History has a delightful habit of repeating itself. It seems like humanity falls into the same traps and creates the same problems. Luckily for us, there are usually people of goodwill and upright character to keep us from collectively toppling into the abyss. For example, our country is currently involved in a cold war, or something […]

The Martian is the movie we need right now. We live in an era of astonishing selfishness and decreasing selflessness. These days, fewer people study science and engineering during their college years. In fact, business is the most popular college major. Lots of us are taught that the proper trajectory in life is to get a […]

During the construction of the Twin Towers in New York City, many people were less than thrilled with the design. Critic Lewis Mumford wasn’t impressed, writing that the World Trade Center, “…is a characteristic example of the purposeless giantism and technological exhibitionism that are now eviscerating the living tissue of every great city.” Don’t hold […]

Remember that one gangster movie? You know the one. It’s the one where the main crook talks about loyalty, but proceeds to screw over everyone to save his own skin? Okay, you need more information. It’s the one where the gangster teaches his adorable child questionable life lessons. How about, it’s the one where the […]

There’s a few things that kids know, deep down on a molecular level. Fart jokes are never not funny. When your parents are in a hurry, that’s your cue to go slower. Old people are creepy and weird. Coming from someone who hopes to live long enough to be old, creepy, and weird, I know it’s […]

Screenwriter William Goldman famously said that, “Nobody knows anything,” when it comes to Hollywood. His quote has remained true for numerous reasons. For decades, the idea that a market existed for “faith based*” entertainment was mostly laughable. But two events in the entertainment field took place that proved audiences would come out big time for it. […]

Straight Outta Compton is really two movies stitched together. The first movie is intense, angry, joyful, and it’s about a group of friends trying to escape the madness of a racist society through art. There’s a couple of scenes in the beginning that encapsulates that perfectly. First, young Ice Cube (O’Shea Jackson Jr.) sits on a […]

  Pew Research performed a poll back in January of 2014 that’s simultaneously unsurprising and depressing. They found that the average American adult reads approximately 5 books in 1 year. For the most part, we live in a country that doesn’t truly value the written word, and hasn’t for quite some time. We say we […]

Joel Edgerton’s directorial debut, The Gift, isn’t just a Yuppies In Peril movie.* Not precisely. It’s got a number of the genre hallmarks. Conspicuous consumerism. A seemingly happy couple with secrets. A ridiculously cute pet that has caught the eye of a lunatic. But The Gift is something special. Not only is it a tightly plotted and well directed […]

There’s this theory I’ve had for a while now. I’ve shared it with friends, but now it’s time to share it with all of you. I believe that international superstar Tom Cruise is either a fiendishly clever performance artist, or a deeply depressed man. When he makes other films, he’s a talented and driven performer. But […]