Let the spice flow! About 16 months passed between my last trip to the theater in 2020 and first one in 2021, but that extended time at home lit the fuse to a frequent movie-watching habit. In 2020, I watched 203 movies for the first time. When 2021 began, I…

I was 13 years old when my mom died. That was 13 years ago today. Something I’ve struggled with in the wake of my mom’s death is memory. I’ve been hard on myself because I have a difficult time recalling specific memories of my time with her. Like, by 13…

What a strange, strange year. — The last movie I watched in a proper theater was Harley Quinn: Birds of Prey, originally titled Birds of Prey and the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn. It was fine. Colorful, loud, properly zany. A perfectly OK movie theater experience. …

Through his art, Mac Miller showed us the work that goes into staying around, and we’re all better for it. — There’s a scene The Sandlot (1993) in which the ghost of baseball legend Babe Ruth visits young Benny Rodriguez in his bedroom. It’s a little terrifying at first: Benny’s room starts shaking and the sound of a cheering crowd rises up. Benny, who seems way too calm about the situation…

Some chose puzzles. Others made bread. For me, it was movies. — As the coronavirus-induced lockdown transformed the idea of a homebody from an antisocial trait to a responsible one, the guilt of weekend nights spent watching movies alone evaporated. What specifically remained for me was movies’ transportative nature. I could spend time on a New York City block, or hop in…

Processing the death of Kobe and Gianna Bryant is to mourn the loss of a childhood hero and a stolen future — Kobe and Gianna Bryant died on Sunday, and it really feels like the world is in mourning. That’s at least how it seemed as I walked through the Detroit airport in a daze, waiting for my connection back home while refreshing Twitter and texting friends and family. Not Kobe, not…

Noah Baumbach delivers a cutting, nuanced look at a relationship that has fallen apart and how two people manage to restructure those pieces. — In a venture that is equal parts keeping track of some of the favorite things that happen in 2019 and also stretching my writing muscles to think about things other than sports (and more specifically), I’m going to post about my favorite things I come by each month. That includes…

I watched a lot of movies this year. Some new, some old, and some I’ll revisit over and over again. — Myriad factors contributed to my movie-watching habits in 2019. First, I traveled a lot for work, and I often sat on flights which stretched well into double-digit hours, which allowed me the space and time to dive into the vast world that is the Plane Movie. Sure, maybe CGI-filled spectacles…

Bong Joon-ho’s masterful movie bends genre without every losing its tone and message. — In a venture that is equal parts keeping track of some of the favorite things that happen in 2019 and also stretching my writing muscles to think about things other than sports (and more specifically), I’m going to post about my favorite things I come by each month. That includes…