Overview: Seven outlaws stand in protection of a town under siege. Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer/Columbia Pictures; 2016; Rated PG-13; 133 minutes. A New Story Told with an Old Story: From the right angle, Peter Sasrsgard looks like the devil anyway. But as Bartholomew Bogue, the soulless land-developing industrialist who aims to steal Rose Creek out from under the townspeople’s feet by any means possible, he feels like an a more specifically recognizable devil.  For the better part of The Magnificent Seven, the script from True Detective writer Nick Pizzolotta and Richard Wenk holds Bogue on a narrative leash. He walks slowly and methodically...

This week, I was honored to appear on the stellar Pop Culture Case Study podcast where my friend Dave Hart and I discussed self-efficacy in context of one of my favorite recent films The Equalizer. You can have a listen here, here, or here: And when you’re done and you’ve discovered what we already know (that this podcast is awesome), you can subscribe on iTunes,  Stitcher, or Google Play. You can also support the show on Patreon and follow Dave and Pop Culture Case Study on Twitter.  Follow @pccasestudy Featured Image: Columbia Pictures David ShreveCurrently resides in Washington D.C. To contact:...

Recap We open yet again with a flashback, this time to Tyrell’s meeting with Mr. Robot from last season. This time, we see it as it truly happened, with Elliot in Mr. Robot’s place. The scene continues to show Tyrell begging for Elliot to let him in on the plan. Back in the present, Tyrell brings Elliot to a secret warehouse out of which he’s been operating. Joanna visits the location where Elliot traced the mysterious phone calls. It turns out to be the home of Scott Knowles, who admits to being behind the calls as well as the gifts. He wanted revenge against her for the death of his wife, who was pregnant when Tyrell...

This Christmas marks the 20th anniversary of the tragic, enigmatic death of six-year-old pageant starlet JonBénet Ramsey, and what would an unsolved cold case be without renewed publicity and scrutiny? I’ve had an admittedly morbid fascination with this case since shortly after it happened and a number of my parents’ friends began to comment with wonder how much I resembled the young victim with my permed, blonde hair, penchant for frilly dresses, and similar facial features. Now, almost 20 years later, I find myself obsessing over the various anniversary specials that have predictably begun flooding the networks. Everyone is...

  The White Helmets Director: Orlando Von Einsiedel Genre: Documentary Netflix Original Synopsis: A volunteer team of civilian first responders risk their lives in regime controlled Syria by running into the ruins of bombed buildings to save survivors. Overview: It feels simultaneously as if there is so much that needs to be said about The White Helmets but also that Orlando Von Einsiedel’s slimly-directed film says all that it needs to. In the past decade, since at least 2008’s Waltz With Bashir, socially conscious documentaries have been as artful and constructively complex as ever, but The White Helmets, while dealing...

For September, the Audiences Everywhere Book club (#AEBookclub) chose Grady Hendrix’s My Best Friend’s Exorcism as their book. The novel, a tale of friendship between teenage girls and possession by the devil in the ‘80s, has proven to be a popular choice among members of the club. We sat down with/emailed the author to ask him a few questions about his book, career, and whether or not he has made a blood enemy out of Ikea. Sean Fallon (Audiences Everywhere): What inspired you to write My Best Friend’s Exorcism? Grady Hendrix: The title came first, to be honest. It just popped into my head one day like a bad idea. After that I realized that...

In our regular installment of Weekly Clickables, we explore the world of music with some discussion of film score composition, and a look at the new Radiohead music video for “Present Tense” directed by Paul Thomas Anderson. Also, for good measure, and to continue warming up for the horror movie season, a list! First, Every Frame A Painting discusses the forgettable scores of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and how they are symptomatic of the problem with modern day blockbuster compositions. And in a second supplementary video, further examples of lackluster blockbuster scores are given. Uploaded by Australian film and music researcher Dan...

Blue Velvet is the type of film that lingers in your mind long after your first viewing. One that inspires focused and passionate discussion amongst friends. Love it or hate it, it still has people talking to this day, 30 years after its initial controversial release. My friend Eddie says it best: “I don’t like how this movie makes me feel.” Neither did Roger Ebert, by the looks of his infamous scathing review in which he referred to Blue Velvet as “…a story that’s marred by sophomoric satire and cheap shots” but many viewers today find his opinion somewhat misinformed. To this day it is considered one of the best films of the...