Twister: One Of The Best Disaster Thrillers

The Oscar-nominated Twister follows a group of storm chasers on a dangerous mission to deploy a tornado research device during a storm. I still remember watching the film while on vacation in St. Louis back in 1996. It’s one of at least two Steven Spielberg films that I saw while my family was on vacation–the other being Saving Private Ryan while vacationing in Detroit in 1998. Maybe it’s because I saw this during a pivotal…

"Twister: One Of The Best Disaster Thrillers"

Minority Report: Spielberg Tackles the Future

Minority Report might take place some fifty years after the film was shot but the film’s themes are still relevant almost twenty years later. This film marks the first collaboration between Steven Spielberg and Tom Cruise.  The film has audiences asking some important questions.  What if we knew what was going to happen in the future?  After you ask yourself the question, what if the person knowing this found out he was going to kill someone? …

"Minority Report: Spielberg Tackles the Future"

AFI FEST 2020: Uncle Frank

Uncle Frank is a period piece following a closeted gay man who is reluctantly returning home for his father’s funeral and unresolved trauma. While conditions have improved to an extent for the LGBTQ community, things are certainly better than they were in 1973.  This is when South Carolinian teenager Beth Bledsoe (Sophia Lillis) heads off to New York University.  The move leads to a reunion with literature professor and Beth’s uncle, Frank (Paul Bettany).  What…

"AFI FEST 2020: Uncle Frank"

Marjorie Prime: Lois Smith delivers Awards-Worthy Performance in Sci-Fi Indie

The thought-provoking Marjorie Prime goes from stage to screen with Lois Smith delivering an awards-worthy performance. Written for the screen and directed by Michael Almereyda, the film stars Jon Hamm, Geena Davis, Lois Smith and Tim Robbins.  Smith reprises her role as Marjorie from Jordan Harrison’s Pulitzer-nominated play. Harrison had been inspired to write the play after seeing his grandmother battle dementia and after reading Brian Christian’s 2011 book, The Most Human Human: What Artificial…

"Marjorie Prime: Lois Smith delivers Awards-Worthy Performance in Sci-Fi Indie"