United States of America
My writing career thus far has consisted of online film criticism for ReviewSTL.com, ToastedRav.com and snappy Facebook status updates. I previously worked in radio but I am currently the Marketing Manager for The Family Arena in St. Charles. I can be heard reviewing films on KTRS with John Carney or online at TalkSTL.com with Thom West & Joe Dinero. I am also the host of a weekly film podcast called Reel Spoilers available on iTunes.
Short Fiction
Night of A Thousand clowns is a short story that was originally published in the Lindenwood Review. The Lindenwood Review is the literary journal of Lindenwood University in St. Charles, Missouri, produced by the university's MFA in Writing Program. The journal is published annually each spring and focuses on fiction, poetry, and personal essays.
Industry Blogging
FAQ - Can I Meet The Band? "Can I meet the band?" That is probably one of the most frequently asked questions we get in this industry. Here's the short answer - No. Here's the longer answer - Most likely no. Ok, that was an admittedly flippant answer.
FAQ - How Can I Get the Best Seats? "How do I get the best seats?" It always infuriated me when teachers would reply to a question with a question but in this situation I can't help myself. How does one define "best seats"?
Film Reviews
Julia Roberts returns to headlining films with Eat, Pray, Love . Roberts plays Liz Gilbert, a travel writer "trapped" in an unhappy marriage. And by "trapped" I mean "they have no children and she makes all the money."
Every year in the country of Panem, The Hunger Games are held. Panem is a dystopian state that arose from the ruins of what was once North America. Consisting of 12 Districts, each region is required by law to send two "Tributes," a randomly selected boy and girl between the ages of twelve and eighteen, to compete in the games.
The American Pie franchise returns for its fourth chapter - American Reunion . (I know there have been direct-to-DVD spin offs but I don't think they're considered part of the official American Pie canon. And, yes, a little piece of me died when I typed the phrase "American Pie canon".)
Will Smith returns with his latest sci-fi, ummm..."epic" After Earth , set 1,000 years after humans have abandoned the planet for the safer of confines of Nova Prime. Smith plays a space ranger (but not the Buzz Lightyear kind) whose ship crash lands on the now-forbidden planet.
The opening joke of Grown Ups 2 (not opening scene mind you but opening joke) features a deer pissing in Adam Sandler 's face. I envy that deer. The original Grown Ups reunited Sandler with many of his SNL cohorts including Chris Rock, David Spade, Rob Schneider, Colin Quinn, and Tim Meadows.
After a five-film prologue The Avengers have finally, well...assembled. It's been four years since Marvel Studios first telegraphed their intentions in a post-credit sequence of Iron Man . It was a bold move that sent geek-world hearts aflutter.
Features
Easter weekend seems like a good time to write about Easter-themed TV. But after Here Comes Peter Cottontail things get a little sparse. So instead of focusing on bunnies, we'll focus on resurrection. Not of religious figures or of TV characters, but of TV shows themselves. Antenna Free TV is an independent online entertainment magazine with a focus on television. We offer sharp TV criticism, fun, timely features, and opinion pieces inspired by what we’re watching. (Lucky for you, we’re...
Easter is almost upon us so I wanted to do a list that fit the season. A list of movies about Jesus seemed like it would either be boring or get me in a lot of trouble. And since I enjoy neither of those things I figured I would find a slightly less controversial topic this week.
This week in theaters we have Evil Dead . The film is remake (reboot? Sequel? Re-imagining? I don't know what we're calling these things anymore) of the 1981 cult classic. The film's description is made all the more confusing given that the original film had sequel (Evil Dead II ) that might have actually been a remake.
World War Z opens this weekend. It's a movie that Brad Pitt desperately hopes to turn into a franchise. It was notoriously troubled production and while it might not quite reach the heights that they hoped for it fares way better than any movie that came in $50 million over budget has any right to.
Last week saw the release of Will Smith's After Earth . It was execrable. (You can read my review here.) While I felt it was the worst film of Smith's career it's also turning out to be a box office disaster as well opening in third place; previously unthinkable for a Will Smith picture.
You could be forgiven for thinking that The Conjuring is just another in a long line of "found footage" Blair Witch knockoffs. Its' trailer focuses on recreated video recordings of real-life, paranormal investigators Ed and Lorraine Warren; best known for their involvement in the The Amityville Horror case.
This week sees the release of Pacific Rim. If you've ever wondered what it looked like when Guillermo del Toro played in the bathtub, then this is the movie for you. He took his Transformers and had them fight his Godzilla action figures, and I bet he was grounded for a week after his mother saw how soaking wet the bathroom rug was.
Radio & Internet Appearances