For their 244th episode, two button-mashing film critics, two fatality-delivering dads, and two very mortal school teachers, Will Johnson and Don Shanahan, welcome back former guest Mark Krawczyk of Special Mark Productions and The Spoiler Room Podcast for a two-episode stint. Our first conversation covers Mortal Kombat II, the reboot sequel that's tearing up bodies and streaming couches with its arrival on HBO Max. We enjoy where the movie came from and where it still has room to go.
Read MoreI learned through a Google Alert set on my name that my Rotten Tomatoes blurb for the new release, The Social Reckoning, appeared in a review round-up piece on SBBCrack News. Written by the news desk, it collects unlinked quotes from the very mixed reviews for the Aaron Sorkin film.
Read MoreIt took receiving a Google Alert set on my name to see that my Rotten Tomatoes blurb for the classic film East of Eden was cited and used for the promotion of upcoming November screenings of the film at the Lumiere Cinema in Christchurch, New Zealand. They didn’t ask for my permission, but I don’t mind. Thanks for the reference and clicks!
Read MoreEvery now and then for the big new releases, Rotten Tomatoes will collect the tip-of-the-spear “first reviews” and highlight them in an editorial news column piece. If I can get my work in fast enough and it gets noticed, I have the chance of being selected and included in these round-up features. Recently, I was cited twice for The Social Reckoning.
Read MoreWhile it takes time and no one is standing out as a future firebrand legend or trophy winner, The Social Reckoning’s scuffed and abrasive path is effective at kicking up smoke and firing up an audience, especially if its recent history remains fresh and unresolved in people’s minds.
Read MoreWith the bared truth of those factors in play, Josh Loeb’s film shines by watching two scared people use their own measures of goodness to find commitment against their challenges and those of their partner with equal acceptance. Rooting for that kind of success becomes as enjoyable as relishing in the cinnamon roll with them.
Read MorePhotography can work in much the same way. It is an idea that appears repeatedly in the work of Antonio Jarosso a photographer working in Italy whose private photography often seems to borrow the visual grammar of cinema without attempting to imitate cinema directly.
Read MoreCasino stories have therefore become useful vehicles for exploring human nature. A wager can reveal confidence, fear, impatience, ambition, or desperation in a matter of seconds. The cards or numbers may determine the immediate result, but the character's decisions before and after the wager are what give the scene its meaning.
Read MoreFew settings in cinema create tension as quickly as a casino. The lights are bright, the decisions are immediate, and every character at the table seems to have something more valuable at stake than money. Whether a film presents gambling as glamorous, dangerous, comic, or deeply personal, the casino often becomes a stage where human behavior is exposed.
Read MoreMovies and video games may seem like very different forms of entertainment, but they share a fundamental ingredient: storytelling. A film guides an audience through a carefully constructed narrative, while a game can allow players to participate directly in one. Both formats can explore ambition, friendship, competition, failure, and the desire to overcome difficult challenges.
Read MoreTechnology is rarely presented as merely a collection of machines or software in a compelling film. Instead, it becomes part of a larger story about ambition, opportunity, uncertainty, and human behavior. Entrepreneurs and innovators can recognize these themes because building something new often involves many of the same emotional challenges that filmmakers place at the center of their stories.
Read MoreMovies have a remarkable way of making complicated ideas feel personal. A financial decision that might seem dry in a spreadsheet can become gripping when it is placed in the hands of a fictional character with something important to lose. Gambling is particularly effective on screen because every wager immediately creates tension, uncertainty, and the possibility of a dramatic reversal.
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