream. Those folks went without shooting permits, vast craft servi…
It’s one thing to …
It’s one thing to make an independent film. Plenty of people have rustled up a screenplay, a camera, a ragtag group of actors and a dream. Those folks went without shooting permits, vast craft service tables, and the endless financial resources of a major film studio. They ignored spouses, family, and friends polluting their heads with advice to “be practical.” They got out there, and goddammit, they made their movie. Unfortunately, you know what happens to a lot of those people and their movies afterwards? Nothing. Once they have a completed motion picture, they need to put it in t…
Tim Brennan
May 11, 2026
Sydney Pollack was quoted as saying, “There’s no question that a great script is absolutely essential, maybe the essential thing for a movie to succeed.” He’d know, considering he directed fil…
Sydney Pollack was q…
Sydney Pollack was quoted as saying, “There’s no question that a great script is absolutely essential, maybe the essential thing for a movie to succeed.” He’d know, considering he directed films like Tootsie, produced films like Michael Clayton, and acted in films like Changing Lanes. All films that, while they might not be unimpeachable masterpieces, are made with a high degree of quality and care. Those films I just mentioned enjoy a solid reputation due to the strength of their screenplays. And you know what? Screenwriting is hard. It’s hard because you need interesting charact…
Tim Brennan
May 4, 2026
Up until about a month ago, it looked like Eric Swalwell would be the next Governor of California. He’d served in the House of Representatives since 2012, and during each of his election cycles, he …
Up until about a mon…
Up until about a month ago, it looked like Eric Swalwell would be the next Governor of California. He’d served in the House of Representatives since 2012, and during each of his election cycles, he handily defeated every Republican challenger. Swalwell announced a Presidential run in 2019. He withdrew later, as his polling never broke one percent. My guess is, it didn’t matter too much to him. There would be other opportunities. Only there weren’t. He was, initially, anyway, the odds-on favorite to succeed Governor Gavin Newsom. Then, the dam broke, as reports emerged that Swalwell ha…
Tim Brennan
April 27, 2026
For better or worse, America is a gun culture. So much so that, to some degree or another, we all come into contact with them. I don’t own a gun, but I have fired them.* I’ve also had them pointed…
For better or worse,…
For better or worse, America is a gun culture. So much so that, to some degree or another, we all come into contact with them. I don’t own a gun, but I have fired them.* I’ve also had them pointed at me a few times, which is an experience I don’t recommend. I spent a number of years working in Wilton, Connecticut, which is a little bit South of Newtown. My son was only a year younger than those first graders in that classroom, a coincidence I’ve dwelled on. It’s estimated that there are somewhere in the neighborhood of 400 to 500 million privately owned firearms in America. Is tha…
Tim Brennan
April 20, 2026
A lifetime of watching movies has taught me many lessons. Among them are: If you are in the military, never tell the people you’re serving with that you can’t wait to get home to your family,…
A lifetime of watchi…
A lifetime of watching movies has taught me many lessons. Among them are: If you are in the military, never tell the people you’re serving with that you can’t wait to get home to your family, because you will be immediately killed. Mysterious loud noises are usually just a cat. Taking off your glasses makes you instantly fifty percent more attractive. If you meet someone and don’t like them, you’ll probably end up having sex with them. When people cough, it means they’re going to die soon. You can order “a beer” in a bar, and the bartender will never ask you w…
Tim Brennan
April 6, 2026
As a professional movie dork, sometimes I have a solid idea of what I’ll be reviewing a few weeks out. I’ll think, “This week I have a screening of a blockbuster, next week an indie drama, the w…
As a professional mo…
As a professional movie dork, sometimes I have a solid idea of what I’ll be reviewing a few weeks out. I’ll think, “This week I have a screening of a blockbuster, next week an indie drama, the week after that an action movie,” and so on. Other times, things get a little more cloudy. When stormy critic weather arrives,* I’ll usually get my wife’s take, since she’s also the one who proofs these things before you fine people have to suffer through them. So there I was at my desk, cat on my lap. I turned to my wife and said, “For this week, I can see a geopolitical drama, a low …
Tim Brennan
March 30, 2026
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