The Problem with Daisy Jones & the Six

Stories, at their core, are about relationships. A story needs characters who want something and characters who interact in meaningful ways. The mini-series “Daisy Jones & the Six” lacks both of these critical elements. Based upon the book of the same name, “Daisy Jones & the Six” follows the path of rockers Billy Dunn and Daisy Jones as they’re thrust […]

The Problem with the Mandalorian

Not a Star Wars Fan from the Beginning I’m not a fan of the Star Wars movies. The original 1977 Star Wars (now known as Stars Wars: Episode 4 “A New Hope”) was a disappointment for me. Don’t get me wrong – it was a milestone in moviemaking history. The complexity of the film, the special effects, the marketing, Lucas’ […]

Shadow in the Cloud

Chloe Grace Moretz portrays Maude Garrett, a young woman in World War II who has a secret courier mission: she has a package that must be delivered aboard the B-17 bomber “The Fool’s Errand.” The men on board treat her dismissively and confine her to the below-belly gun while one of them promises to take care of the package. No […]

The Queen’s Gambit – Ep 1: Openings

SPOILERS AHEAD My daughter Amber recommended The Queen’s Gambit (Netflix) to me because she knows I loved the period piece “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel” and am a chess nut. Good call on her part. After watching Episode One “Openings” I thought I might write a series of reviews of the show discussing its use of story devices and comparing it […]

Star Trek First Frontier – Review

One of the groups of fan fiction filmmakers has released their feature Star Trek film “First Frontier.” It took five years to produce and violates many of Viacom/CBS’s guidelines for a fan-fic-film: 1: It’s 70 minutes long (the limit is 30 minutes)2: They built their own set3: They use professional actors4: They use non-CBS props and costumes Some of the […]

Experimenter (2015)

Experimenter (2015) Director: Michael Almereyda Writer: Michael Almereyda Stars: Peter Sarsgaard, Winona Ryder, John Palladino, Anthony Edwards, Jim Gaffigan  Peter Sarsgaard plays Dr. Stanley Milgram who in 1961 performed a series of experiments where unwitting subjects asked another person questions and shocked them with up to 450 volts of electricity for each wrong answer. The fact was, that no one was actually […]