A seminal work in both literature and cinema, All Quiet on the Western Front remains a sobering portrait of both the senseless terror and the tragic waste of war. Now, nearly a century later, Edward Berger’s new telling of this story aims to remind us of these truths as the world once again finds itself … Continue reading ALL QUIET ON THE WESTERN FRONT – Going to War
Shortly before the COVID-19 pandemic broke out, I began working on a project with my friends Linnea Bond and Nick Tierce – we wanted to create a horror story, released as a podcast over five episodes. Now, nearly three years later, Hollow Medium is here. Hollow Medium follows the story of Lenora Bowen, a speakeasy … Continue reading HOLLOW MEDIUM
“What are we saying here?” That’s the question that motivated the camera operating team of Tim Spencer and Mike McEveety in their work on For All Mankind, for which they were nominated for Camera Operators of the Year in Television. Set in an alternate history where the Soviets beat the United States to the Moon, … Continue reading FOR ALL MANKIND – Freedom to Fail
How do you describe something that has never existed before and how do you assess the value of what it’s worth? These are the two interlocking problems one runs up against while trying to talk about Disney’s new Star Wars: Galactic Starcruiser immersive experience. Even that, “immersive experience”, what does that even mean? For people like myself … Continue reading STAR WARS: GALACTIC STARCRUISER – Weighing the Cost of a Miracle
During the height of Cold War paranoia, the American public heard a startling accusation: actress Lucille Ball is a member of the Communist Party. Being the Ricardos is Aaron Sorkin’s third feature as writer and director, and the film stars Nicole Kidman as Lucille Ball and Javier Bardem as Desi Arnaz. As much as Being the Ricardos is a … Continue reading BEING THE RICARDOS – An Exercise in Trust
In this dynamic retelling of the seminal musical West Side Story, Steven Spielberg takes us to the Upper West Side of Manhattan in the mid-20th century as young lovers Tony and María forge a romance amid a hotbed of racial and economic tension. The film stars Ansel Elgort, Ariana DeBose, David Alvarez, Mike Faist, Rita … Continue reading WEST SIDE STORY – Musical on a Massive Scale
At the time Disney acquired Lucasfilm in late 2012, Star Wars was in a weird spot. The most popular multi-media franchise of all time up to that point had basically ended. George Lucas had publicly committed to not doing any more films and the only outlet for new storytelling of any real legitimacy to happen … Continue reading STAR WARS REBELS Season One and How STAR WARS Was Saved
Boy, this one’s frustrating. To start, I suppose I should address the elephant in the room: I’m not going to relitigate the director situation in this piece. I have my own theories on how it all went down, but the fact is that none of us know and none of us are likely to ever … Continue reading SOLO and When Fan Service Goes Bad
For the most part I’ve made my peace with the Star Wars prequels. None of them are good, exactly, but Attack of the Clones deals with some interesting ideas and compelling themes hampered by shoddy execution; and The Phantom Menace is far better than its reputation would suggest thanks to imaginative visuals and a raw … Continue reading REVENGE OF THE SITH and the Terrible Burden of Expectations
Star Wars: The Clone Wars was cancelled in 2013 following the conclusion of its fifth season, but it wasn’t finished – it continued with 13 additional episodes comprising the show’s sixth season. The Clone Wars finished its television run with the final episode of Season Six, but still the show was not done; truly The … Continue reading THE CLONE WARS “Legacy” and the Show That Wouldn’t Be Cancelled
David Daut 