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I don’t care about mainstream sports. Football doesn’t matter, basketball is a nonissue, and baseball is met with a shrug.* Despite my father’s repeated attempts to raise an all-American son who…
I don’t care about…
I don’t care about mainstream sports. Football doesn’t matter, basketball is a nonissue, and baseball is met with a shrug.* Despite my father’s repeated attempts to raise an all-American son who loved to toss around the ol’ pigskin and would cheer lustily for the home team, what he got was someone who could talk at great length about both the Avengers and Martin Scorsese. Having said that, I adore niche sports. I enjoy the PFC.** Archery is awesome. Wheelchair rugby is one of the most kickass things I’ve ever seen. But my heart belongs to the late and lamented Great Outdoor Game…
Tim Brennan
December 1, 2025
Back in the day, whodunits appeared with great regularity on both televisions and movie screens. With the cinema, audiences ate up mysteries such as Chinatown, Basic Instinct, Gosford Park, The Gift, …
Back in the day, who…
Back in the day, whodunits appeared with great regularity on both televisions and movie screens. With the cinema, audiences ate up mysteries such as Chinatown, Basic Instinct, Gosford Park, The Gift, and In the Heat of the Night. These films didn’t need massive explosions, death-defying stunts, or even high-wattage movie stars. All they needed were a twisty script, actors game to play either a possible suspect or a relentless sleuth, and a director who could simultaneously crank up the tension and play fair with clues. Things are different now. Whodunits are still all over the place on te…
Tim Brennan
November 24, 2025
You might not be a fan of Arnold Schwarzenegger’s films. You might not be into his ludicrous musculature, his puns, or his movies that so often feature him shooting, stabbing, crushing, and explodin…
You might not be a f…
You might not be a fan of Arnold Schwarzenegger’s films. You might not be into his ludicrous musculature, his puns, or his movies that so often feature him shooting, stabbing, crushing, and exploding a wide variety of luckless goons. You might turn your back haughtily on all of that, but one thing you can’t do is deny that he’s made some all-timers. Conan the Barbarian. The Terminator. Predator. Total Recall. Terminator 2: Judgment Day. All bangers. One of his films that is not a banger is 1987’s The Running Man. You have to understand that in 1987, I was a young punk of twelve. My …
Tim Brennan
November 17, 2025
What is the government for, anyway? What is it supposed to do? If you’re a libertarian or an old school Republican, you think its function should be minimal. Government should safeguard the rights o…
What is the governme…
What is the government for, anyway? What is it supposed to do? If you’re a libertarian or an old school Republican, you think its function should be minimal. Government should safeguard the rights of citizens, and otherwise butt out of everyday life.. If you’re a liberal, you believe its function should be more active. You think government ought to offer a robust social safety net, as well as more strenuously regulate our quasi-capitalistic system. Whether your political persuasion is left, right, or somewhere else, you likely agree that one of the nation’s core responsibilities is pr…
Tim Brennan
November 10, 2025
Trigger warning: This review and the film itself deal extensively with suicidal ideation. If you’re like me and need a regular blast of positivity to get through the horrors of life in 2025, do y…
Trigger warning: Thi…
Trigger warning: This review and the film itself deal extensively with suicidal ideation. If you’re like me and need a regular blast of positivity to get through the horrors of life in 2025, do yourself a favor and subscribe to Arnold Schwarzenegger’s Pump Club email newsletter.* Monday through Friday, Arnold and his team offer fitness tips, debunk questionable weight loss fads, and provide a feeling that we’re all in this together. Only perhaps we’re not. After 8.2 million Americans protested the Trump Administration during the No Kings protests in October, President Trump respo…
Tim Brennan
October 27, 2025
I’ve said for as long as I can remember that there’s no such thing as a bad year for movies. To be sure, there are some years, such as 1999, that are positively crammed full of classics. To be als…
I’ve said for as l…
I’ve said for as long as I can remember that there’s no such thing as a bad year for movies. To be sure, there are some years, such as 1999, that are positively crammed full of classics. To be also sure, there are other years where the number of quality films is…uh…a little reduced! But every year, great films emerge. Sometimes, you just have to look a little harder for them. I said to someone last night that 2025 has been a lousy year in a lot of ways, but it’s been a rock solid year for cinema. We’re midway through October, and already we’ve gotten: Superman KPop Dem…
Tim Brennan
October 20, 2025
