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"Fictional Dystopias Better Than the One We're Living In" in Booth
My latest conceptual piece, "Fictional Dystopias Better Than the One We're Living In" has been published in the January 2020 issue of Booth, the literary journal of Butler University.
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Only now does it occur to me... TELL ME THAT YOU LOVE ME, JUNIE MOON
Only now does it occur to me... that TELL ME THAT YOU LOVE ME, JUNIE MOON is not what it appears to be. I'd been told that this, one of the final films Otto Preminger made before he died, was merely...
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Only now does it occur to me... BABE: PIG IN THE CITY
Only now does it occur to me... that BABE: PIG IN THE CITY is a children's film of uncommon imagination and depth. This is mostly due to the fact that high-octane Aussie auteur George Miller (the MAD...
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Coming soon: "DROIDS week"
In which things get a little STAR WARS nerdy at Junta Juleil as I analyze 8 episodes of the landmark 1985-1986 series (and their outsize influence on the sequel and prequel trilogies), which is all the...
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Only now does it occur to me... STAR WARS: DROIDS––THE PIRATE AND THE PRINCE
Only now does it occur to me.... that, for the serious STAR WARS fan, there are at least a few bizarre reasons to watch the aggressively mediocre DROIDS animated series (1985-1986). This one I'm...
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Only now does it occur to me... STAR WARS: DROIDS––TREASURE OF THE HIDDEN PLANET
Only now does it occur to me... I guess we're doing more of these, huh? If you already read my thoughts on THE PIRATE AND THE PRINCE, then you know the score.This is another feature-length fusion of...
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Only now does it occur to me... HOLLYWOOD HOMICIDE
Only now does it occur to me... that it's hard to imagine a more awkward turn-of-the-century buddy cop movie than HOLLYWOOD HOMICIDE. Written and directed by Ron Shelton––a minor master of the modern...
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R.I.P., Stuart Gordon
I'm sorry to report the death of Chicago horror icon/auteur Stuart Gordon. Though he was best known for his major masterpiece, RE-ANIMATOR, and, perhaps, his connection to HONEY, I SHRUNK THE KIDS...
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Only now does it occur to me... THE GOLDEN GIRLS, "A MIDWINTER NIGHT'S DREAM"...
Only now does it occur to me... that my life would be complete once I saw Betty White make a JCVD reference on THE GOLDEN GIRLS. (This is Quarantine Life, ladies and gentlemen.)In this particular...
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Only now does it occur to me... A STRANGER AMONG US
Only now does it occur to me... I'm pretty sure that once upon a time in the late '80s, somebody was watching a Harrison Ford double-feature: WITNESS and WORKING GIRL. They were left with the sensation...
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Only now does it occur to me.... STAR WARS: EPISODE VII––THE FORCE AWAKENS
Only now does it occur to me... that since I've amply demonstrated the inspiration that the STAR WARS sequel trilogy drew from something as humble as old random episodes of DROIDS, it's time to...
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Only now does it occur to me... MAME
Only now does it occur to me... that an operetta-within-the-musical MAME can function as an important prequel to THE STAR WARS HOLIDAY SPECIAL. Yeah, that's right, I'm giving you all that...
View ArticleGIRLFRIEND FROM HELL––The Musical!
There's a new theatrical musical coming soon from my compatriots Sean Matthew Whitford (writer), Rachel Klein (director), and Brian Campione (producer) that I must plug: it's called GIRLFRIEND FROM...
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"Mrs. Ives at the Shooting Gallery" in Hemingway Shorts
My latest short story, "Mrs. Ives at the Shooting Gallery," has been published in the fifth volume of Hemingway Shorts, the literary journal of The Ernest Hemingway Foundation of Oak Park, "a...
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Only now does it occur to me... HANSEL AND GRETEL (1987)
Only now does it occur to me... how much narrative padding has to go into HANSEL AND GRETEL to make it feature-length. Let's be honest, the bullet points are these: mom and dad are struggling; Hansel...
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"The Buzzer is Mightier: The Author as a Game Show Contestant" in Epiphany
My latest essay––about the phenomena of authors appearing as game show contestants, and featuring appearances by Stephen King, Hunter S. Thompson, Herman Wouk, Jacqueline Susann, and John le Carré––has...
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Coming Soon: "Of Whitesnakes and Witchboards... a Tawny Kitaen Retrospective"
In which this blog embarks on one of its most important projects: a retrospective of Tawny Kitaen's 1980s output which will reveal the unexpected range of this underrated performer who, through a...
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Only now does it occur to me... WITCHBOARD (1986)
In this, the first installment "Of Whitesnakes and Witchboards... a Tawny Kitaen Retrospective": Only now does it occur to me.... that Tawney Kitaen's acting skills are... um... pretty good, actually!...
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Film Review: THE PERILS OF GWENDOLINE IN THE LAND OF THE YIK-YAK (1984, Just...
Yik-Yaks: Many.Running Time: 105 minutes.Notable Cast or Crew: Tawny Kitaen (WITCHBOARD, BACHELOR PARTY), Brent Huff (NINE DEATHS OF THE NINJA, HITMAN'S RUN), Zabou Breitman (THE SWALLOWS OF KABUL),...
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