Opinions are opinions, and here are a few of mine.
Film
Sunday Film Roundup (5/15/2016)
We now consider a few of the most recent films I’ve seen. I should have started doing this a while ago.
A Few Recent Movies
I watch a lot of movies. You’d be surprised at the ways that movies can generate new ideas in you, or take you in new directions. I haven’t written any film reviews in a while, so I thought this would be a good time to take a break from some of my more serious posts in recent days. Here are my impressions on a handful of recent films.
“Roadside Picnic”: The Insignificance Of Man
The science fiction genre is filled–too filled–with stories about what might happen if extraterrestrials came into contact with human beings. It is a favorite subject of writers, who use the theme to explore deeper truths about man and his place in the universe. And this is all well and good.
You Are The Captain Of Your Ship
I recently saw again the film The Shawshank Redemption (1994), after not having seen it for a few years. It’s always interesting to revisit certain classics (book, film, or work of art) as the years go by, and observe how your perceptions change. I had a chance to read a little bit more about how the director, Frank Darabont, got the film made, and how it was not an immediate success.
Grief As A Demonic Force: “The Babadook” (2014)
Several years ago I had a client who needed some legal work done. She was an educated and well-adjusted single mother of a young girl. She was normal in every way.
And then something terrible happened. Her daughter died suddenly from an unexpected illness. And this sent the mother on a downward psychological spiral from which she was unable to escape. The woman’s mother–a kindly but psychologically very strong woman in her 70s–was forced to care for her daughter, who went to pieces.
Film Review: “The Revenant” (Podcast)
This podcast is a discussion of the merits of Alejandro G. Iñárritu’s new film The Revenant.
It’s an important film, and one that I think every man would benefit from.
Never Get Out Of The Boat, Unless You’re Going All The Way
There is a scene in the 1979 film classic Apocalypse Now where Willard and the Chef stop their river patrol boat to collect some mangoes in the jungle. They come face to face with a tiger, and this causes the tightly-wound Chef to become unglued.
“Never get out of the boat…never get out of the boat…I got to remember: never get out of the boat,” he repeats over and over.
The Films Of Gaspar Noé
Sometimes we need to take a break from virtue. All things in moderation, I say, including virtue. Sometimes, we need to look deeply into the abyss. Someone once said that the abyss looks back at you, but it’s more accurate to say something else: it blows out its breath at you, like the open maw of a hungry grizzly bear, if you happen to be unlucky enough to be near his jaws. And then you catch a good whiff of that dank, fetid breath.
Quintus Curtius 
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