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 reviewed theatrical releases for Denver 'burbs newspapers and magazines. When time is free between teaching high school music and being a dad, movies are standard. Comments and dialogue encouraged!
Quarantine. Lockdown. Shelter in place. No one would have guessed such dystopian, sci-fi concepts would become a reality for the last three months of our lives. L.B. “Jeff” Jefferies could empathize. He broke his leg and has been wheelchair-ridden in his small, quaint New York City apartment for six weeks. The once renowned freelance photojournalist... Continue Reading →
I love my unique first name. Even with its immediate connection to the presidential race dropout, Senator Bernie Sanders, I find my Bernie identity special. Heck, I’m the second youngest Bernie I know! Before Sanders, people used to associate my name to the comedy, Weekend at Bernie’s (1989), in which the titular character’s murdered body... Continue Reading →
As much as I want to discuss the ending to Magnolia, I am also ecstatic for the human being who has yet to see this remarkable film (and that extraordinary ending). I promise I am not giving anything away when I say that the ending has a lot to do with what is happening to... Continue Reading →
Although this Steven Soderbergh thriller is a bit dated, its subject matter couldn’t be any more timely. As the Coronavirus continues to make headlines and possibly touch the lives of people we know, a sense of fear is expected. For me, the manufactured fear found in movies is a necessary antidote. Contagion suffices (for now).... Continue Reading →
Take it from Alan Alda in Crimes and Misdemeanors (1989) when he says, “If it bends, it’s funny. If it breaks, it’s not funny.” The same can be said about thrillers and horrors where suspension of disbelief is so fragile, the moment you push the otherworldly button too soon or too forcefully, you break the... Continue Reading →
1917 is a miracle in filmmaking. Never have I been so deep-seated in a journey through the shrapnel-infested bloodshed of war and my theatre chair at the same time. I blame it all on the camera work. The camera puts you right there. As British soldiers Blake (Dean-Charles Chapman) and Schofield (George MacKay) deliver a... Continue Reading →
Top Ten lists are the most personal, subjective, and ludicrous arrangements in the universe. If there’s one essential purpose to their existence, it’s that they instigate conversation, harmless controversy, and passionate opinion sharing. Ambiguous weight is placed on terms like “Top,” “Greatest,” or “Most Influential.” Overall, I think these lists we make are simply our... Continue Reading →
There’s a reason Kenneth Turan of the Los Angeles Times placed Ford v Ferrari as his top film of 2019: It is a refreshingly uncontrived look at male camaraderie, and it revitalizes the sports movie genre, even if you have a low motorsports IQ. Yes, there are several mentionings of 427-cubic-inch big-block engines, GT40 acronyms,... Continue Reading →
se – quel noun a published, broadcast, or recorded work that continues the story or develops the theme of an earlier one. Okay, so technically, Return of the Jedi (1983), The Godfather: Part III (1990), and The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003), are all “sequels.” Well, this blog post is... Continue Reading →
Two grown men are stranded on a remote island with flatulence abound. This is not going to be a popular mainstream movie. Add black and white photography, an alien dialect of 1890s New England, and the claustrophobia of a shoddy lighthouse, most Marvel Comic Universe fanatics will tear their hair out. For me, The Lighthouse... Continue Reading →
I am only 5 years old, running aimlessly around the neighborhood cul de sac like any 5-year-old would do. “Poltergeist is playing, Poltergeist is playing!” yells Deedoo, my next door neighbor who’s one year younger than me. I have no idea what “Poltergeist” is. Is it a TV show maybe having something to do with Star Wars... Continue Reading →
They say the book is better, and most of the time, they are right. It's nearly impossible to replicate the visions, time lapses, and shadows one conjures while reading a good book, especially the masterful horror fiction of Stephen King. The shadows are the most important element, I think. In the midst of reading and... Continue Reading →
I still remember seeing the trailer with my dad at the now gone Southbridge Theatre in Littleton, Colorado. A man with long, intimidating scissors for hands is welcomed into a neighborhood, falls in love with Winona Ryder, and tries not to slice the locals during the introductory handshake. After the preview, my dad was quick... Continue Reading →
Some people have a writer in them they need to let out. Some write about fly fishing. There's a nice man I follow who writes about his latest barbecue chicken rub. I do movies. A good majority of bloggers choose to write about movies too. Some write well. Some try well. I'd like to think... Continue Reading →
I realize I'm alone in the (Marvel) universe when I say I’m not a fan of the tiresome outburst of comic book/superhero movies, and I see no point in differentiating the two descriptors because they, more or less, follow the same tiresome formula: Arrogant hero + desensitizing CGI +/- obligatory love interest + forgettable villain... Continue Reading →
Rating movies couldn't be any more subjective, personal, and inconsistent. One thing is for sure - a "great" movie doesn't necessarily mean it's a "favorite" movie. I mean, my favorite bad movie is Weekend at Bernie's (for obvious reasons), but I won't be seeing the great Gone with the Wind again because it will take... Continue Reading →
Like milk, everything has an expiration date. I’m not sure which one started the rotting process – The Endless, Hereditary, Wild Wild Country, Us, Apostle – but, the cult-themed movie is starting to smell. Even Tarantino has Charles Manson ready to open on July 26, but I think he might be a subplot and can... Continue Reading →
To me, no other movie follows, portrays, captures, embraces, forgives, and, most importantly, empathizes a human being more than Ed Harris’ auteuristic gift in Pollock. I have seen the film from its birth in the theatre in 2000 up to 12 more times, and I am still in awe at how much it continues to... Continue Reading →
The content (people who still actually believe the earth is flat) may be more fascinating than its basic execution, but this doc succeeds by not judging its subjects and simply hitting the record button. The “flat-earthers” kind of just do their thing, and we might roll our eyes as much as feel sorry for them.... Continue Reading →
Hotel Mumbai is a brutally intense terrorist thriller based on the true and tragic murders of 174 innocent people in 2008, and if that’s your cup of tea, then I think you’ll be entertained. Personally, I was just reminded of a disgusting act of violence in our sad worldly history, and the Hollywood-esque touches didn’t... Continue Reading →
Reely Bernie 