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. The Reely Bernie Horror Fest starts early this year! Here's hoping the chills will cool us down. Comments and dialogue are always encouraged.
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 →
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 →
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 because... 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 →
Reely Bernie 