johnryansullivan

[johnryansullivan]

Mad Max: Fury Road and Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga

(Spoilers below) This past week I found myself, once again, with no idea what to watch. After searching for half an hour decided to rewatch Mad Max: Fury Road. I didn’t have time to watch an entire movie and an hour later when I needed to leave the house I was surprised that I had been, once again, completely absorbed by the film. Needless to say the next opportunity I had I finished the…

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On Television - Dune: Prophecy

(This post contains massive spoilers) I’ve decided to dive into writing about the world of Dune, mostly because I’ve been reading the books and watching the films for several years. I know my wife is sick of hearing my thoughts about anything Dune related and trying to collect my thoughts regarding part two has left me feeling incomplete. It’s not a bad movie but when compared to part one I…

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May I Suggest - Better Off Dead and One Crazy Summer

If, somehow, neither of these titles is familiar to you then know we had radically different childhoods and that you are about to be blessed. Both of these films are directed by Savage Steve Holland whose most recent film is Malibu Rescue: The Next Wave (2020) and who is credited as animator on the show Press Your Luck for the “whammy” animations (which I only just learned and makes me love him…

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See it Again - The Fall Guy

Typically I write about older films in this category but in the case of the Fall Guy I am making an exception. Why? Because for some reason this film (supposedly) did not find an audience last year, which is absurd. So here I am trying to shine a little light on a wonderful movie. What you should know The Fall Guy is not a remake of the television show (which admit it, you had not heard of when…

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A Few Thoughts on The Design of Kanopy

Not that long ago when I wanted to watch a movie or television show the first step in the process, usually, was to decide which I wanted to watch. If I reach back into my mind to the time when the video rental store was my main method of obtaining what I wanted, typically I decided before leaving my house to simplify the process. I wrote about this in greater detail here. I mention this because…

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On Television - True Detective: Night Country (season 4)

(This post contains spoilers) As someone who has watched and enjoyed all four seasons of True Detective it feels strange to only now write about the show. Where was the urge after watching the previous seasons? I think the desire may stem, in part, from the lack of attention season four received compared to the previous seasons. I seem to watch a lot of detective shows now but I can’t say this…

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Tangled Narratives, Homebots and knowing who your lead character is.

(this post contains massive spoilers about the show Sunny) I spent ten years trying to write a novel without understanding how to tell the story. I had been reading a good deal of John Steinbeck and it influenced everything I wrote. I was young enough that I did not see this influence until I shared my writing with others and they told me, without pity, that I was aping his work. I’m sure most…

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Zackery Nicolosi Interview — Middlebury New Filmmakers Film Festival

(I discovered today that I only shared this on Medium.com which I stopped using in 2017. So, yes, this is old but it’s one of the few times I’ve been able to interview people regarding their film work – and have a record of it! – that I can share. So here goes…) This interview was done as part of the (now defunct) Vermont Media Alliance’s coverage of the Middlebury New Filmmakers Festival. This…

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Matt Lennon Interview — Middlebury New Filmmakers Festival 2016

(I discovered today that I only shared this on Medium.com which I stopped using in 2017. So, yes, this is old but it’s one of the few times I’ve been able to interview people regarding their film work – and have a record of it! – that I can share. So here goes…) This interview was done as part of the (now defunct) Vermont Media Alliance’s coverage of the Middlebury New Filmmakers Festival.…

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Criticism versus Reviewing (and does it matter?)

I have been posting a fair number of reviews about television shows and movies of late. I struggle with calling what I write reviews as I purposely try and not comprehensively review anything. I suppose I take the coward’s way out, I try and write what I consider appreciations of things I think worthy of being written about. I call this the coward’s way because a review implies I sit in judgement…

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Current Cinema - Dune Part 2

How should a person judge a film adapted from a novel? Is it fair to compare the two given the audio/visual nature of the film? Frank Herbert most likely never imagined bagpipes in space while writing Dune, yet here we are and they are amazing. Part of why I’ve resisted writing about Dune part two, has to do with these questions (I did write about part one here although with trepidation).…

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On Television - The Agency

(This post contains spoilers) First things first, this image, which is the main one used for the show, is terrible. It makes Michael Fassbender look gaunt and scared. If you watch the show he does’t look like this (he looks like he always does and certainly never scared). That’s my main issue with this image, although the fact that Richard Gere has a small role (I am sensing a pattern here of…

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On Television - Mayor of Kingstown

(This post contains mild spoilers) As my previous post may indicate I enjoyed the show Landman and given that I have a Paramount Plus subscription for two months I thought I would look at their other offerings. I’ve been aware of Mayor of Kingstown since it first aired and I’ve been curious as to what it is. As I mentioned in my Landman post I feel these shows have lackluster trailers and…

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On Television - Landman

On paper a television show about oil production and the problems that arise because of it, is not something that interests me. Set in west Texas, starring Billy Bob Thornton and featuring self-absorbed and self-destructive characters, Landman is not what I am looking for when I sit down in front of my television. And yet. I’m relatively new to the television works of Taylor Sheridan. I’ve seen…

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Watching Films and Resisting Manipulation

2023 was a year for reevaluation for me. I came to a stunning, yet obvious, conclusion in January – I don’t want to write screenplays. I have never enjoyed the process of writing screenplays and for twenty years I’ve had to endure every form of negativity, from people I know and do not know, telling me being a screenwriter is impossible. Famous, successful screenwriters whose work is being made…

[johnryansullivan]

Ordinary Day Music Video

My latest music video, Ordinary Day. The song is by Milton Busker from his album, Dance Music Vol. II+. To find out more about Milton and his music visit: http://www.miltonbusker.com

[johnryansullivan]

See it Again - Ping Pong Playa

See it Again - Ping Pong Playa http://wp.me/p1zIve-4n

Rotten Tomatoes Freshness Meter Critics – 66% Audience – 49% What  You Should Know This is a sports movie. About ping pong. Needless to say it is a comedy. Why You Should Reconsider My guess is you didn’t hear about ping pong playa or that you did but only after seeing the movie/watching the trailer for Balls of Fury.  I can see how you might have thought, “and now they are doing ping pong…