Lars and the Real Girl is a quirky indie dramedy about a shy lonely psychologically-troubled young man who buys a sex doll over the internet and starts a (non-sexual) relationship with her, believing she is real. Continue reading
With Blade Runner 2049 coming out, I rewatched the original in preparation. I got to see The Final Cut on the big screen for the first time, and it was an incredible experience. For the past dozen years or so, Blade Runner has been one of my favorite films and a major inspiration on my writing, particularly the way it fuses science fiction with noir (my two favorite genres). Blade Runner wasn’t always a favorite movie of mine, however. The first time I saw it, sometime around 2005, I just didn’t get it. But after hearing Christopher Nolan, praise Blade Runner as his favorite film, I figured I must have been missing something, so a couple years later I gave it another shot.
Bad movies get worse with repeated viewings, good movies hold up with repeated viewings, and great movies get better with repeated viewings. Blade Runner is a great movie. The second time around, I appreciated the film a lot more, and my appreciation has only grown with each subsequent viewing. Having seen Blade Runner about ten times now, I recognize it for what it truly is: a cinematic masterpiece and one of the greatest films ever made. Continue reading
A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away…
In honor of Star Wars Day 2017, let’s continue the saga of the Force versus the Dark Side. We found a new hope in Episode IV, the Empire struck back in Episode V, the Jedi returned in Episode VI, and a Phantom Menace rose in Episode I. Now we visit episode two of the prequel trilogy, Attack of the Clones. It is admittedly not a great film, although it does contain one of my favorite action scenes in the entire Star Wars series: the flying car chase through the Coruscant cityscape at night. It also contains some wise insights into the Force (mindfulness) and the Dark Side (social anxiety).
Napoleon Dynamite is the type of movie you either love or hate. Except in my case, I both love and hate it. At first, I wasn’t sure why. I enjoy quirky independent comedies, and Napoleon Dynamite features socially awkward characters (like me), so it should have been right up my alley. But I didn’t love the film wholeheartedly like so many other fans. There were certainly parts of the movie I found funny, but other parts rubbed me the wrong way. After re-watching the movie recently and thinking about it further, I realized part of the reason I “hate” Napoleon Dynamite might be the way it portrays social anxiety. Continue reading
What About Bob? is a comedy about a psychiatric patient (Bill Murray) who drives his therapist (Richard Dreyfuss) insane. Continue reading
I saw a lot of great movies in 2016 (the best so far being Arrival) but there are still too many I need to see before I can do a best-of list. So I was thinking of doing a “best of 2015 list,” since I spent 2016 catching up on all the movies I missed last year. But there’d be nothing interesting about my list, as it would be pretty similar to any film critic’s best of 2015 list. So I decided to do a unique list. Continue reading
A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away…
We’ve completed the original trilogy of social anxiety in Star Wars, but now it’s time to start from the beginning. A time when the Jedi ruled the galaxy… Until there was a disturbance in the Force, and the Dark Side began to rise. Continue reading
Little Miss Sunshine is about a family who goes on a road trip across the country to bring seven-year-old Olive to compete in a beauty pageant. Included in the group are two characters, Frank and Dwayne, who show signs of social anxiety, though in different ways and for different reasons. Continue reading
Predestination may be the most mind-bending time travel movie I’ve ever seen…and I’ve seen them all. It’s not the best time travel movie. I still prefer Primer, Looper, and of course Back to the Future. But Predestination is the ultimate exploration of the paradoxes involved in time travel. Continue reading
Ghost World is about two teenage hipsters, Enid (Thora Birch) and Rebecca (Scarlett Johansson), struggling to navigate the real world after their high school graduation. When Enid plays a prank by responding to a personal ad in the newspaper, she and Rebecca meet Seymour (Steve Buscemi), an older man whom they view as a pathetic socially awkward loser. Continue reading
