There are a lot of publications and outlets doing some good work with the written word. Unfortunately, some of these outlets end up “on the stack” where presumably someday I’ll get back to read them.

I haven’t read any of these articles but I probably should… Summaries may not be accurate:

This thing on Jay Carney: http://www.politico.com/story/2014/05/jay-carney-vs-the-press-107280.html.U4lfaUU_jMk.twitter

This thing on the Obamas’ social life/future living situation: http://www.politico.com/blogs/media/2014/06/the-obamas-in-new-york-189549.html

This big thing on “The Obama Paradox” whatever that means: http://www.politico.com/story/2014/06/the-obama-paradox-107304.html?hp=t1

These things on the impending doom/troubled history of the right wing of american politics:
http://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2014/05/gay-marriage-will-destroy-the-gop-107118.html?ml=m_b7_1.U4492fldVSI
a...

This review was written for student newspaper The UWM Post and originally posted March 3rd, 2014.

The Wind Rises is Hayao Miyazaki’s third Academy Award nominated animated feature film and it will certainly be his last. The 73-year-old has been called the “Walt Disney of Japan.” You may know him from his long catalogue of animated fantasies such as Spirited Away, Howl’s Moving Castle, and Ponyo, but The Wind Rises is no fantasy. In fact, it is one of a few unique animated movies to have a non-fictional subject. This biopic tells the life story of one of the Second World War’s most influential engineers, Jiro Horikoshi (voiced dubbed by Joseph Gordon-Levitt).

Jiro is a day dreaming student who wants to fly. To his dismay, his eyesight will not permit him to become a pilot and so he enters the engineering trade. He never stops dreaming though. In some of the more fantastical sequences...

This review was written for student newspaper The UWM Post and originally posted March 15th, 2014.

If they haven’t already, dedicated fans of Veronica Mars who raised 5.7 million dollars on Kickstarter to help fund a movie based on the CW television series will discover that it was worth every penny.

The television series of the same name was canceled in 2007 after three seasons. While this is not the first movie that became a reality due to high fan demand, it is notable for being an early pioneer in the mainstreaming of crowd funding.

Here’s the thing about fan demand movies and crowd funded content in general. It’s great for the people who have already bought in, but if you don’t happen to be a fan, it can be a gamble. Is my time and money worth it? That’s the question every non-fan asks.

For this very reason I knowingly tried to insulate myself. I missed the show when it first...

This review was written for student newspaper The UWM Post and originally posted March 29th, 2014.

Darren Aronofsky’s Noah is a biblical epic. You may be familiar with the story of Noah’s ark and the animals escaping a world gone bad. From childhood, a religious literacy class, or through the myriad of cultural allusions, most people have some familiarity with the larger plot points and it’s worth noting that there actually are not that many of them. Aronofsky uses his freedom within the confines of these few necessary points to develop realized characters and tell a thoughtful dramatic story within the unique frame this apocalypse affords.

Aronofsky’s narrative will probably get a share of attention because of the controversial nature of religious themes, beliefs and their portrayal to this capacity. Hopefully this will not be at the cost of acknowledging just how beautiful this movie...

This review was written for student newspaper The UWM Post and originally posted April 12th, 2014.

Running 148 minutes, Gareth Evans’ sprawling crime actioner The Raid 2 doubles down on the impressive martial arts that were integral to The Raid: Redemption’s success.

Iko Uwais plays Rama, the earnest new rookie cop from The Raid: Redemption, who has just had the worst day of his life and gotten out of a botched raid on a drug den high-rise barely intact. A betrayal by a superior officer from the events of the first movie leave Rama with his faith in the police force shaken. With few he can turn to, Rama approaches a special investigative unit with what he knows.

When asked to go undercover, Rama refuses. He’s not the criminal type and he cannot bring himself to leave his family. That is, until his brother is killed and Rama almost instantaneously changes his mind. What follows is...