The last day of Tyshawn Lee’s life was November 2, a little over a month ago. His father was a gang member, and he was involved in a beef with a rival gang. It’s unclear to what extent Tyshawn understood this. Odds are, he just cared about the regular things kids care about, like basketball. […]

I believe in the concept of parallel universes, alternate dimensions that exist alongside our own. Within these universes, things are largely the same, with a few differences here and there. In one of these universes, a young actor named Sylvester Stallone made some slightly different decisions regarding his budding film career. As a result of […]

When it comes to performers, we’re ridiculously inconsistent. We discover an actor we like, and we want them to deliver more of what attracted us in the first place. Then we either throw a fit if they take a chance on something new, or bitterly complain when they do “more of the same.” One example […]

There’s an old expression* you’ve probably heard that says, “May you live in interesting times.” We have the misfortune to live in interesting times, particularly when several of the seemingly indestructible institutions of our society are crumbling before our eyes. One of those institutions is print journalism. After Woodward and Bernstein raked Nixon over the […]

Ready for a surefire way to start a fistfight? The next time you’re in the midst of a conversation, with great conviction, state the name of your favorite actor to play James Bond. Tell whoever is listening that your choice is clearly the closest approximation to what Ian Fleming had in mind when he created […]

As I sit here writing this review, my iPhone rests on the desk next to me. It’s become a nearly indispensable feature of my life. I can view my hilariously low bank balance, check the weather, and catch up with friends living on the other side of the continent. I have access to a mind-boggling […]

In order for a film to be considered successful, the rule of thumb is that it must make back at least twice its production budget.* Crimson Peak, the newest film from visionary director Guillermo del Toro, had an estimated production budget of around $55 million. So far, it’s only made back about $16 million. It’s tanking hard, […]

Most people don’t think about the potential for coffee to be an art form or a competitive sport, unless they are professionals in the industry. So, an upcoming documentary about the U.S. Barista Championship (USBC) will be an informative and potentially entertaining film for most coffee layman. Barista explores the high energy and high stakes competitive coffee-making scene. The […]

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 […]