Tag Archives: Review

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”

Tyler’s 10 Greatest Films of All Time – A Theoretical Sights and Sounds Submission

I am not and was not eligible to submit to the British Film Institute’s Sight and Sound vote as to the greatest films of all time. I don’t particularly care of course. I am a member of the Music City Film Critics Association with five years of published film criticism under my belt. I don’tContinue reading “Tyler’s 10 Greatest Films of All Time – A Theoretical Sights and Sounds Submission”

“Labyrinth” (1986) and Fairy Tales – By Simon Maass

While no hit immediately upon its release in 1986, the motion picture “Labyrinth” has since garnered the status of a cult classic. This belated popularity is not highly surprising – directed by Jim Henson, executive-produced by George Lucas, starring David Bowie and a young Jennifer Connelly, the project was hardly short on talent. Indeed, manyContinue reading ““Labyrinth” (1986) and Fairy Tales – By Simon Maass”

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”

The Divine Tragedy of Kevin Smith: Clerks III and The Praise of Banality

One of the things that makes Dante’s Divine Comedy a masterpiece is the constant sense of drive that pushing beneath it. Borrowing from the great poets of the western canon, the Florencia poet crafted one of the greatest stories of pilgrimage ever put to paper. And that story ultimately starts by mulling over the question ofContinue reading “The Divine Tragedy of Kevin Smith: Clerks III and The Praise of Banality”