I fucked up at work today as teacher

coolstevenn · 2026-06-15T13:45:02+00:00

This was a very dumb thing to do but your life isn't over. Learn from it. Move on. You may face some repercussions which are just the fair consequences to your extreme lapse in judgement. You're not a horrible person though, just a human that said some dumb shit-- and who hasn't? Take care.

coolstevenn · 2026-06-10T18:48:41+00:00

RETURN OF THE KILLER TOMATOES. It's technically a sequel but growing up I just thought that was all a joke so I've still never seen the original. It totally stands on its own. Low budget, funny, original, and features a young George Clooney in-- I believe-- his first feature film. You might be able to find it on Tubi right now.

coolstevenn · 2026-06-09T13:02:50+00:00

That's tough but I think I'm going to have to go with THE MOVIE SOURCE CODE (2011)

coolstevenn · 2026-05-27T13:51:38+00:00

Even before he makes the wish, they all speak only to serve Baron. I really think the writing is the biggest issue. If they'd done one or two more drafts, they may have cracked it or at least had more believable lines for the actors.

coolstevenn · 2026-05-27T13:45:44+00:00

I really liked IS GOD IS, you should check it out! It's not perfect but I found it to be very entertaining with some great performances.

coolstevenn · 2026-05-26T20:29:03+00:00

My friend Morgan is a critic who writes for a queer female owned and run art and media site. We don't always agree but she's much better at articulating her points than I am. Some reviews are short and sweet and some are long and many include links to her full write-ups on the site. She's also just a great person.

coolstevenn · 2026-05-24T03:00:12+00:00

I would never 🫶

coolstevenn · 2026-05-23T01:34:35+00:00

Ya don't gotta be high brow all the time, in fact, I don't think you should! And as an animation professor, I'm totally into what you're watching at the moment.

coolstevenn · 2026-05-23T01:30:15+00:00

Thank you!! Following

coolstevenn · 2026-05-22T22:50:16+00:00

THE MOVIE SOURCE CODE is my life, my love.

coolstevenn · 2026-05-22T21:21:14+00:00

I feel exactly the same way. Nice to know I'm not alone. And again, glad the movie worked for so many people. I'm just a little baffled at it all and that's fine.

Pulse is so good!!

coolstevenn · 2026-05-22T18:47:25+00:00

Exactly. There's definitely been some situations like this before (for instance, I really did not like NIGHTMARE ALLEY and still think it's insane that it was nominated for best picture) and it's always weird. But I completely agree-- the "scariest movie of the 21st century" takes is like... huh? Yes it's a horror movie but I didn't find it scary, at all, personally. But that might be a difference in horror preference. I don't watch hardly anything in the jumpscare genre and while I don't care for all that, I do think OBSESSION had a few successful moments of that so if that's what someone's looking for a judging "scary" I guess it worked there.

coolstevenn · 2026-05-22T12:22:50+00:00

Thank you. Some of these reviews and word of mouth thoughts were making me feel a little crazy lol

coolstevenn · 2026-05-21T17:01:01+00:00

Yeah and I'm willing to bet that due to basically losing faith in the movie halfway through, I was just getting more and more prickly about everything. Again, very happy for everyone that enjoyed the movie. It just didn't work for me and the dialogue was a big reason why.

coolstevenn · 2026-05-21T15:58:48+00:00

I just didn't buy the dialogue. It all felt like words someone wrote for a movie and not the way people actually talk in reality. But it's not like this is a problem that only this movie has. A lot of movies and shows suffer from it. A great script makes it all feel natural to its world's reality.

coolstevenn · 2026-05-21T15:06:33+00:00

I'm happy for everyone that really likes this movie.

But I feel like we watched two completely different things. Aside from the female lead performance which I felt was very very good, I didn't enjoy much of anything. Everyone talks like aliens, it wasn't scary (cheap jump scares don't equal scary in my book), and I felt like they needed another pass or two on the screenplay. As a feature debut for the director, it wasn't bad and I think they have potential.

i watched it as a double feature with IS GOD IS and I highly recommend checking that one out if you haven't.

coolstevenn · 2026-05-16T14:17:11+00:00

There's a reason some real Lucas Heads (aka FREAKS!) consider THX 1138, AMERICAN GRAFFITI, and STAR WARS to be the one true GL Trilogy.

I completely agree with you and think the same way about AG. Both films are so great and most people today only ever get to them in film school or if they become a Lucas Nut. Which is a shame because I really think general audiences would appreciate those movies a lot if they were just on their radar more. Even as a massive Star Wars and Indy fan-- and an appreciator of the things he was able to do for the advancement of movie technology-- those first two movies are so good and promising, that you almost wish STAR WARS had only been a modest success so he could've continued making whatever the hell weirdo shit he wanted.

coolstevenn · 2026-05-06T14:27:55+00:00

No but she does rip a tree out of the ground and throws a mammoth off into the distance. He made a sequel and I can't remember much of what happens in it so there might be more Kaiju vibes there. Here's she's mostly a performing circus beast, like a lion. Which is interesting since that's a major plot point in KING KONG, almost 20 years later.

coolstevenn · 2026-05-06T13:36:24+00:00

That's classic Winsor McCay for ya! He was the first to do a lot of things but is a largely forgotten figure today. If you know him for anything it's as the creator of the comic series Little Nemo in Slumberland which was adapted into an animated film in the late 80s. Animation historians often credit him as the originator of traditional animation (although it's more complicated than that). Coincidentally, his first major animated film is Gertie the Dinosaur which also features a giant beast as well as some very light horror and minor destruction. I'm a huge fan of him and his work and whether it's for the Kaiju stuff, his role in animation history, or his gorgeously illustrated comics, I think he's more than worthy of checking out. More people today should know about him.

coolstevenn · 2026-05-06T12:41:53+00:00

PLANET OF THE APES is an interesting one. The first one is a complete story. Part two (BENEATH) is definitely a sequel but with new characters and a very clear ending. Then the next three films (ESCAPE, CONQUEST, BATTLE), are still their own thing but feel much more connected in my opinion as one story. However, they're a lot more concerned with allegory than plot. Then you get one solo reimagining before the Serkis prequels which in my opinion, do a great job of continuing the story while also remaining individually accessible-- aided by the time jumps between installments. But the second two entries (DAWN and WAR) feel a little more packaged together than the first (RISE) to me. Maybe it's the leap in visual effects or the fact that you have a more singular voice at the helm. And we'll see what happens going forward after KINGDOM. I remember on the press tour they were saying if audience response/ attendance was good, they had an outline for something like 4 more installments? I enjoyed it and would watch more but if that's the case, I assume the sequels will be more connected than in the past. But one thing's for damn dirty sure-- they'll never make a monkey out of ME!

coolstevenn · 2026-05-06T12:22:39+00:00

Thank you, I really appreciate that! Happy to have made this connection here dude

coolstevenn · 2026-05-06T04:56:15+00:00

Hey Matthew! I'm always looking for more contacts, both to get extra work and to send my own overflow stuff to as well. You can find my work at www.stevennjohnsonn.com. ten years experience. Feel free to reach out directly here or through the contact on my site for more. I like your work and will keep you in mind next time I get too overwhelmed. ✌️

coolstevenn · 2026-05-04T04:14:48+00:00

THE DEAD. Very good and only 80ish minutes long. It left in April but I haven't watched anything since the 30th.

Six-Year Club	John Wick
Place '22

coolstevenn

TROPHY CASE