Author: James Merolla

Horror movie aficionado, human dad joke.

Bond Tropes: #24 License to Kill

In the first wave of the James Bond franchise (the first five films) was the cool audacious trend setter for action cinema in the 60’s. Movies like From Russia with Love and Goldfinger flaunted sex, fashion, and stylized violence into theaters and into the imagination of audiences around the world. The box office success was incredible, those first five Bonds set a new standard for big budget film making while also establishing the blueprint for many modern action movies.… Read More Bond Tropes: #24 License to Kill

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Cloverfield Paradox and The New Film Medium

We’re in an interesting place in time, still riding the first waves created when art and technology collide in the vast ocean of the internet. Arguably the art form benefiting most from this collision is film; anyone can now make a visual story with their phone and present it to the world on Youtube. But, conversely the film industry is experiencing turmoil. … Read More Cloverfield Paradox and The New Film Medium

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Bond Tropes: #15 You Only Live Twice

You Only Live Twice, more than Thunderball, is the spiritual successor to the template setting Goldfinger. It establishes the iconic Bond villain trope with Donald Pleasence’s Blofeld, it, like Tomorrow Never Dies, takes everything that worked in a previous successful film and turns it to 11. Blofeld’s volcano lair is the exaggerated succession of Goldfinger’s home and even Dr. No’s atomic lair, Blofeld himself is inflated to almost cartoonish proportions compared to previous villains. … Read More Bond Tropes: #15 You Only Live Twice

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How The Last Jedi Made Me Rethink My Star Wars Fandom

The franchise that started as a little film in 1977 could have easily drifted into the backlog of our culture, but in the internet age Star Wars has become so pervasive it soaks in to every crevice of our lives. This is due in large part to Lucas Film licensing every inch of Star Wars for just about anything, and it’s ramped up by Disney shoving a new movie in our faces every year for the next 1000 generations.  … Read More How The Last Jedi Made Me Rethink My Star Wars Fandom

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