Category Archives: Movies

The Dark Tower – Defending the Rose

Posted on August 6, 2017 by ricbret

The man in black fled across the desert, and the gunslinger followed.
Probably the best opening line in literature. Yeah, better than Call me Ishmael.
(Seriously Ishmael, I was just asking you for a name to write on your coffee cup!) Continue reading →

Posted in Books, Cinequest, Entertainment, Film, Geeking around, Media, Movies, Personal, Random thoughts, Review, SciFi Fantasy, Thoughts | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Cinequest 2017: Two Euro Thrillers – Loop and Pyromaniac

Posted on March 3, 2017 by ricbret

Granted, like any other art, not every film is for everyone. We try to focus on giving you reviews that meet our fannish criteria. And today, on the fourth day of San Jose’s Cinequest we have two thrillers, one with a science fiction bent, that you may want to check out. Continue reading →

Posted in Cinequest, Movies, Review | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Cinequest 2016: Encores and Last Chances

Posted on March 12, 2016 by ricbret

We’re down to the wire at Cinequest! Late last night, the Cinequest encores were announced.  These make up the bulk of Sunday programming in the festival’s final day. As I predicted, there are still too many great films to see them all. … Continue reading →

Posted in Cinequest, Entertainment, Film, Media, Movies, Review | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Cinequest 2016: Catch-up Reviews

Posted on March 10, 2016 by ricbret

Reviews from Cinequest 2016: Demimonde, Eye in the Sky, Friends Effing Friends Effing Friends, Lost In Munich, Parabellium, The Phoenix Incident Continue reading →

Posted in Cinequest, Entertainment, Film, Media, Movies, Review | Tagged , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Cinequest 2016: Embers

Posted on March 3, 2016 by ricbret

It’s a quiet armageddon. Every day you wake with a limited knowledge of the world, of yourself, and of those around you. Some smaller things do stick, but the cohesiveness of what we were, of who we were, is gone. Waking experience teases some of this out to consciousness, but we still see a stranger in the mirror. Continue reading →

Posted in Cinequest, Film, Media, Movies, Review, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Cinequest 2016: Sight Unseen Recommendations

Posted on March 2, 2016 by ricbret

Now that Cinequest is fully upon us, I need to touch on a small subject of interest to those of you going to the festival. There are WAY too many great films to see everything. Way too many. And some are terribly hard to review for reasons that will be obvious in a few paragraphs. But luckily those same programs are very easy to recommend, and do fall on my “Don’t Miss” list.
Continue reading →

Posted in Cinequest, Entertainment, Film, Media, Movies, Review, SciFi Fantasy, Thoughts | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Cinequest 2016: The Brainwashing of My Dad

Posted on March 1, 2016 by ricbret

A longer commute, talk radio, a loving father turns into an angry, bitter, obsessive… brainwashed by a poisonous media. Continue reading →

Posted in Cinequest, Film, Media, Movies, Review, Thoughts, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Cinequest 2016: Friends Effing Friends Effing Friends

Posted on February 29, 2016 by ricbret

My first must-see entry from the Cinequest film festival is a sexy story that takes the “friends with benefits” motif to the next level. Continue reading →

Posted in Cinequest, Entertainment, Film, Media, Movies, Review | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Star Wars VII trailer: Storytelling & the invisible structure

Posted on September 25, 2015 by ricbret

Storytelling and structure from Presentation Zen master Garr Reynolds by way of Star Wars: The Force Awakens and a priest named Father Roderick… Continue reading →

Posted in Entertainment, Film, Geeking around, Media, Movies, PowerPoint, Presentations, Presenting, SciFi Fantasy, Technology | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

Cinequest 2015: Short Catch-Up Reviews

Posted on March 7, 2015 by ricbret

Although I’ve written up a good many of the films I’ve seen at Cinequest, there are several I just hadn’t gotten to yet. Given this is the closing weekend and we have a day of encore showings on Sunday, I wanted to get some notes out to you and hopefully help your viewing decisions. Continue reading →

Posted in Cinequest, Entertainment, Media, Movies, Personal | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

