I hate fantasy. I can tell you exactly why, too. Fantasy is unrestrained creativity, and that tends to be a bad thing. When concepts get too far away from the real world, they become difficult to relate to, and universal themes can get muddled and involve too many leaps in logic. Sometimes you’ll see that … Continue reading Bad Magic →

Last night, I didn’t see Chicago, or Philadelphia. I didn’t see Cedar Rapids, or - god forbid - Elizabethtown. The two eponymous US cities are Columbus and Paterson, and both films are fascinating. Neither is perfect; so rarely is it that a movie captures exactly what both the filmmaker and the spectator wish to see, … Continue reading The US Cities Double Feature →

I bought Red Dead Redemption 2 the day it came out, and I’m one of 17 million people to have bought it within the first two weeks of its release. The game made nearly three quarters of a billion dollars within its first three days. For perspective, Avengers: Endgame made $1.2 billion in its opening … Continue reading Red Dead Redemption 2: Distractions and Disrespect →

[Spoilers for Jojo Rabbit and Parasite] On the poster for Jojo Rabbit, you can see in big, colourful letters: JOJO RABBIT AN ANTI-HATE SATIRE. Let’s break that down within the context of the film itself. When it comes to “anti-hate,” Jojo Rabbit does the bare minimum. It’s a movie about Nazism at the end of … Continue reading Jojo Rabbit vs Parasite: Satire, “Satire”, and SATIRE →

The following is a project I had no intention of making before I started to put words on the page. It's not in any way the review I thought I was writing, instead, it's a somewhat faithful adaptation of Robert Eggers' The Lighthouse, possibly the best movie of the year (I know, I've said that … Continue reading The Lighthouse: A Short Story Adaptation →

Since I started writing every single week rather than every couple months, I've left myself less room for some in depth analysis. A couple weeks ago I got really excited about the Midsommar Director's Cut and released a very long examination of everything incredible about the film. My weekly format doesn't exactly lend itself to … Continue reading A Jovial Joker Examination →

Previously on What’s Joey Been Watching?: “...can I look past the weak plot and structure and love Midsommar? I can’t.” “...every long, atmospheric shot of an idyllic Swedish landscape made me feel like 30 minutes could be cut out extremely easily.” “Find more ways to hurt me, Ari.” In our discussion of Midsommar, Noah and … Continue reading A Meandering Midweek Midsommar Examination →