Too many movies take their time when they don’t really need to. For example, I read recently that the upcoming Avengers: Infinity War has a running time of two hours and thirty-six minutes. If you’re a fan of the MCU, that’s probably fine and dandy news. If you’re a casual filmgoer, nearly three hours of superhero shenanigans just might make you want to head for a desolate mountain cave and embrace a life as a hermit. I get it, a story is ultimately as long as it needs to be. Only that’s not always correct. I can think of a few movies I’ve seen over the last couple months that could... Read More

During the last couple of years, there’s been a weird trend in movies. From late December to January, we’ve been treated to a film that glorifies the heroism, cultural superiority, and all-around awesomeness of the military. These movies have a few things in common. They’re loosely based on true stories. They tend to emphasize the camaraderie between soldiers. They tend to be all about mythmaking and completely free of larger context. In 2013,  Lone Survivor was released. It was a fairly dumb and fairly racist movie about Real Men Who Fought For What Is Right. In 2014, American... Read More