Blended Family, Family Secrets I can say that I witnessed an appreciative audience as my ten and eleven year old whooped and hollered at the stunts, oblivious to the surrounding machinery. For them, and I suppose many viewers, the movie other than the action sequences is there only to support those segments. So the less… Continue reading F9 (2021)
Tag: 2020s
Films released in the 2020s
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 (2023)
Experiments On my side, it is all about affordances. Usually I choose a film and allocate the time because I seek affordances for better living in my life. Narrative is all about affordance: what changes in the story, with mysteries and power that I can be tricked into (or trick myself into) — folded into… Continue reading Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 (2023)
Black Adam (2023)
Comically Failed I am not a comics fan, so I tend to come to comic-originated movies the same way I do any other movie. When they fail — as they usually do — I just consider the cinematic values, and don’t dig into flaws inherited from the source material. But holy cow, every big movie… Continue reading Black Adam (2023)
The Octonauts (2010-2021)
The Swimming of Being Saying something interesting about children’s programming requires a critical shift, acknowledging that we are not the primary consumer. Actually, for much of this media, I think parents are that target audience. Sesame Street cannot possibly be as educational as advertised, but great effort is obviously spent convincing parents that it is.… Continue reading The Octonauts (2010-2021)
Goodnight Oppy (2022)
Projections on the Wall-E I work in the broad area called AI. I also spent nearly a decade attached to the space station project (before it was international), and while my time was at Houston and with the engineering side, I know the kinds of folks shown here and their energies. This story is composed… Continue reading Goodnight Oppy (2022)
The Sea Beast (2022)
Competent Navigation I am seeing many complaints about the ‘wokeness’ of elements of this. I suppose that is just how America is put together now. Some large number of vocal folks will find lucid history not to their liking. For me, I find the modern reworking of tropes from Moby Dick and Treasure Island refreshing.… Continue reading The Sea Beast (2022)
King Richard (2021)
The Cosby Curse One of the effects of a rich society is the luxury of spending time watching sports, engaging with the intricacies of statistical pockets, and the supposed drama of its celebrities. Only film and its media feeders can similarly create such icons, so it is natural that the two overlap, with TeeVee as… Continue reading King Richard (2021)
Strange World (2022)
Ted’s Law Forget the story; despite the appealing message(s) this is not a decent way to spend time. But it does illustrate a principle I have noticed, which I believe applies universally in film projects and in most successful introspective AI projects. I modestly call this ‘Ted’s Law’. Here’s how it works in this case:… Continue reading Strange World (2022)
Avatar: The Way of Water (2022)
Dimensions This comment is of a threeD viewing in a well appointed theatre. Quite apart from all else, this is the best blocking of a 3D film I have ever experienced. If you can, have this experience in a proper setting. We used to have to worry about the quality of the film stock so… Continue reading Avatar: The Way of Water (2022)
The Midnight Sky (2020)
Dersu Solaris Films about filmmaking and internal narrative will always get poor reception among the general public. Nolan is able to straddle the line by delivering worldly action; that’s why his effects have to be so practical. But in general, when you make a film with this type of introspective power, and you are not… Continue reading The Midnight Sky (2020)