Film Essays
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Why Dragged Across Concrete Hits so Hard – Essay
A deep-dive analysis of the bank heist scene from Dragged Across Concrete and an exploration of the techniques S. Craig Zahler uses to build tension, catharsis, and Tragedy. I wanted to dig into the 2019 movie moment that hit me the hardest in excruciating detail. This video is full of spoilers, so be sure to… Read more
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How Marriage Story Redefines the Closeup
A video essay exploring how writer/director Noah Baumbach redefines the close-up shot in his 2019 drama Marriage Story starring Adam Driver and Scarlett Johansson. Read more
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The Psychology of Rick Dalton
How does Quentin Tarantino keep in audience invested in the drama of the Lancer TV pilot within “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood?” A story within a story can be a tricky thing to execute without lowering the stakes of the primary narrative, so how does Tarantino pull it off? This video essay digs into… Read more
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How to Craft the Perfect Car Chase
A video essay examining the construction and execution of the car chase sequence and a tribute to the best car chases throughout cinema history. This video essay includes footage from The Seven-Ups, Vanishing Point, Dirty Mary Crazy Larry, Shadows in an Empty Room, Bullitt, Gone in 60 Seconds, Mad Max, The Road Warrior, Fury Road,… Read more
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The Best Surrealist Filmmaker You’ve Never Heard of
I never hear anybody talking about the master surrealist that is Quentin Dupieux AKA Mr. Oizo, so consider this my tribute to him and my attempt to bring the tiniest bit more attention to his films and music. Read more
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Why John McTiernan Disappeared for 20 Years & Tracking Down His Lost Documentary
John McTiernan directed Predator and Die Hard back-to-back as his second and third films. He would make several other films over the next few years before stopping abruptly in 2003 after Basic. The reason for his disappearance and why he hasn’t made another movie in the 20 years since is a big, complicated affair. This… Read more
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How Ruben Östlund Tracks the Ripples of a Moment in Triangle of Sadness and Force Majeure
Video essay examining how Ruben Östlund tracks the ripples of a seemingly insignificant moment in “Triangle of Sadness” and “Force Majeure.” Östlund won the Palme d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival for “The Square” in 2017 then again in 2022 for “Triangle of Sadness,” which was also nominated for multiple Oscars and BAFTAs Read more
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The Man Who Invented Independent Filmmaking
A tribute to and a showcase of the remarkable talents and accomplishments of John Cassavetes, a successful actor who used the money he made from appearing in movies to self-finance his own films independently. Truly one of the most important filmmakers of all time. Read more
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Jump Scares Suck (Except When They Don’t)
Jump scares are always terrible (except for the good ones). This video looks at jump scares from all angles and attempts to break down why they work or don’t work, why they’re so common, how to make them better, and also provides more in-depth breakdowns for a few specific movies and jump scares including The… Read more
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The Many Faces of Song Kang-ho
A tribute to the wonderful South Korean movie star Song Kang-ho, who I consider to be one of the finest actors of all time. Read more
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