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TV, Myself, and I (Part II): Rediscovering Ed

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by Christopher M. Rzigalinski

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TEASE

Imagine this article is playing out before your eyes like a television show. The screen is black. The Foo Fighters’ song “Next Year” plays as we fade in on a familiar scene and the voiceover says, “Last time on “TV, Myself, & I.” We flashback to Part I of this article in which I discuss the Four Factors of Televisual Familiarity, or the major reasons certain television shows become significant in our lives. A montage of clips illustrates the following examples:

  1. Finding shows during transformative periods in our lives.
  2. Someone we love turning us onto a particular show and sharing it with them.
  3. Shows with sex appeal and characters we find desirable.
  4. Programs that help us develop professional dreams and attitudes we carry into adulthood.

Finally, in a dramatic cliff hanger, the voice-over reminds you that these categories often overlap and a personal case study of my relationship with the cult-favorite Ed is promised for Part II. You laugh. You cry. You get a new plate of nachos. And we’re back.

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Review-Drifter (2017)

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by Chris Rzigalinski

The unbound wanderer is a romanticized figure symbolizing freedom from the shackles of social norms and suffocating relationships, guided only by pride. Usually male, he’s a timeless archetype in American culture, but the best way to understand his journey for purpose is through film. Westerns (John Wayne’s “Rooster Cogburn”), wilderness epics (Robert Redford’s “Jeremiah Johnson”), and psychodramas (Edward Norton’s narrator in Fight Club) elevate this figure to mythic proportions. But Drifter, directed by Chris von Hoffmann, avoids falling cliche and gives audiences a fresh perspective on a classic narrative.

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Review – Triple 9

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Crooked cops, gangsters, bank robbers and bullets fly through Atlanta in Triple 9

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by Nile Fortner

So last night I decided to make a couple of banana and blueberry smoothies, have a lazy night, and watch the movie Triple 9 with my dad. I remember when this film first came out, and I really wanted to see it. It has an amazing cast, the choreography and camera work look great, and overall it looked like a nice chill out and watch kind of flick.

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Reasons Why John Wick: Chapter 2 is a Rare Kind of Sequel

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by Nile Fortner

The Boogeyman is back…AGAIN. Keanu Reeves (The Matrix, 47 Ronin) is back as the action packed, brutal, and everyone’s favorite international assassin, John Wick.

The first John Wick film focused on an iconic retired hitman named John Wick (Reeves). When the sudden death of his wife leaves Wick in mourning, he receives a beagle puppy as a gift. One night Wick’s Mustang vehicle catches the eye of some thugs. The thugs steal his car, vandalize his house, beat up Wick, and kill his puppy. This brings Wick out of retirement, and those thugs do not realize they have just resurrected the boogeyman, the most brutal assassin the crime underworld has ever seen, they have resurrected The Boogeyman known as John Wick.

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Review – Beware the Slenderman

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by Nile Fortner

So I’m going to get into this review right here. A review of the HBO documentary Beware the Slenderman. Now if you’re like me asking yourself, “Slenderman? Who the hell is Slenderman?” Honestly, I never heard of Slenderman until the two 12-year-old girls murdered their friend as a sacrifice to Slenderman. I remember when someone first told me about Slenderman, and I honestly thought it was a new rapper or trap dance hitting the music scene. Really, I thought someone named Slenderman was dropping an album next week.  I’ve always been a fan of HBO documentaries. Spike Lee’s 4 Little Girls is one of my all time favorite HBO documentaries, and just one of my favorite documentaries in general. However, lately it seems like HBO is creating some damn fine documentaries. HBO’s Beware the Slenderman is about how an urban myth played a role in two girls murdering one of their classmates, one of their friends, and it looks like HBO has delivered another damn fine documentary.

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