Category Archives: Uncategorized

Reading Journal 2024: The FutureAuthor: Catherine Leroux I got a bit of whiplash from this one. Starts off simple enough, focused on a singular character, small in scope, and seemingly full of potential. And then it takes an odd shift into a Lord of the Flies kind of premise, with the scope and fhs castContinue reading “Reading Journal 2024: The Future”

Film Journal 2024: Abigail Directed by Tyler Gillett and Matt Bettinelli-Olpin Seemed fitting that I saw this with a crowd of mostly middle grade teens. This is, I believe, the films primary target audience. It’s a YA horror-thriller that effectively pushes some boundaries on that front with its commitment to gore and mature themes (andContinue reading “Film Journal 2024: Abigail”

Reading Journal 2024: Northwind Author: Gary Paulsen Northwind gains much of its worth from being Paulsen’s last book he wrote before he died. Without that context it’s hard to know how this book would land. It’s something of an odd duck  With it, the unusual story becomes a personal commentary on life and death itself.Continue reading “Reading Journal 2024: Northwind”

Film Journal 2024: Civil WarDirected by Alex Garland How should I watch this film as a Canadian?That was the first thought/question that came to mind when asked for my thoughts post-viewing. In truth, I’m not sure. If the film takes some strides to create something with universal application, there is no question the film isContinue reading “Film Journal 2024: Civil War”

Film Journal 2024: Turtles All The Way DownDirected by Hannah Marks I feel seen. Although I differ somewhat in my own experiences and struggles, I found so much overlap in the central character’s journey. She struggles with a mental disorder driven by severe anxiety and OCD. This disorder results in her getting lost inside herContinue reading “Film Journal 2024: Turtles All The Way Down”

Reading Journal 2024: Why We Remember: Unlocking Memory’s Power to Hold on to what Matters Author: Charan Ranganath I’ve been interested in the subject of memory for a while now, having recently begun a deep dive into the subject. Part of this is a desire to understand my own story, and to even learn howContinue reading “Reading Journal 2024: Why We Remember: Unlocking Memory’s Power to Hold on to what Matters”

Film Journal 2024: The Fall Guy Directed by David Leitch As a rom-com it’s very good As a comedy-action it’s good.As a love letter to the art of stunt work and filmmaking its exceptional. There is a lot of film here. Most of this is due to the fact that it spends time building upContinue reading “Film Journal 2024: The Fall Guy”

Film Journal 2024: Freud’s Last SessionDirected by Matt Brown “So much pain in this world, and this is God’s plan?” “We are all cowards in the face of death.” “My idea of God keeps shattering over and over again. And yet I find God everywhere. Impenetrating everything.” “From error to error, none discovers the entireContinue reading “Film Journal 2024: Freud’s Last Session”

Film Journal 2024: Infested Directed by Sébastien Vaniček Back to back horror films about an infestation of dangerous spiders (this and Sting). On a purely objective level, this is probably the stronger of the two, but both have their strengths and are great entries into the creature feature genre. In the case of Infested, theContinue reading “Film Journal 2024: Infested”

Film Journal 2024: UnfrostedDirected by Jerry Seinfeld I mean, it would be a difficult movie to hateBut there’s no question it’s bad. Like shockingly bad. I’m tempted to say it’s all sugar and no substance, which would be true. But it’s worse than that. It’s high fructose corn syrup trying to pass itself off asContinue reading “Film Journal 2024: Unfrosted”