Brendan carves out his space in the jam-packed blogoverse
When you're a kid, your bike will take you places you've never been before. It's your first real taste of independence and, ultimately, freedom. It starts with that first pushback against mom—who tells you not to go around the entire block. Then you do. She tells you not to cross the big street into the... Continue Reading →
The six Star Wars film references I wrote about that Rotten Tomatoes did not use
Ted Lasso shares some of the same principles and problems as other founding television dads.
A white mask rises from the floor in the dark background. A friend's long nails scratch at the window two stories up. A creature bursts from the chest of a crew mate. A wraith-like figure emerges from the shadows to enter the room of a sleeping woman. These are the movie moments that made me... Continue Reading →
Inside Out is about the movie theater industry and includes a stark reminder about what happens if the industry doesn't explore all genres equally. This realization led me to an immediate question burning in my mind: Am I high?
Every December for the past decade or so, I've read, overheard, and even argued in debates about the greatest non-Christmas movies set during Christmas. A few challengers are tossed around, like Gremlins, Harry Potter, and Trading Places. Almost always everyone zeroes-in on Die Hard. It's hard to disagree. Die Hard is a badass movie. It's... Continue Reading →
Kids are a lot of work. This Halloween I saw a mom taking her three kids, who were all under age four, trick-or-treating along Fremont Street in Portland. I nearly passed out in exhaustion from the mere sight of her effort. My wife and I took our daughter out for the same event and the... Continue Reading →
The kids are in bed. You opened that bottle of barrel-aged pumpkin ale from your beer cellar. And you're all cozy on the couch with the dog on your lap. Then you spend the next 40 minutes going through apps searching for the right movie before giving up and going to bed. Don't let that... Continue Reading →
Just in time for Halloween, here's my latest entry for HorrorNews.net. I looked into the movie scenes that do more than set a scary tone -- they are terrifying in their own right. You could end the movie right then and there, and be pleasantly chilled. One of my entries is actually not in the... Continue Reading →
Among the Reads 