MOVIE REVIEW: The Tender Bar

George Clooney’s The Tender Bar has, above everything else, a crucial mentor character that wins over the entire film with everything he does. When regular dads are absent or inadequate, father-figures are incredibly important for an malleable kid. We’ve seen plenty of them in movies before, but Ben Affleck’s Charlie character feels more spot-on and special than usual. When he’s there putting an arm around a shoulder or mixing a martini, you’ll either wish for or recall your own Uncle Charlie from your life.

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MEDIA APPEARANCE: Guest on the Kicking the Seat's YouTube roundtable for "Spider-Man: No Way Home"

The big one of all 2021 big ones hit “Earth’s Mightiest Critics” assembled, as always, by Ian Simmons of Kicking the Seat. The ever-evolving crew came together for a recorded Zoom roundtable published on Ian’s YouTube channel to talk FULL SPOILERS for Sony and Marvel’s collaboration Spider-Man: No Way Home. We were wowed. We talked deep, and we came away greatly impressed. Enjoy Ian, myself, my Cinephile Hissy Fit podcast partner Will Johnson, David Fowlie of Keeping it Reel, Mike Crowley of You’ll Probably Agree, and Annie Banks of Chuck Load of Comics!

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PODCAST: Episode 40 of "The Cinephile Hissy Fit" Podcast

Crack open the Mickeys, Olde English, and King Cobra! Big 4-O! For our 40th episode and second of this Pre-Christmas doubleheader, 25YL film critics, stoked dads, and overhyped teachers Will Johnson and Don Shanahan get to gush over the Marvel Cinematic Universe tentpole that is Spider-Man: No Way Home with FULL SPOILERS! Through our last three retrospective shows, we built up to this big splash. Listen for how the guys landed on this multiverse extravaganza.

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PODCAST: Episode 39 of "The Cinephile Hissy Fit" Podcast

For our 39th episode and the first of a double-header week, 25YL film critics, fresh-faced dads, and vacationing school teachers Will Johnson and Don Shanahan are joined for one last spin by our special guest Rachel S. for the third and final retrospective discussion on big screen Spider-Man iterations. This closer covers the Tom Holland appearances across his solo and team-up movies on the road to Spider-Man: No Way Home. There's plenty of love and still some criticism in the room for Tony Jr.

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How "The Lord of the Rings" Voiceover Was Used to Craft the World of Middle Earth

How do you craft a world? In screenwriting and publishing terms, ‘world-building’ is the idea of creating a fictional location and making it seem real with specific techniques. Social structures, designing landscapes and visual differences from those on Earth build a rich history full of lore. Creating non-human races, the languages they speak, other-worldly creatures and fictional monarchies are world-building techniques of the fantasy genre specifically – breathing life into the idea of a world.

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6 Unique Ways to Boost Your Immune System

Everyone wants to feel good and to be happy, healthy, and energetic. What would you do if you were told that some simple changes could boost your immune system? The immune system is a complex network of cells, tissues, and organs that work together to identify and destroy harmful foreign invaders—like viruses, bacteria, and fungi—that enter our bodies. To keep your immune system healthy, you need to take care of yourself. When you're well-rested and have plenty of time each day for exercise, good nutrition, and spiritual practices like meditation or prayer, then your body can focus its attention on protecting itself from disease.

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Certain Movies Have Boosted Online Casinos

Movies that have featured casino scenes have made viewers want to go and visit an online casino due to the movie encouraging them to do so. A lot of online casinos have seen large numbers of traffic coming to their websites such as when James Bond films are shown for example there are a few casino scenes during the different films which have driven a lot of people to head to online casinos either during or after the film.

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GUEST COLUMN: Differences Between the “Forrest Gump” Film and the Original Book

By Lewis Robinson

The film Forrest Gump solidified Tom Hanks' reputation as a well-rounded film actor capable of performing comedy and drama. The film itself is hard to classify as one or the other. It is a "slice of life" film and, like life, has some funny moments, some tragic ones, and some that are just confusing. If you had already read the book upon which it was based, you may have been even more confused because the filmmakers made some significant changes to the plot and characters when adapting the novel into a motion picture.

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MOVIE REVIEW: Spider-Man: No Way Home

The successes spring forth from the roller coaster of crowd reactions between cheers and tears that you yourself will undoubtedly witness (or share) at your own theater visit. Imagine if everything you eventually see was a protected surprise and that measurement goes through the multiplex roof even further. Top to bottom from a production standpoint and crowned with a smile from ear to ear, this is what big screen escapism and dream fulfillment looks like at the highest level.

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MEDIA APPEARANCE: Guest on the "You'll Probably Agree" podcast talking about "Spider-Man: No Way Home"

Mike Crowley of the You’ll Probably Agree website (and fellow 25YL film critic) collected a few movie friends in the exhaling wake of the Chicago press screening of Spider-Man: No Way Home. Still buzzing, Mike’s digital recorder and microphone array captured the rants and processing compliments of myself, David Fowlie of Keeping It Reel, and Annie Banks of Chuck Load of Comics. This was boozy, sweaty, and fun! Enjoy this energetic conversation and be sure to follow Mike’s work on 25YL.

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MEDIA APPEARANCE: Guest on the Kicking the Seat's "HawkTalk" YouTube roundtable for Episode 5 of "Hawkeye"

For me, the penultimate episode of Disney+’s MCU limited series Hawkeye felt like the calm before the finale storm that some of us like to call “filler.” Yes, the dreaded TV f-word. In any case, the character development was still strong as was the discussion among “Earth’s Mightiest Critics.” Watch the live-recorded “HawkTalk” Kicking the Seat YouTube roundtable for this fifth episode featuring the talents of Ian, myself, my Cinephile Hissy Fit podcast partner Will Johnson, David Fowlie of Keeping it Reel, Mark Krawczyk of Special Mark Productions, Mike Crowley of You’ll Probably Agree, Annie Banks of Chuck Load of Comics.

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GUEST COLUMN: 7 Adventure Movies You Can’t Wait To Watch This New Year

by Emma Wilson

It’s hard to believe it’s almost the end of 2021. And the good thing is people are gradually stepping out of our virtual worlds, although things might never go back to the ‘normal’ before the pandemic struck. But if there’s one thing that’s going back to normal, it’s the numerous new movies coming up. Now, that’s amazing news, especially for all the movie buffs out there.

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