Pacing Lessons from Fury Road

Pacing Lessons from Fury Road

Many writers labor under a common misconception about what makes a book feel fast-paced. Slamming chapters together with no space in-between doesn't necessarily give readers a sense of speed. In fact, it can do the opposite by bringing on action fatigue. Pacing has less to do with keeping lots of…
March 10, 20216 Comments
Aughts Nostalgia

Aughts Nostalgia

The accepted wisdom among creators in the new counterculture holds that there will be no aughts nostalgia movement as there is for the last decades of the 20th century. Western cultural development stagnated and finally started eating itself circa 1997. Therefore, the lion's share of media products after that point…
March 9, 202131 Comments
How to Popcorn

How to Popcorn

Regular readers will be aware that I worked for a local movie theater chain in my dissolute youth. During my time there, I learned how to make professional-grade popcorn whose addictiveness one friend equated to crack. At least I think that's what he said. His mouth was full of popcorn…
March 2, 202113 Comments
Shapiro – Carano

Shapiro – Carano

In a follow up to the news of Disney's latest middle finger to their audience, it's now been reported that inveterate white knight Ben Shapiro has swooped in to sign fired actress Gina Carano. It's a testament to Con Inc's influence that anyone on the Right met this news with…
February 16, 20217 Comments
Y2K Music Curse

Y2K Music Curse

In response to yesterday's post, reader Scott W.  solicits learned opinions on music producer Rick Beato's claims of a Y2K Curse. For those in too much of a rush to watch the video, Rick observes that a whole slew of bands that hit it big in the 90s fell off…
February 11, 202115 Comments
The Music Men

The Music Men

The more I learn about popular music, the convinced I become about 1997 being ground zero for pop culture's decline. Like all sectors of the entertainment industry, pop music suffered a marked collapse--not just in sales, but in quality--in the late 90s. What happened ca. 1996-1999 that brought popular music…
February 9, 202124 Comments
Hollywood Shanghaied

Hollywood Shanghaied

Lest anyone cling to the delusion that our lawless ruling class operates on a profit motive, one of their most loyal servants has willingly walked the plank.   It's official: North American box office revenue plummeted 80 percent in 2020 amid the novel coronavirus pandemic and unprecedented theater closures, while…
January 4, 202113 Comments
The Village Troll

The Village Troll

My recent reviews of M. Night Shyamalan's Eastrail 177 Trilogy sparked a discussion of the controversial director's other films on and off this blog. One movie in his catalogue that proved more contentious than most was 2004's period thriller The Village. On the meta level, The Village is noteworthy because it…
December 30, 20209 Comments
Trains and Traditions

Trains and Traditions

Say what you will about the MAGA movement. A necessary premise of its core argument is that America was once a great nation, but somewhere along the line we lost our way. The fact that this message resonated with half the country should sound alarm bells. An older thread from…
December 8, 202012 Comments
Gremlins 2: The New Batch

Gremlins 2: The New Batch

The recent post I did on beloved 80s horror-comedy Gremlins hinted that a review of the sequel was forthcoming, so here it is. First off, I mentioned that Gremlins 2: The New Batch belongs to that rare breed of sequel that surpasses the original. Much like the follow up to another little…
November 16, 202013 Comments