Sequels, Legacy Sequels, and Human Robots

Hollywood continues to profit from my generation’s entertainment conditioning. Warner Bros. and Tim Burton’s sequel “Beetlejuice Beetlejuice” and Paramount’s animated “Transformers One” topped international box office charts over Universal and DreamWorks Animation’s “The Wild Robot.” -Rebecca Rubin, “Blah Blah Movie Titles Things You Know“, Variety.com I remain incontrovertibly annoyed at the existence of Beetlejuice, Beetlejuice,… Read More Sequels, Legacy Sequels, and Human Robots

30 Sep 2024 AndrewLeave a comment

Jude Law Thinks Nazis Are, Wait For It… Bad.

In 1983 a group of Neo-Nazis, calling themselves “The Order” (because of course) committed some bank robberies and stole cars in Idaho. I was alive in 1983, and this is the first I’ve heard of this, probably because they never made it outside Idaho before the FBI brought the hammer down on them. I suppose… Read More Jude Law Thinks Nazis Are, Wait For It… Bad.

6 Sep 2024 AndrewLeave a comment

New Old Podcasts: Shallow & Pedantic does the Second Dune Movie

If you’re one of our Patreon subscribers, you’ve had access to this episode of the Shallow & Pedantic Podcast for a little while. But if you’re not, why then… here it is. The habit now is to bust these episodes into smaller increments, less-than-an-hour: We are expecting to record a new episode this weekend, so… Read More New Old Podcasts: Shallow & Pedantic does the Second Dune Movie

5 Jul 20244 Jul 2024 AndrewLeave a comment

Explaining Cormac McCarthy

I’m a fan of both Blood Meridian and the Coen Brothers film of No Country for Old Men, both by Cormac McCarthy, without fully understanding them. They are dense pieces of uncomfortable art that transgress what is expected, that show the world as it is, happy endings be damned. Over the long weekend, I happened… Read More Explaining Cormac McCarthy

18 Jan 2024 AndrewLeave a comment

Things That Annoy Me About Scott Pilgrim

Scott Pilgrim vs. The World is one of those movies that I mildly disliked upon first viewing, but has come to grow on me. It is based on a Canadian comic book series that I have never read. I recently watched the first four episodes of the new animated series, Scott Pilgrim Takes Off, which… Read More Things That Annoy Me About Scott Pilgrim

3 Dec 2023 AndrewLeave a comment

Ridley Scott’s “Napoleon” is a Dense hard Slog Through Mud

My experience of this film, which I just went to see, perfectly mirror’s my experience with Oppenheimer: with the earlier film, I was bored with the idea and impressed with the result. For Napoleon, I was excited that it was made, and just spend two and half hours sitting through it, wishing I had done… Read More Ridley Scott’s “Napoleon” is a Dense hard Slog Through Mud

22 Nov 2023 AndrewLeave a comment

Stuck Culture, the Microcosm: Variety Writes about Mean Girls Like It just Came Out.

I don’t know why October 3rd is Mean Girls Day, and I have no intention of finding out. Such things have become loathsome to me (especially Star Wars Day, which was funny once, and is now agonizing, especially when the deeper dorks pair it with “Revenge of the Fifth” on Cinqo de Mayo. No one… Read More Stuck Culture, the Microcosm: Variety Writes about Mean Girls Like It just Came Out.

5 Oct 20234 Sep 2024 AndrewLeave a comment

Oppenheimer Does Not Suck.

Where’s it written a fella can’t change his mind? Back when this beast was announced, I poured snark on the idea, as the art-house version of The Imitation Game, and because I’m heartily sick of films about WW2: Additionally, and I think we’re all starting to feel this, the World War II well is feelin’… Read More Oppenheimer Does Not Suck.

28 Jul 202327 Jul 2023 Andrew3 Comments

The Original Member Berries: American Graffiti

Since abusing Georgia Lucas has become a habit of mine almost as common as abusing George R.R. Martin (what is it with Georges?), occasionally I take the time to look at his non-Star Wars filmography. This is easy, as there are only two other films he’s directed, both before Star Wars froze his auteur vision… Read More The Original Member Berries: American Graffiti

30 May 202330 May 2023 AndrewLeave a comment

Every Time You Call Wes Anderson “Quirky”, God Kills a Kitten: A Cinematic Retrospective

I have been cruel to Wes Anderson on this blog, without really meaning to. At the time, I was annoyed at the Oscars, for being the wacky inflatable arm-waving tube-whore it is, and I made the point, repeatedly, that Wes Anderson was never going to get an Oscar. Hollywood enjoys Wes Anderson’s work but does… Read More Every Time You Call Wes Anderson “Quirky”, God Kills a Kitten: A Cinematic Retrospective

3 May 20238 May 2023 Andrew2 Comments