I feel like I’m supposed to care about the Rocky franchise. Look up any list from a reputable source of the best American films, and Sylvester Stallone’s 1976 Oscar-winning film will likely be in there somewhere. It belongs there. John G. Avildsen made a gritty drama featuring both an efficient screenplay and a naturalistic performance* […]

During the previous Christmas, my family decided to adopt a new tradition. Instead of eating turkey, which we can’t abide, or singing Christmas carols in subzero temperatures, which is a good way to joyously get hypothermia, we decided to give each other books on Christmas Eve. This concept hails from one of those Scandinavian-ish countries, […]

Gather round, beloved, as we mourn the passing of the mid-budget thriller for adults. This film genre found its peak in the 1980s and 1990s, an almost unthinkable time where movie theaters could be filled by a majority of grown-ups. The cause of death? Risk-averse Hollywood and risk-averse filmgoers. Let me explain, or, to paraphrase […]

Let’s say you’re a muscular and intimidating looking dude. Exactly what are you supposed to do with yourself? Rip out tree stumps for homeowners? Loom menacingly for fifty bucks an hour? The basic understanding is that Big Burly Dudes (BBDs) have limited career paths, and that’s simply the way of the world.  Is that fair? […]

I’ve never been a big sports guy. In point of fact, you’d need an electron microscope to measure my interest in athletic competitions. I suppose that comes from growing up as a mostly indoor kid, but as much as I don’t care about participating or observing sports, I have to give credit where credit is […]

There’s a vivid memory from childhood I have, and I’ve never been able to shake it. We lived in a house in Maryland. For the most part, it was comfortable and felt safe. My mother spent the majority of her life as an enthusiastic evangelical Christian. My father was a softly lapsed Catholic, and while […]

There’s one in every family. As sure as water is wet or the sky is blue, there’s always one. The black sheep. The bad boy, though they’re not always male. At family gatherings, they spin a tale of woe about how, yet again, they got screwed. That’s the best-case scenario. The worst is that they’re […]

One of my proudest moments recently came during last October. My son, Liam, has been dipping his toe into the murky pool of horror movies. During dinner, he told me he was ready for one of the big ones, the OG Halloween. Did I want to watch it with him? Well. In a moment of […]

When my brother was drinking himself to death, he was alone. He didn’t die in the shabby Tulsa house he rented. That came a few days later in the hospital as his organs shut down, one by one. But I suspect there was a moment earlier on, it could have been months or years, where […]

As I write this on Wednesday, December 14, a few of the main news stories of the day on The Washington Post are: An article about how Tijuana has evolved into a trafficking hub for fentanyl The arrest of Sam Bankman-Fried, the founder of the cryptocurrency exchange FTX, and the various politicians he allegedly donated […]