As of 2024, there are somewhere in the neighborhood of 8.2 billion human beings on this planet. That’s a lot of us. A lot of possibilities for conflict, a lot of chances for misunderstanding, and a lot of opportunities to connect. But it’s been my experience that the majority of the meaningful connections we make […]

Christopher Landon excels at making gimmicky movies, and I mean that in the best way possible. To be clear, I’m not saying he’s gimmicky in the William Castle sense, where he’s electrifying movie theater seats.* Landon directs and/or writes movies which have a gimmicky premise, and he excels at making the most of those premises. […]

I’ve written about addiction before, specifically about the alcoholism my brother, Mark, dealt with throughout his too short life. The point shouldn’t have to be repeated, but addiction is not a moral failing. It’s not caused by insufficient churchgoing. Addiction is a disease. A physical affliction that sinks its claws into some of us and […]

Is your first breakup the worst? Maybe, maybe not, but I think it’s the most intense. It’s the one where you take the first steps away from childhood, and where you enter into a relationship that exists on a different plane than your family or friends. It’s one where you’re either vulnerable with another person, […]

The right movie premise can ignite the imagination. When you hear it, you can see the movie in your mind’s eye, and the only thing that needs to happen is the reality of the film must live up to what’s in your head. Consider these: A love story that takes place during the doomed voyage […]

Recently, I had a good chat with my friend, Keith. He revealed something to me, a secret so shameful that it rocked me to my very core. The only possible way I could deal with it is to reveal that secret to you, the public. So what is it? Essentially, Keith has found he no […]

You know what safe means? For me, the perfect example of safe was an utterly ordinary errand. A few days back, I needed to pick up a few things from our grocery store.* As I usually did, I slid into the driver’s seat of my fantastically stylish Prius, put my music app on shuffle, and […]

A few weeks ago, I was in South Dakota. In unpleasantly cold temperatures and under a clearish blue sky, I stood on a balcony and beheld the Crazy Horse Memorial. It’s one thing to Google a picture of the sculpture, the one slowly carved from the side of a mountain that’s been a work in […]

My friend Bob (not a pseudonym) loves schlock horror movies. They’re like cinematic meth for him, and he simply cannot get enough of them. If the film in question has a low budget, gore effects that are questionable/plentiful, and some kind of a fun gimmick, he’ll settle in with a beatific smile on his mug. […]

Ordinarily, I’d be writing this review of Captain America: Brave New World. I didn’t count on getting kicked in the teeth by COVID-19, and I’m lucky I remember how to spell my own name. I’m also lucky that my son, Liam Brennan, was willing to take over this week’s review. I think he hits the […]