“Draw A Crazy Picture, Write A Nutty Poem” (#96)

If you’re a dreamer, a wisher, a liar, a magic bean buyer, or you just hate doing dishes and taking the garbage out, you’ll surely find something to relate to in our latest episode on celebrated author, illustrator, poet, and all-around Renaissance Man Shel Silverstein. Though Where The Sidewalk Ends was first published in 1974,Continue reading ““Draw A Crazy Picture, Write A Nutty Poem” (#96)”

“Don’t You Ever Laugh As The Hearse Goes By” (#70)

“Did you ever think as a hearse goes by, That you will be the next one to die? They wrap you up in big white sheets and cover you from head to feet. And the worms crawl in, the worms crawl out, In your stomach and out your snout, And your eyes fall out and yourContinue reading ““Don’t You Ever Laugh As The Hearse Goes By” (#70)”

“Reader Beware, You’re In For A Scare!” (#50)

Calling all creeps! If you were a literate kid in the 90s, you almost certainly cracked open a Goosebumps book at some point. With 62 titles in its original run, R.L. Stine’s legendary YA horror anthology is one of the best-selling book series of all time. It also spawned games, toys, lunchboxes, apparel, two majorContinue reading ““Reader Beware, You’re In For A Scare!” (#50)”

Incoherent ‘Vice’: A Defective Detective And A Slippery Mystery

Paul Thomas Anderson is considered one of the greatest filmmakers of our time. By some, one of the greatest filmmakers of any time. Boogie Nights and There Will Be Blood are held up, almost unanimously, as some of the finest films of the last quarter-century; some would add Magnolia and The Master to that list.Continue reading “Incoherent ‘Vice’: A Defective Detective And A Slippery Mystery”

These Boots Are Made For Sobbing: Witherspoon Goes ‘Wild’

Much has been made of the weak Best Actress race this year. The Best Actor field is filled to the brim with potential nominees, enough to fill ten slots with worthy performances from 2014. The Best Actress race? Not so much.

‘Gone Girl’ Wild: Marriage & Media Are The Real Killers

Marriage is a contract. We select one person we love and trust, and pledge to continue loving and trusting them until our dying breath. We give them equal stake in all our assets. We promise to be with them and them only. We will eat, sleep, and travel with this person. Their friends become ourContinue reading “‘Gone Girl’ Wild: Marriage & Media Are The Real Killers”

Dad’s Dead: Sad, Squabbling Siblings In ‘This Is Where I Leave You’ & ‘Skeleton Twins’

“Dad’s dead.” These are the first words of the book This Is Where I Leave You, spoken by Wendy Foxman. How does she say it? “Offhandedly, like it’s happened before, like it happens every day. It can be grating, this act of hers, to be utterly unfazed at all times, even in the face ofContinue reading “Dad’s Dead: Sad, Squabbling Siblings In ‘This Is Where I Leave You’ & ‘Skeleton Twins’”

Six Of A Kind: ‘Cloud Atlas’ Is A Whole Lotta Movie

Where to begin with Cloud Atlas, the ambitious new film spanning at least five centuries? A movie so sprawling it took three directors to tackle it? One in which actors portray ages, races, and even genders that are not their own? An adaptation of David Mitchell’s acclaimed novel that many assumed was unfilmable? Where, ohContinue reading “Six Of A Kind: ‘Cloud Atlas’ Is A Whole Lotta Movie”

Teddy Bear’s Picnic: Benjamin Percy // ‘The Wilding’

A long-abandoned tent. A long-dead body. A disgruntled local. A kid with asthma. An aging man with heart problems. A marriage in crisis. Rumors that it was a massive grizzly bear (not found in these parts) that mauled two teenage girls. An honorably-discharged Iraq vet, injured in Fallujah, who has taken to putting on aContinue reading “Teddy Bear’s Picnic: Benjamin Percy // ‘The Wilding’”