It took a minute for me to realize that Channing Tatum is, for the most part, awesome. I have to admit that it took a minute. When he showed up initially in the mid-2000s, I figured he was standard is…
It took a minute for…
It took a minute for me to realize that Channing Tatum is, for the most part, awesome. I have to admit that it took a minute. When he showed up initially in the mid-2000s, I figured he was standard issue beefcake, some guy manufactured in a lab deep underneath the Hollywood sign, destined to appear in garbage. We should be fair and remember that nearly every actor has appeared in a stinker.* Being unfair, however, how was I supposed to take G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra seriously? Though as time went on, my opinion toward Tatum changed. He was a comedy powerhouse in 21 Jump Street. He was a d…
Tim Brennan
October 13, 2025
As I write this, there are two dogs in my house. The first is Gambol, our elder statesman. He’s friendly in a reserved way, as if a traditional Republican from the Northeast were reincarnated into t…
As I write this, the…
As I write this, there are two dogs in my house. The first is Gambol, our elder statesman. He’s friendly in a reserved way, as if a traditional Republican from the Northeast were reincarnated into the body of a canine. If you were to walk into the house, Gambol would almost certainly let you pet him briefly, before plopping himself down among the humans. The second is Nutmeg. We learned at the Humane Society that, as a small puppy, he’d been attacked by other dogs. That trauma left deep psychological scars, and informed how he reacts to others. If you’re outside our family, or more ac…
Tim Brennan
October 6, 2025
With a little bit of luck, we’ll all be old. That’s just as true for me as anyone else. I’m not so much pushing fifty as I pushed over fifty. I don’t really feel too different than I did five …
With a little bit of…
With a little bit of luck, we’ll all be old. That’s just as true for me as anyone else. I’m not so much pushing fifty as I pushed over fifty. I don’t really feel too different than I did five years ago, yet I can’t help but notice slightly more white in my beard, and dropping weight feels slightly more difficult. Given my approaching age, it’s reasonable for me to expect people to seek me out for my years of wisdom, and for the youth to genuflect as I approach, and whisper in hushed tones, “There…there goes the Film Elder, Father Cinema.” Right? Right? Wrong! We’re in …
Tim Brennan
September 29, 2025
One of the most memorable first lines in the history of film can be found in The Godfather. It’s spoken by the coroner, Bonasera, who tells Don Vito Corleone, “I believe in America.” Bonasera ta…
One of the most memo…
One of the most memorable first lines in the history of film can be found in The Godfather. It’s spoken by the coroner, Bonasera, who tells Don Vito Corleone, “I believe in America.” Bonasera talks of the brutal assault against his daughter. He explains to the Don that he went to the police and reported the assailants. In the end, the American justice system suspended the sentence of the attackers. Bonasera’s fundamental faith in America is shaken. So much so he asks Corleone to deliver real justice. I get where Bonasera is coming from. As I write this, comedian Jimmy Kimmel may hav…
Tim Brennan
September 22, 2025
On a fundamental level, I don’t understand art. Movies, as you unfortunately know, are something I can talk about all day. I can feel deep in my bones when they work, and my cringe factor will rocke…
On a fundamental lev…
On a fundamental level, I don’t understand art. Movies, as you unfortunately know, are something I can talk about all day. I can feel deep in my bones when they work, and my cringe factor will rocket off the charts when they don’t. Time, experience, and passion took me to a place where I understand movies. Art is different. Don’t get me wrong, I like art. A day spent strolling through an art museum or checking out a gallery is a good day. But let’s say we’re standing in front of Banksy’s “Flower Thrower,” or Jackson Pollock’s “Number 1 (Lavender Mist)”, or Belkis Ayon�…
Tim Brennan
September 15, 2025
One of my most admired humans is Rick Steves. If you’re not familiar with him, he’s the Seattle-based creator of a travel empire. Since the late 1970s, he’s written guidebooks on affordable and …
One of my most admir…
One of my most admired humans is Rick Steves. If you’re not familiar with him, he’s the Seattle-based creator of a travel empire. Since the late 1970s, he’s written guidebooks on affordable and thoughtful European travel. Since the early 1990s, he’s produced numerous television series that mostly focus on where, how, and why one should travel to Europe and other environs. He’s an advocate for the legalization of marijuana. He’s pleasantly dorky, the kind of liberal that isn’t a hectoring scold and always puts his money where his mouth is. All of that is great, but that’s not…
Tim Brennan
September 1, 2025
