Fate, Courage, Groundhog Day, and the Edge of Tomorrow

Fate, Courage, Groundhog Day, and the Edge of Tomorrow

This isn’t precisely a review as it’s got major spoilers, but I felt I really had to go deeper into the story and characters of the Tom Cruise movie Edge of Tomorrowthan the short review I gave it. I really love this movie. Frankly, I think it really isa better Groundhog Day, and that’s saying a lot. Bill Murray is fucking brilliant, and nice guy/blue pill romantic elements of the script aside, his portrayal of Phil, the arrogant, jaded, and cocky weatherman is awe inspiring. You start with the…

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Building a Better Groundhog Day

Building a Better Groundhog Day

It’s pretty easy to make fun of Tom Cruise – especially with the whole couch -jumping incident and his Scientology issues, but he actually can act. He’s also in two of the better recent science fiction films I’d seen: Oblivion, and* Edge of Tomorrow*. Edge of Tomorrowsuffered from a lot of issues at the studio level. No-one seemed to have any idea how to market it, and the Japanese short-novel the concept was borrowed from had an even less descriptive title (All You Need is Kill).  It almost se…

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More on John Wick

More on John Wick

There are only so many movies that I consider effectively “perfect.” Movies so tightly done, with good acting, good editing, every piece has its place, and even knowing the twists you can watch them over and over again. One for me is “The Usual Suspects”. Another is John Wick. OK, it’s not flawless. It’s certainly not terribly “original”.  But, and this is a huge but, it delivers exactly what it promises, with excellent pacing, interesting characters that behave exactly how you’d expect peopl…

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More John Wick

More John Wick

Posting has been light the last couple days as I’m about 350 miles from where I normally reside and making plans to get back home with dogs and family after a mildly oversized storm system came through. I’m fortunate, my home was above flood lines, and thanks to a recently replaced transformer around the block I still have power (in 2004 I got to watch my neighbors lights – on a different transformer – for two days before power came on with Gaston…). Certainly better than some towns in West VA.…

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The Fiddler on the Roof - and Throwing Tradition off of It

The Fiddler on the Roof - and Throwing Tradition off of It

When I was growing up, listening to reel-to-reel recordings of the many albums my parents had accumulated, one of my favorites was Fiddler on the Roof. It was catchy, etc. It wasn’t until many, many years later, seeing the movie version, that I came to appreciate exactly what a poisonous and subversive work it was, cloaked in a pleasant and even “happy – ending” coating. If for some reason you haven’t seen it, and care, there are spoilers coming. The story opens with a paean to tradition, and…

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