Make a Plan

Managing our time needs to become a ritual too. Not simply a list or a vague sense of our priorities. That’s not consistent or deliberate. It needs to be an ongoing process we follow no matter what to keep us focused on our priorities throughout the day.

The Informant! – Power of Ambition

Matt Damon plays a pitch perfect Power of Ambition protagonist. A close movie comparison would be to Damon’s The Talented Mr. Ripley, another movie that explores dark and twisted side of the Power of Ambition character.

Vulnerability Scenes

Everyone who has heard me speak or teach knows how fundamental vulnerability is to making a movie or television show memorable. The way an audience BONDS with a character is through scenes where the character is vulnerable. Here are some of my favorites– what are yours?

The Cynic’s Guide to Film and Literary Criticism

The tired and jaded view. It’s actually quite funny– and often true!

Taking Woodstock – Bummer

The 40th anniversary of Woodstock, which took place from August 15 to August 18, 1969 is being marked forty years and eight days later by the release of Ang Lee’s Taking Woodstock. Reviews are not quite groovy. I concur.

The Queen – Power of Conscience

The Queen, written by Peter Morgan, directed by Stephen Frears and starring Helen Mirren and Michael Sheen, is a pitch perfect Power of Conscience character study.

John Hughes – Power of Idealism

John Hughes passed away today. Molly Ringwald represented John Hughes’ romantic ideal of the artist as misfit, sensitive and misunderstood, aspiring to wider acceptance but reluctant to compromise too much.

Pelham 123 and Duplicity – Unsatisfying Endings

The endings of The Taking of Pelham 123 and Duplicity left me shrugging and saying “Huh?” Both were box office duds. The lesson from both films is “earn your ending.”