There are three kinds of films prolific and beloved director Ridley Scott, who will turn 78 next month, makes: tense dramas (Thelma & Louise, The Counselor) grandiose epics (Gladiator, Exodus: Gods and Kings), and sci-fi extravaganzas (Blade Runner, Prometheus, its upcoming sequel Alien: Paradise Lost). As the title plainly states,…
Jon Stewart acolyte Stephen Colbert began September by claiming the mantle of CBS’s The Late Show from David Letterman and now, it ends with the man himself replaced by another acolyte – 31 year-old South African stand-up Trevor Noah. As a relative unknown to American audiences (and to show itself…
Dear Readers, Back in June, prior to my Chautauquan sojourn, I asked you what features you wanted more of from the Slog. The poll revealed that the majority of this blog’s visitors favor my reviews over other content so for the future I will be focusing on keeping more up to…
It’s a pity what M. Night Shyamalan’s been reduced to. But it’s hard to defend a guy that has done all he could in the last decade to sully and degrade himself as a brand with movies like Lady in the Water, The Happening, The Last Airbender and After Earth.…
Stephen Colbert is my spirit animal. He is a satirist without parallel. Like his mentor and forebear Jon Stewart, he presided over a double-whammy of political comedy for almost a decade at Comedy Central’s The Colbert Report. Both hosts finally ran out of gas in proximity to each other, with…
I recorded this during a dark spot this summer. Maybe a few can relate to those hopeless moments and maybe I can help you remember how to get through them. It gets better, friends. Much love, SPF
Welcome back, True Detectives. Just like that, True Detective’s beleaguered second season closes, not with a whimper but with a bang. Several bangs actually and all so deafening as to drown out each other. See, when you have two climatic moments in an episode with a third left to go,…
Welcome back, True Detectives. This was by far the best episode of the season. Dominoes started to fall and actions that actually affect the status quo were taken. But it’s taken far too long and the dominoes were obvious from the start. For seasons as short as True Detective‘s are,…
In addition to my work as a writer, author, and journalist, I am an amateur rap artist. I just released my very first two tracks as rapper SPF, titled “Take Me Away” and “Reflection” and am proud to bring them to you via Bandcamp. They are also embedded below the…
Welcome back, True Detectives. This show finds balance and subtlety banes rather than boons. Instead of getting to know our characters in any meaningful way, the show cuts between them in really off-putting edits, robbing itself of any momentum. Each episode reinforces how integral Cary Fukunaga was to the first…