When you break it down, there are ultimately two categories of film director - journeymen and artists. As you might have guessed, there’s a vast chasm of difference between them. With the first batc…
When you break it do…
When you break it down, there are ultimately two categories of film director - journeymen and artists. As you might have guessed, there’s a vast chasm of difference between them. With the first batch, these are filmmakers like Doug Liman, Ron Howard, Don Siegel, Martin Campbell, and Ernest Dickerson. Instead of a particular stylistic flourish or interest in recurring themes, their focus is on craft. I wish I could credit properly the person who said it, but they said directors like this won’t make an exquisite sculpture, but they’ll build you a damn fine park bench. Artists are differ…
Tim Brennan
August 25, 2025
Do you love movies? Wait a minute, let’s break down what I mean by that. By “movies,” I don’t just mean disposable entertainment you can idly watch while folding laundry. I mean a cinemat…
Do you love movies?�…
Do you love movies? Wait a minute, let’s break down what I mean by that. By “movies,” I don’t just mean disposable entertainment you can idly watch while folding laundry. I mean a cinematic experience that grabs you, forces your ass to focus, says Pay attention to me. By “love,” I don’t mean a fun thing to talk about for a few minutes. I mean the swoon you get, that little adrenaline rush that tickles your brain and heart. And by “you,” I mean you. Movies that spark that feeling with that degree of intensity are rare. It’s because of a peculiar alchemy that exists w…
Tim Brennan
August 18, 2025
I’m okay with movies that feature time travel in them. Avengers: Endgame is not a time-travel movie, but it does feature people bopping back and forth along multiple timelines. Cool, nothing wrong w…
I’m okay with movi…
I’m okay with movies that feature time travel in them. Avengers: Endgame is not a time-travel movie, but it does feature people bopping back and forth along multiple timelines. Cool, nothing wrong with that. Movies specifically about time travel, though, tend to be very much a mixed bag. I’m talking more about films that specifically center around the concept of what time travel means and how it affects the characters. Sometimes they’re great. All right-thinking people can agree that Back to the Future is a masterpiece, as is 12 Monkeys. The little seen Retroactive is excellent, as …
Tim Brennan
August 11, 2025
Making a spoof movie is hard, fiendishly so. Don’t believe me? Think you can just throw together a bunch of jokes about pop culture and guys getting hit in the nuts, and your movie will recoup a tid…
Making a spoof movie…
Making a spoof movie is hard, fiendishly so. Don’t believe me? Think you can just throw together a bunch of jokes about pop culture and guys getting hit in the nuts, and your movie will recoup a tidy profit? Not so much, and I’ve come with proof. Exhibits A and B are Jason Friedberg and Aaron Seltzer. Friedberg and Seltzer were a struggling screenwriting team in the 1990s. They sold a few scripts, did a rewrite for a Jean-Claude Van Damme movie, and after years of almost breaking through, they took a chance. They insisted on directing one of their own scripts that had sold previously. T…
Tim Brennan
August 4, 2025
Rightly or wrongly, my son Liam and I have seen every film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.* It’s not an exaggeration to say that’s a lot of movies. Along with that is a lot of television. In tot…
Rightly or wrongly, …
Rightly or wrongly, my son Liam and I have seen every film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.* It’s not an exaggeration to say that’s a lot of movies. Along with that is a lot of television. In total we have hundreds of hours of people in billion dollar combat armor, super-soldiers, gamma irradiated folks, a dude who can get itty-bitty, a guy with dissociative identity disorder with an unhealthy fixation on the moon, a couple of people who rule at shooting arrows, and an angsty teen who can stick to walls. We, along with everyone else who pays attention to this nonsense, have noticed the…
Tim Brennan
July 28, 2025
We’re not so far away from the outbreak of the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic that I don’t remember how it felt. The itchy, pain in the ass masks. The six foot social distancing. The closure of movie thea…
We’re not so far a…
We’re not so far away from the outbreak of the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic that I don’t remember how it felt. The itchy, pain in the ass masks. The six foot social distancing. The closure of movie theaters, restaurants, essentially anything that took place inside.* The gnawing uncertainty, the feeling that the virus could be virtually anywhere and affect us in virtually any way. It was a feeling of uncertainty, that things were slowly spinning out of control, and that’s the first of two details that will stick with me forever. The second detail is disappointment. In us, as a country, as a …
Tim Brennan
July 21, 2025
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