This hobby blog is dedicated to movie nerdom, nostalgia, and the occasional escape. In the late 90s, I worked at Blockbuster Video where they let me take home two free movies a day. I caught up on the classics and wrote movie reviews for Denver 'burbs newspapers and magazines. Currently, I am enjoying my new life as a new dad, but when there's free time, movies are standard. Comments and dialogue are always encouraged. Happy Moviegoing!
Ugh, what a year. I'm finally compiling the movies I enjoyed from 2020, and I find myself laughing at the horror of it all. It wasn't a bad year in film, but it wasn't all that great either. The year in general ended with a silver lining, as my wife and I welcomed a healthy... Continue Reading →
Date Night dabbles in suburban marriage matters, police corruption, and the art of locking your front bumper to the front bumper of a New York taxi cab in the midst of a car chase. A crazy mixed bag in category and appeal, but with Steven Carell and Tina Fey doing the work, the result is... Continue Reading →
2021 Movie Draft: Round 4, Pick 1 Featured on SLICEOFLIFE.COM Genre: Comedy Hot Fuzz is a balderdash buddy cop flick with the machinegun fire of both action and British wit. The only comparison to the film’s slapstick originality would be Airplane! (1980) and the previous debauchery of the comedic Pegg and Frost duo, Shaun of... Continue Reading →
2021 Movie Draft: Round 3, Pick 4 Featured on SLICETHELIFE.COM Genre: Musical The Greatest Showman on Repeat By Bernie Sauer Even though I adore a classic like The Wizard of Oz (1939) or The Sound of Music (1965), commend Les Miserables (2012) for its groundbreaking technical achievements, and praise postmodern movie musical revivals like The... Continue Reading →
I have seen Groundhog Day (1993) over a dozen of times and each viewing has never felt like Groundhog Day. Despite its premise about a day that repeats itself thousands of times from Sonny and Cher’s “I Got You Babe” at 6:00am to the next flip clock rotation 24 hours later, Groundhog Day remains innovative... Continue Reading →
2021 Movie Draft: Round 1, Pick 4 Featured on SLICETHELIFE.COM Genre: Drama Half Nelson: An Overlooked Indie Gem By Bernie Sauer Mr. Dunne is the middle school teacher every student wants: He’s sharp, funny, sports a cool, unshaved mug, and coaches basketball on the side. By day, he brings out the best in his students... Continue Reading →
A Christmas movie may include anything from Jesus Christ’s birth to the gruesome pressures of trying to please family members around the dinner table. It can involve the magic of time travel and flying reindeer, or the lack of magic when life is lonely. Either way, the Christmas movie absolutely has to involve these two... Continue Reading →
The power of The Force was found in my in-law’s basement where my brother-in-law made room for everyone to team-assemble his latest LEGO set – the Mos Eisley Cantina: “I’m a collector,” he said as he opened the gigantic box and dumped the bagged 3,187 pieces on to the table. In the background on three... Continue Reading →
An insecure single mother and her erratic son read a random bedtime story for children and quickly find out the book has invited a third presence in their dark, lonely home. Claustrophobic, remorseless, and brutal even to the innocent, Australian Director Jennifer Kent's expressionistic creation doesn’t let up. All places of comfort – a mother’s... Continue Reading →
Before Jason Voorhees of the Friday the 13th series and Freddy Krueger of the Nightmare on Elm Street entries, Halloween’s Michael Myers epitomized the American slasher film and haunted the autumn leaf-covered suburbs with that silly but terrifying Captain Kirk mask. “Slasher” might be an impertinent descriptor, however. Yes, there is a lot of slashing... Continue Reading →
Origin/Director: Japan/Kiyoshi Kurosawa Viewings Tally: I’ve seen it twice! No horror marathon list should exist without a Japanese horror entry, and this is one of my favorites! Synopsis: “Do you want to meet a ghost?” In the immense city of Tokyo, the darkness of the afterlife lurks some of its inhabitants who are desperately trying... Continue Reading →
Origin/Director: USA/Ti West Viewings Tally: This is my second viewing! I loved it when it first came out nine years ago! Synopsis: “Some guests never checked out.” During the final days at the Yankee Pedlar Inn, two employees determined to reveal the hotel’s haunted past begin to experience disturbing events as old guests check in... Continue Reading →
Origin/Director: Australia/Joel Anderson Viewings Tally: This was my second viewing! It had been five years since, and I wanted this to fulfill my found footage subgenre in my horror lineup. Synopsis: After 16-year-old Alice Palmer drowns in a local dam, her family experiences a series of strange, inexplicable events centered in and around their home.... Continue Reading →
Origin/Director: France/Georges Franju Viewings Tally: This was my first viewing! I wanted to include at least one black and white classic that also happened to be an international hit. Synopsis: Dr. Genessier is riddled with guilt after an accident that he caused disfigures the face of his daughter, the once beautiful Christiane, who outsiders believe... Continue Reading →
Origin/Director: Australia, USA/Natalie Erika James Viewings Tally: This is my first viewing! I figured I should add a recent horror release to my list, and this one received above average reviews last summer. Synopsis: When Edna – the elderly and widowed matriarch of the family – goes missing, her daughter and granddaughter travel to their... Continue Reading →
It all starts with this leaf. For me, this fallen amber-hued leaf represents the promise of the upcoming autumn season, which is undoubtedly my favorite season of the year. Radiant colors begin appearing on trees and end up on the ground to a crackling sound that brings you back to younger days. This is the... Continue Reading →
A friend of mine suggested an interesting notion for Christopher Nolan to consider: What about just writing the screenplay and leaving the artistic decisions to a different director? Would the never-ending 150 minutes go by faster? Would the main characters possess a heart and earn viewer empathy? Finally, would Nolan’s astounding time warp perplexities include... Continue Reading →
Back to the movie theatre, back to the popcorn (we ended up just getting Twizzlers to be safe), back to the big screen in the dark, and Back to the Future. For me, Back to the Future (1985) is more innate than nostalgic, but nothing beats watching it in the most nostalgic of places. I’m... Continue Reading →
It’s the summer of ‘94 in my best friend’s basement, and we’re watching MTV music videos at full blast. Soon, we see three skinny, pale guys dressed in ‘70s era undercover cop garbs with fake mustaches running wild through alleyways. Their hideous striped ties and shaggy wigs fly in their faces. The music behind the... Continue Reading →
No CGI-infested, Jack Nicholson-spectacled, comic book-possessed entry of the Batman filmography can ever top the mastery behind Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight (2008). When it was first released, this masterpiece with wings had three audiences: One for the sequel of Nolan's Batman Begins (2005), one for another interpretation of what was the sixth Batman-related... Continue Reading →
Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981) perfected the adventure movie and broke new ground on the relic hunting culture we see on our screens today. Let’s face it: Without Raiders, there would be no Dora the Explorer, National Treasure, Nathan Drake, or even Animal Crossing! The hunt for the holy relic is in our blood,... Continue Reading →
Reely Bernie 