Remembering actor and artist Richard Herd, 1932-2020…

As if 2020 hasn’t been trying enough, yesterday I learned that actor Richard Herd, whom I’d met and spoken with at many conventions, passed away from cancer on Tuesday, May 26th.  Richard Herd had a long and varied career.  He was often cast as authority figures, with costarring roles in TV shows such as “T.J. Hooker”…

Jordan Peele’s newest thriller says much about “Us” (2019)…

I’d like to say a few things about writer/director Jordan Peele’s latest movie, “Us”, an ambitious, scary followup to 2017’s brilliant “Get Out”, but I cannot (and will not) reveal the ending. All I can say is that the ending will change your perception of everything that precedes it. And you won’t read that ending…

The silence is deafening in “A Quiet Place”…

There’s nothing terribly original about the farmhouse-under-seige scenario.   Precedents include such classics as “Night of the Living Dead” (1968), “Straw Dogs” (1971) or even the Three Little Pigs and the Big Bad Wolf. What makes director/co-scripter/star John Krasinski’s impressive “A Quiet Place” (2018) uniquely distinctive are the rules imposed upon this particular farmhouse-under-siege scenario.  This…

Sci-fi and diversity do well at the 90th Annual Academy Awards…

First, I want to say upfront that I’m not big on the idea of pitting art (and artists) against each other in competition.   Personally, I am one of the least competitive people on Planet Earth.  The Academy Awards ceremonies in particular bring to mind the apples and oranges analogy:  Is “2001: A Space Odyssey” any…

Personal Favorites of 2017

Just want to begin by saying that for this year’s favorites list, I’m going to get away from numerical or other arbitrary values (same way I won’t give ‘thumbs up’ or 1-5 star ratings, etc).  So unlike last year’s list, I’m not going to do rankings.  Just a list. I also recognize that there are many…

“Get Out” really drew me in…

Just saw a film that’s been out for a few weeks, written and directed by Jordan Peele (half of the comedic duo “Key & Peele”) called “Get Out” (2017).   The movie stars Brit actor Daniel Kaluuya as Chris Washington, a young African-American photographer, who goes for a weekend in the country to meet the…