I get that talking to me is not a great experience. The long-winded answers, questionable wit, and occasional maudlin emotion all makes for a conversational minefield. But I also have enough self-awareness to realize what happens when you think to yourself, “He’s the Movie Guy and I’m obligated to talk to him. I’ll ask him what his favorite movie is. What could possibly go wrong?” Well…kind of a lot. To save you time, my response to that is, it depends. It depends on my mood, where I’m at in my life, hell, my blood sugar level probably has an effect. When I tell you that, I know you’re... Read More

If you had told me years ago that I’d fall in love with Vienna, I would have laughed in your face. What country is it in, again? Germany? Poland? Oh, yeah, Austria. And Vienna is famous for what, exactly? You guessed it, I was a cretinous and incurious American who, for a while anyway, reveled in his own ignorance. As so often happens, I fell in love with Vienna because my wife kicked my ass in that direction. We were planning the details of our honeymoon. We’re not Puerto Vallarta or Honolulu-type vacationers, and Europe was on our minds. After offers, counteroffers, and counter-counteroffers,... Read More