Seth Harris

Movie Review – School of Rock

School of Rock (2003)
Written by Mike White
Directed by Richard Linklater

School of Rock is a film I’ve always found okay. I saw it in the theater during its theatrical run, amid Jack Black’s golden era in movies. He’s still around, but this was back when Tenacious D was being played on repeat in dorm rooms, and High Fidelity was oft-quoted. This marks a transition moment for the actor, going from raunchier fare (Orange County, Shallow Hal) to more family-friendly pictures. It’s a very smart career move, and the script seems tailor-made for Black’s specific persona.

Comic Book Review – X-Men by Jonathan Hickman Volume One

X-Men by Jonathan Hickman Volume 1 (2020)
Reprints X-Men v5 #1-6
Written by Jonathan Hickman
Art by Francis Lenil Yu, R.B. Silva, and Matteo Buffagni

After Jonathan Hickman’s magnificent House of X/Powers of X reboot of the X-titles’ status quo, it was clear the classic Marvel characters were headed in a brand-new direction. The mutants had finally dropped their petty squabbles and coalesced into one community, relocating to the living mutant island of Krakoa. Now with their new-found sovereign nation status and the ability to grow medicinal plants that could change the survival rates of numerous diseases, they leveraged a place at the tables of power. We also learned in that mini-series how the mutants have overcome death, using Professor Xavier’s Cerebro computer and Krakoa’s regenerative properties to regrow dead mutants complete with all their memories. This is where the fifth volume of X-Men opens, a brand new world.

SXSW Short Film Festival @Home – Narratives Part 2

The Voice in Your Head ****
Directed by Graham Parkes

A man wakes up to the living embodiment of his anxiety standing over his bed, berating him. This continues through his shower, breakfast, the commute to work, and throughout his workday. A man in a green suit standing over him, reminding him of all the things he does wrong. A very interesting twist happens after you think you’ve figured out the premise, and depending on how you feel about that moment, it will color how you feel about this whole short. I personally found it pretty funny.

Movie Review – Matilda

Matilda (1996)
Written by Nicholas Kazan & Robin Swicord
Directed by Danny DeVito

Roald Dahl has always been one of my most favorite children’s authors ever since I had first Charlie and the Chocolate Factory read to me. Dahl has an incredible nastiness in his writing that appeals to kids, he reveals the truth of the world, mainly that adults are often gluttonous buffoons. There are also monstrous children, usually offshoots of their rotten parents. The child protagonists on Dahl’s work are overwhelmed by these abrasive forces but typically find a source of internal strength to overcome them and triumph. Matilda is one of the most archetypal Dahl heroes, and her story is very much centered in a nuanced examination of the education system.

TV Review – Tales from the Loop Season One, Episode Two

Tales from the Loop (Amazon Prime)
Season One, Episode Two – “Transpose”
Written by Nathaniel Halpern
Directed by So Yong Kim

The second episode of Tales from the Loop delivers an interesting surprise that while this is an anthology series, the stories will revolve around the same set of characters. Where episode one focused on Loretta, episode two shifts to Jakob, her eldest son. The first episode was about destiny using the conceit of a time loop, and this one is about envy of another person’s life and uses more of the esoteric technology of the Loop to go deeper. It’s a smartly written story that puts its focus purely on the human elements and doesn’t get caught up in the hard science fiction.

Movie Review – Billy Madison

Billy Madison (1995)
Written by Adam Sandler & Tim Herlihy
Directed by Tamra Davis

I loved this movie when I was 14-18 years old. It had been almost two decades since I last watched it, and I was wondering if it would hold up. The Adam Sandler presented on movie screens then was very different from the version of him we get now. Most of the time, you get Sandler in an adult/parent version of his old persona, more cooly disaffected and still yelling a lot. Other times you get a performance that challenges your preconceived notions of him (Punch-Drunk Love, Uncut Gems). But this was the baby Sandler, fresh off of Saturday Night Live and playing a particular Generation X comedy schtick.

Media Moment (04/09/20)

We are in Hell at the moment. Well, the verge of falling into the pit. Between corona and the bubbling up of a new Great Depression, times feel rough. Here are some tv shows you should binge during this time of isolation. They may not make you feel better, but they are damn good and quality television.

Dark (Netflix, two seasons, the third season coming this summer)
Dark is a German production about the small town of Winden. The city was plagued by child disappearances sporadically since the 1950s and another one has just occurred. The series follows teenager Jonas whose father has just committed suicide. Jonas is dealing with his personal grief as well as the unfolding mystery in his hometown. Dark will absolutely surprise you with where it goes, but it can scramble your brains with the twists and turns. Every episode is actually fast-paced and chock-full of character development and information. If you were a fan of the strange places Lost went to during its six-year run, then Dark will scratch that itch.
Check out my reviews of Season One and Season Two.

Comic Book Review – The Wicked + The Divine Book 2

The Wicked + The Divine Book 2 (2015)
Reprints The Wicked + The Divine #12-22
Written by Kieron Gillen
Art by Jamie McKelvie, Mat Lopes, Stephanie Harris, Kate Brown, Brandon Graham, Matt Wilson, Leila Del Duca, and Tula Lotay

My big question reading through The Wicked + The Divine is “why?” Why are these gods returning? I assume that will be answered before the series is over, but not having some progress towards this makes it a little frustrating. One thing that does move the reader toward a better understanding of individual characters by giving spotlights and backstories to them. We get to see Tara; finally, a god spoken about but absent in the first collection, and her origins are quite interesting, primarily how she interfaces with her audience and deals with being a goddess.

Movie Review – Kindergarten Cop

Kindergarten Cop (1990)
Written by Murray Salem, Herschel Weingrod, and Timothy Harris
Directed by Ivan Reitman

I am an elementary school teacher. Recently, I began thinking about the way my particular pocket of education is portrayed in film. You can find lots of movies about high schools and teenagers, but what does Hollywood say about the younger kids and their teachers. So, while we are trapped inside avoiding the vile corona, I will be watching about half a dozen movies that touch on elementary school, reviewing them as films and then analyzing them as a teacher. To kick things off, we have the oft memed Arnold Schwarzenegger vehicle Kindergarten Cop.

Twin Peaks: The 30th Anniversary

It was thirty years ago tonight that the world was introduced to the small town of Twin Peaks. I was only eight years old going on nine when I sat in my living room in Smyrna, Tennessee, and watched this scary, funny, strange thing unfold before me. I couldn’t quite understand it all at the time, but I knew there was something powerful in what I was seeing. This was like watching a fairy tale, the world was somewhat familiar but also another strange place. For the next thirty years, I would find myself obsessed with the show.