Category Archives: Reviews

HUMMEL Review – Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery

I am behind in my recent movie reviews because of heavy holiday traveling, catching up on studio screeners, and keeping up with my day job. I’ve been meaning to file some more serious pieces about The Whale, Dead For a Dollar, Father Stu, and a handful of prospective Oscar-nominated films, but that will have to waitContinue reading “HUMMEL Review – Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery”

HUMMEL Review – She Said

Director Maria Schrader’s “She Said” probably isn’t a movie that will play well to the holiday crowd, but it comes from an old tradition in filmmaking that lionizes the fourth estate as the last defender of democracy and justice in a world of corruption and hate.  To paraphrase a “Pamphleteer” colleague, what better way isContinue reading “HUMMEL Review – She Said”

Black Adam and The Parochial Demigods of Pop Culture 

As the city of Troy is burning in Virgil’s poem The Aeneid, our intrepid hero Aeneas is left to decide what little he can save from the fires of the barbarian Greeks as they lay siege to the once mighty civilization. With little time, the pious warrior prince ceases his son and the household deities,Continue reading “Black Adam and The Parochial Demigods of Pop Culture “

HUMMEL Review: Uncle Tom II: An American Odyssey (2022)

Several of my friends were actually surprised when I told them that there was going to be an Uncle Tom sequel. I was surprised as well. I managed to avoid hearing about it until well after its premiere. I haven’t seen the original Uncle Tom in two years, but I recall thinking fairly well ofContinue reading “HUMMEL Review: Uncle Tom II: An American Odyssey (2022)”

Reflections on Mykola Khvylovy’s “Stories from the Ukraine” – By Simon Maass

By Simon Maass I had one of my more ambiguous experiences with literature when I recently read “Stories from the Ukraine,” an anthology of tales by the early twentieth-century writer Mykola Khvylovy, translated and edited by George Luckyj. The book contains five short stories by Khvylovy himself, followed by an abridged autobiographical account featuring himContinue reading “Reflections on Mykola Khvylovy’s “Stories from the Ukraine” – By Simon Maass”

The Spirit of the Wild West in ‘Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron’ – by George William

By: George William Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron was one of the early movies produced by DreamWorks and released in 2002. It has been one of my favorite films since I watched it years ago. The title is very apt in its description of what the film is about. A wild stallion in the CimarronContinue reading “The Spirit of the Wild West in ‘Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron’ – by George William”

HUMMEL Review: DC League of Superpets

When I left the critic screening for League of Superpets, I was asked by my contact at the distributor company what I thought of the film. I was a little taken back by the question. I didn’t have a substantive option on it. It was a wacky movie for babies, what option could I haveContinue reading “HUMMEL Review: DC League of Superpets”

HUMMEL Review: Elvis

Is it redundant to call a Baz Luhrmann film garish and over-the-top? Probably. Few directors have build sound a strong reputation around stylish aesthetics and visual insanity as much as the director of Romeo + Juliet, Moulin Rouge and Australia. Unlike most directors with a maximalist style, few feel so under-deserved or shallow. He makesContinue reading “HUMMEL Review: Elvis”