Origins: The Rise of Skywalker

Ugh, I hesitate to even write about the newest Star Wars movie, but here I am, and I'm feeling a little annoyed. Disney and Lucasfilm haven't exactly ingratiated themselves to the fans since The Last Jedi, and I'm not at all happy that Disney bought Twentieth-Century Fox, because Disney's dogged committment to artificial scarcity stinks. They might be …

Shamedown #11: Bright Star

We've made it, friends--the last Shamedown of 2019. Can you believe it? I sure can't. Anyone who's wondering what the heck I'm talking about can find answers at Cinema Shame. Past 2019 Shamedowns can be found here. John Keats is part of every English major's academic diet in one way or another. Born in 1795 …

Reading Rarities: 1909 Sears Catalogue

Remember Sears' Wish Book? Us kids used to look forward to that thing all year long and when the Christmas season came around we would pore over it meticulously, looking with big eyes at the pages and pages of toys. There might have been some linens, or clothes, or electronics. or other grownup stuff in …

Entertaining Angels

When it comes to remakes, my longtime readers know I'm pretty ambivalent with a variable degree of distaste. Every once in a while, though, a remake will nail it, or turn out even better than the original. One of the good ones is The Preacher's Wife, the 1997 remake of The Bishop's Wife. Directed by Penny Marshall, …

It’s Beginning To Look A Lot Like Netflix

Ah, Netflix, where the motto has become, "Let there be original content. Oodles and oodles of original content." Every genre is fair game, every level of production is worthy, every potential heartstrings-tugging saga might mean more views. Basically anyone with a camera, a little bit of production experience, and the right connections can get greenlighted …

Wakey, Wakey

One of my all-time favorite holiday movies is 1995's While You Were Sleeping. I remember when this came out my guy friends were telling me I should go see it. Guys and rom-coms don't always mix, but the film is such a fun one anyone can talk about it and not lose street cred. Those who know …

Christmas In Carvel

Merry Christmas! Joyeux Noel! ¡Feliz Navidad! Fröhliche Weihnachten! Feliz Natal! Erry-may Istmas-chray! 🙂 Before the advent of TV, studios invested in movie serials, and one of MGM's most popular franchises was the Andy Hardy series, which followed the adventures of its young protagonist in the Midwestern (?) town of Carvel. The films were sure bets …

Announcing the Leap Year Blogathon!

Anyone have a birthday on February 29th, or know someone born on that day? It's an interesting concept, having a birthday every four years--it must feel a little surreal. I'll bet people born on that day celebrate like no one's business. In that vein, I thought it would be fun to commemorate Leap Day next year by …

Page To Screen: Tuck Everlasting

Living forever is an interesting idea. What would you do if you had all the time in the world? I would think it would get boring after a while because you would see history cycle around and cycle around with people and nations making the same mistakes over and over again. If a being isn't …

The Realm of the Invisible

Well, hello, Mr. Bridges... Timing is a funny, funny thing. As I'm sure a lot of you have heard by now, the YouTuber world is in an uproar over COPPA, or the Child Online Privacy Protection Act (If you haven't, here are a few of the details). Suffice it to say, content creators may see …

Three’s Company

Look who's turning four! This year has gone by fast, you guys. And who else is looking forward to 2020? I am. The Second So Bad It's Good Blogathon is coming up, the Broadway Bound Blogathon will come back, and there are a few more surprises in the works, one of which is going to …