Kumail is performing in an New York comedy club. In the middle of his bit, he hears a “woo-hoo!” And, wouldn’t you know it, it’s Emily with some of her friends. He tells her that yelling at a comedian during…

When looking through the Other Worlds Austin film schedule, I see a ton of amazing concepts and ideas; it’s full of films that I find intriguing, enthralling, that make my eyes light up and my brain start racing. Sci-fi films,…

Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri left me in a weird spot. Which is true with a lot of people. I found it problematic that I was being asked to sympathize with Jason Dixon. Dude was the embodiment of awful cops. And…

On first watching A Cure For Wellness most viewers will be clear on how the “wellness center” is actually a nefarious front for a mad scientist’s plans for immortality. That Hannah is the mad scientist, Volmer’s, daughter. And that Volmer’s trying to have a…

When The Shape of Water ended, I was excited for a few reasons. First, I’m a sap and the happy ending made me happy. Second, the ending was mysterious enough that I knew I’d be writing about it. Third, I recognized that…

I think one of the reasons the ending of The Lobster leaves people so bemused and unsure is because it’s a philosophical ending rather than a resolution. Movies and books have trained us to expect resolution. Ask anyone what the parts of a…

Blow-Up deals with the themes of transience and elusiveness. How do you develop such a theme in a movie? Well. You make a lot of things transient and elusive.  I recently wrote about The Lobster and how it’s a conclusion based on philosophy rather…

The Fountain makes things difficult by being three separate stories. And the lines are blurred between what is real and what isn’t real. To that end, there’s arguments to be made for a very fantastical reading of the film and then…

Most of us have heard about the writing rule of “show, don’t tell.” Usually this is about how someone writes an individual moment or scene. Telling would be, “Bobby came home angry, ignored his mother, and went right to his room.” Showing would be,…

I don’t think it will surprise anyone when I say that Donnie Darko is a weird movie.  The theatrical version can leave a viewer in complete and absolute befuddlement. Richard Kelly’s Director’s Cut wants to take it easy on the audience so…

The ending of Manchester by the Sea has a bit more depth than what it might seem. In the simplest terms, by film’s end, Lee has had a minor breakthrough with his grief and guilt. That’s it. This isn’t some Inception-like mystery where…