Christmas In July: The Disconcerting Experience of Watching The Polar Express When It’s Sweltering Outside
For reasons that remain a mystery because Hulu would not give a straight answer despite repeated attempts to get the story out of them, the streaming service added the Tom Hanks Christmas movie to its library on July 1st. I watched the movie in my too-hot New York City apartment to see if it held up in the summer (Spoiler alert: It doesn’t).
Exploring the Universe-Altering Implications of The Crazy Julia Roberts Plot Twist in Ocean’s Twelve
The much-maligned Oceans Eleven sequel includes a scene where Julia Roberts’ character, Tess Ocean, pretends to be Julia Roberts, the actress, but the plan is foiled when Bruce Willis (the real Bruce Willis, playing himself) is on the scene too. In this upsettingly exhaustive essay, I explain how this is less of a “plot hole” and more of a “gaping chasm that destroys just not the audience’s suspension of disbelief, but also the entire fictional universe.”
Jon Snow’s Reunion With Ghost Was Yet Another Example of Game Of Thrones Cheating Its Way to an Emotional Climax
There was a lot to dislike about the last couple seasons of Game of Thrones, but in this critical essay, I wrote about the many times the show took cheap emotional shortcuts to achieve fleetingly cool, ultimately hollow moments.
The Splice Sex Scene: Never Forget!
When the sci-fi horror movie Splice became available to stream, I wrote about the film’s most infamous — and, arguably, effective — moment.