Cinequest 2015: Bad Exorcists

Posted on March 6, 2015 by ricbret

In the end this film delivers a lot of laughs, mixed with just enough shocks and scares. And that’s exactly what I was looking for. Continue reading →

Posted in Cinequest, Entertainment, Film, Media, Movies, Personal, Review, SciFi Fantasy | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Cinequest 2015: The House On Pine Street

Posted on March 1, 2015 by ricbret

The House on Pine Street is both a well-crafted traditional horror story, and a modern exploration of what haunting and haunted actually mean. More than a little is left up to your interpretation at the end. But that’s cool, because a film like this should haunt you long after you leave the theater. Continue reading →

Posted in Cinequest, Entertainment, Media, Movies, Personal, Review, SciFi Fantasy | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Cinequest 2015: Clew

Posted on February 28, 2015 by ricbret

If you like puzzles, especially those that expose a new puzzle when you’ve gotten past the first answer, Clew is for you. Continue reading →

Posted in Cinequest, Entertainment, Media, Movies, Personal, Review | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Cinequest 2015: Astraea

Posted on February 28, 2015 by ricbret

In a market where every post-apocalyptic movie has it’s heart in an alien invasion or zombie uprising, we’re faced in Astraea with an all-too-possible scenario where a disease quickly and efficiently wiped out most of the population. The few survivors are crafty and cautious, knowing that men are far worse danger than any rotting corpse. And that making connections with the few remaining good folks is probably the most precious thing to pursue. Continue reading →

Posted in Cinequest, Entertainment, Film, Media, Movies, Review | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Cinequest 2015: Aspie Seeks Love

Posted on February 27, 2015 by ricbret

Bringing this picture of a different form of coping, admittedly still full of personal frustration and failures, is the real gift of this movie. Continue reading →

Posted in Cinequest, Entertainment, Film, Media, Movies, Personal, Review | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

They Called Me Spock

Posted on February 27, 2015 by ricbret

I admired Nimoy for this, and followed his career unflinchingly through everything from Mission Impossible to Fringe. And of course I enjoyed all his characters, as well as whatever speaking engagements I was able to attend, and his writing. But it they never spoke to me like Spock. Continue reading →

Posted in Entertainment, Film, Geeking around, History, Home and Family, Media, Movies, Personal, Random thoughts, SciFi Fantasy, Thoughts | Tagged , , | 2 Comments

Cinequest 2015: Beast Of Cardo (Bestia de Cardo)

Posted on February 27, 2015 by ricbret

The answer is either ethereal or blunt, depending on your interpretation of metaphor or perhaps a truly disturbing potential ramification of their actions. You can have it both ways I suppose, but like Moira and Hermes I just want to escape Cardo.
Continue reading →

Posted in Cinequest, Entertainment, Film, Media, Movies, Personal, Review | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Cinequest 2015: Afterlife (Utoelet)

Posted on February 25, 2015 by ricbret

So, not exactly Ghostbusters in its scope or plot, but this film does deliver a lot of fun and charm as we watch the dour Mozes struggle through afterlife with father. Continue reading →

Posted in Cinequest, Entertainment, Film, Media, Movies, Personal, Review | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Cinequest 2015: Songs She Wrote About People She Knows

Posted on February 25, 2015 by ricbret

Songs She Wrote About People She Knows: The movie musical is a very strange animal. Here is the second of two Cinequest musical offerings, and why even though they’re very different, you’ll want to see them both. @leg_stand #cinequest #songsshewroteaboutpeoplesheknows Continue reading →

Posted in Cinequest, Entertainment, Film, Media, Movies, Personal, Review | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Cinequest 2015: Booze Boys and Brownies

Posted on February 24, 2015 by ricbret

Booze Boys and Brownies: The movie musical is a very strange animal. Here is the first of two Cinequest musical offerings, and why even though they’re very different, you’ll want to see them both. @bbbthemusical #cinequest Continue reading →

Posted in Cinequest, Entertainment, Film, Media, Movies, Personal, Review | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment