DISCLOSURE DAY – Building Trust
Even amidst an illustrious career, Steven Spielberg’s films about visitors from other worlds stand out. Close Encounters of the Third Kind and E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial remain some of the filmmaker’s most enduring, beloved works. At a glance Disclosure Day appears to follow in their footsteps, and though thematic lines can be drawn between these movies … Continue reading DISCLOSURE DAY – Building Trust
PLURIBUS – Unity and Desolation
More than a decade before he created one of the most heralded television series of all time in Breaking Bad, Vince Gilligan cut his teeth as a writer, director, and executive producer on The X-Files. With Pluribus—now nominated for 18 Emmy Awards—Gilligan is returning to his roots in weird science fiction and paranormal thrillers in … Continue reading PLURIBUS – Unity and Desolation
QUEENS OF THE DEAD – Operating to Convey Confidence and Terror
For almost as long as there have been horror movies, there have been horror-comedies. The peanut butter and chocolate of cinematic genres. From Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein to Shaun of the Dead, filmmakers have long been playing with tension and release to deliver screams of laughter alongside screams of terror, but there’s always room … Continue reading QUEENS OF THE DEAD – Operating to Convey Confidence and Terror
ST. DENIS MEDICAL – Exaggerating Reality
With a lineage tracing back to The Office, St. Denis Medical is the latest in a series of mockumentary workplace comedies from writer/producer Justin Spitzer, this time trading the setting of an office park or a big box store for an underfunded hospital in small town Oregon. In that way, St. Denis Medical manages to … Continue reading ST. DENIS MEDICAL – Exaggerating Reality
THE TERMINAL LIST: DARK WOLF – Into Darkness
Arriving two years after the successful first season of The Terminal List, the prequel series The Terminal List: Dark Wolf trades the more straightforward revenge structure of James Reece’s story for a trip into the shadowy underworld of covert ops and moral ambiguity with Ben Edwards. This darker, grittier corner of the story in turn … Continue reading THE TERMINAL LIST: DARK WOLF – Into Darkness
THE PITT – Immersed in the Moment
In just two seasons, The Pitt has already entrenched itself as something of a cultural institution. Despite airing on the HBO Max streaming service, the series is structured more like an updated take on network medical dramas, with longer seasons, a weekly release schedule, and—at least so far—regular intervals between seasons. The characters of Dr. … Continue reading THE PITT – Immersed in the Moment
Universal’s Fan Fest Is Exciting and Ambitious – Why Isn’t Halloween Horror Nights?
Universal recently announced that Sinners will be part of this year’s Halloween Horror Nights event. Sinners is one of the best movies in recent memory, an original horror film that not only proved popular with audiences but was also widely hailed as a significant piece of filmmaking. A film rich in visual style and packed with memorable imagery. Landing that license … Continue reading Universal’s Fan Fest Is Exciting and Ambitious – Why Isn’t Halloween Horror Nights?
SONG SUNG BLUE – Leaning In
In Song Sung Blue, we meet Mike Sardina, a recovering alcoholic trying to turn his life around and make a name for himself as a musician, but who is stuck doing gimmicky sets at the fairgrounds in between an Elvis impersonator and a James Brown look-alike. As Mike threatens to walk from the gig, Claire, another … Continue reading SONG SUNG BLUE – Leaning In
THE LOST BUS – Into the Fire
In November of 2018 in Butte County, California, a combination of strong winds and poorly maintained electrical equipment sparked what would become the deadliest and most destructive wildfire in the state’s history. Loosely based on Lizzie Johnson’s book Paradise, The Lost Bus chronicles the fire from the perspective of Kevin McKay, a school bus driver who is called … Continue reading THE LOST BUS – Into the Fire
David Daut 