How does a film where Denzel Washington is a rogue and imprisoned cop with a metal arm and Russell Crowe is a psychopathic AI residing in a silicon-based body not fully capitalize on either premise? How does a pseudo-tech noir … Continue reading Scene Dissections: A Scene-Eating Crowe

Author’s Note: This article previously had referenced the depiction of rape in the film. It was poorly phrased in regards to how it was filmed and not the act of rape it self. Due to that, I have chosen to … Continue reading Scene Dissections Rises From The Grave!

The Greasy Strangler was recommended to me by a friend who has a similar taste in horror films and appreciation for trash cinema. I took his word as bond, though I wouldn’t finally watch this film until about over a … Continue reading Scene Dissections: The Greasy Strangler

Ed Note: I wish I had better timing on publishing this – just a few days after what would’ve been Robin Williams’ 68th birthday and well ahead of the five year anniversary of his death. I dedicate this to his memory … Continue reading Scene Dissections: The Fisher King Succumbs to the Terror of the Red Knight

Donnie Darko is mostly known for its mindscrew elements, which unfortunately overshadows how painfully real the movie is at times. Many of the themes present in the movie (i.e. the illogical belief that the whole world is black and white, … Continue reading Scene Dissection: Donnie Darko – “Wacko for a Son” Scene

Ten years ago this week, Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull premiered at the Cannes Film Festival. Within a week, it would be in theaters everywhere, including the California AMC multiplex where my then-high school sweetheart watched in horror … Continue reading Scene Dissections: What if Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom Had Been Good?

The Silence of the Lambs is Jonathan Demme’s 1991 horror/thriller film, which is based on Thomas Harris’ 1988 novel of the same name. It’s about an ambitious, promising young FBI trainee, Clarice Starling (Jodie Foster), who has been recruited by … Continue reading Scene Dissections: The Silence of the Lambs – The Buffalo Bill Dance Scene

The first John Wick introduced us to a colorful criminal underworld that stylized and codified action movie tropes. Many action movie heroes have cut a bloody swath of vengeance after a loved one was slain, but John Wick pushed the … Continue reading Scene Dissections – Best of 2017: John Wick: Chapter 2 – Silenced Shootout

Open Range is a beautiful movie, but it is also very slow.  Kevin Costner and Robert Duvall — two guys who should be playing cowboys way more often, if it were up to me — are free range cattle ranchers … Continue reading Scene Dissections: Open Range

DISCLAIMER: I am a white American woman and I have only recently become interested in Hindu myths and symbolism. All I have to go on here is what research from books and the Internet and the blissed-out murmurings of white hippie … Continue reading Scene Dissection: Baahubali 2: The Conclusion: My BFF Ganesha

  I have no idea why I’m torturing myself having to write about The Boondock Saints. This is a shit movie full of shit acting and shit writing. The film itself is a drunk man’s fever dream of what a movie … Continue reading Scene Dissections: The Boondock Saints – Dead Cat Manifesto

Tartuffe is a play about a religious conman in the 16th century, written by Moliere. He takes over a family, and while Orgon, the head of the household is trying to get Tartuffe to marry his young daughter Mariane, Tartuffe … Continue reading Scene Dissections: Tartuffe’s Bait and Switch

Lawrence of Arabia is my favorite film of all time, and I’ve probably spent more time writing about it than is healthy. The movie is renowned for its amazing photography, cast-of-thousand battles and Maurice Jarre’s sweeping score. But I enjoy … Continue reading Scene Dissections: Lawrence of Arabia: Meeting General Allenby

(I wrote this late last year but, while looking over old pieces to repost over here, I realized this would make a good Scene Dissection. With Martha’s blessing, I’m reposting it here.) Jurassic Park has many great and tense scenes … Continue reading Scene Dissection: Jurassic Park-T-Rex rampage

Scene Dissection by Richard Killjoy III, Sea Boy In which we discuss a deleted scene from the Jim Jarmusch movie Dead Man… Here is the scene: DIALOGUE: Conway Twill: Anyhow, getting back to the beginning of the story, my grandaddy came … Continue reading Scene Dissection: Dead Man – Deleted Scene

Face/Off is what I will call an unironically iconic film. Released 20 years ago, it is the epitome of John Woo’s directorial style; a flashy, hyper-stylized, over-the-top action film with tons of symbolism. This film is an onion; it has … Continue reading Scene Dissections: Face/Off – Prison Riot/Escape

I’ve mentioned on numerous occasions that my favorite movie of all time is Raiders Of The Lost Ark. It’s a brilliant action movie with great performances. My favorite scene is the famous swordsman scene. Indy has been fighting several henchman … Continue reading Scene Dissection: Raiders Of The Lost Ark – Swordsman Scene

What’s one of the most frequent complaints about horror films? “They were so dumb! Why didn’t they just….” Not a complaint that can be levelled at any part of Get Out. The audience surrogates never really put a foot wrong…it … Continue reading Scene Dissections: Get Out – Intro