Film

The Civil Rights Activist and Congressman, John Lewis, talked about getting into ‘good trouble’. The idea was that to make meaningful change, it would require disruption, confrontation, and a willingness to challenge unjust systems.Now the Deadpool movies aren’t nearly as important as the Civil Rights movements but let me explain.The star of Deadpool, Ryan Reynolds,…

Same, Same, But Different is used for lots of ideas; be it a business idea or a story idea. The principle is that you have something familiar to hold onto and then a new or interesting take on the original proposal. Lots of films have been pitched as Die Hard but on a … Boat/Plane/Train;…

We all have trauma, some of it small t trauma and some of it big T trauma. What we do about the trauma, big or small affects how we live and engage with the people in our lives. Instead of dealing with the trauma, which can be difficult, many people engage in activities like sex,…

There has been a torrent of modern music biopics.  They all start off the same way, the artist stands facing away as the camera pulls back to reveal they are backstage at a massive event. They start to move up onto the stage and the film cuts back to their childhood and you learn their…

Kayfabe. Noun: (in professional wrestling) the fact or convention of presenting staged performances as genuine or authentic. “A masterful job of blending kayfabe and reality.” We all just want to exist in a place where people love and care about us. This inspired by a true story does not feel like one of those places.…

1964, Tokyo hosted the 18th Summer Olympics, we were nearly entering space, The Beatles were taking the US by storm, while race riots were ripping the US apart. The Civil Rights Act of 1964 was signed into law, and a little book called Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl was released.  It was a different…

I went to one year of high school in the US (fancy New England Prep School, in this case) and four years of university. I was only homesick once, and it was only for a few minutes. It was my sophomore (second) year at university in the depth of winter.  All the students leave for…

Ridley Scott – the legendary director of Alien, Blade Runner, and Gladiator, to name a few – has Directed a film on Napoleon Bonaparte featuring Gladiator actor Joaquin Phoenix: coming off films like Joker and Her– sign me up. Phoenix plays the titular Bonaparte and his ascension to Emperor following the civil unrest following the French Revolution in 1789. There is pomp and…