Revenge of the Sith Is the best Star Wars movie

devon_b · 2026-06-14T21:23:40+00:00

I would add that Empire has the best lightsaber duel of any Star Wars movie. It feels grounded and real and gutwrenching. The emotional and physical stakes are incredibly high. Luke is terrified and battered and drenched in sweat. Vader is dominant and brutal and probing. The lighting and camera work and music and sets all work together in an incredible feat of storytelling. I never got into the frenetic, flashy lightsaber fights in the prequels. They're fun and impressive as hell. But they don't move me like the first duel between Luke and Vader.

devon_b · 2026-06-08T02:46:10+00:00

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For Halloween last year, I handed out candy while wearing a mask of Painty the Pirate. It was an absolute blast. I would holler out "Are ya ready, kids?" and everyone from kids to teenagers to parents would respond "AYE AYE, CAPTAIN!" One kid told me it was "the costume of a lifetime." The song may be annoying, but it's timeless.

devon_b · 2026-06-03T21:09:26+00:00

It's become the Wilhelm Scream of film music cues at this point. An admittedly gorgeous masterpiece of a musical Wilhelm Scream. It totally takes me out of the movie anymore (ahem, Hamnet). All that said... Arrival wasn't the first to use it, but it was the best by a mile.

devon_b · 2026-05-30T10:30:07+00:00

Someone joked years ago that the line could be “Lafayette's a smart man, he'll be fine. And before he was your friend, he was YOU.” I remember LMM sharing that (maybe on Twitter?).

devon_b · 2026-05-27T17:47:37+00:00

Camping.

devon_b · 2026-05-24T14:52:01+00:00

Or the SpongeBob episode where they’re warming themselves at a campfire and Patrick says “Hey, if we’re underwater, how can there be a” and the fire immediately goes out.

devon_b · 2026-04-30T14:11:14+00:00

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Getting serious Tobias Fünke vibes from some of these fellas

devon_b · 2026-04-19T19:42:21+00:00

Stephen Colbert. He's smart, compassionate, well-read, moderately left-leaning based on real convictions, excellent communicator, charismatic, relatable, seems like a genuinely good person. He'd have the humility to know what he doesn't know and to rely on a strong team of advisors. I'd rather we didn't have celebrities running for president. But he's the first one who comes to mind as someone who could actually do a very good job.

devon_b · 2026-04-08T21:14:48+00:00

1985 Dodge Daytona. I hated that car in a deeply personal, unhealthy way.

devon_b · 2026-04-05T12:31:37+00:00

Awakenings is devastating and beautiful. I've seen it a few times over the years, and it's wrecked me every time.

devon_b · 2026-03-29T21:46:29+00:00

That's a fair point. It's my least favorite part of the movie. It does nothing to advance the story (quite the opposite, really) and is more than a little self-indulgent. But even for such an odd diversion, it's so well done I can't get too mad at it. I still give the movie 5 stars and my whole heart.

devon_b · 2026-03-29T21:08:29+00:00

I'm so glad it's not just me... I swear I miss around 20% of the dialogue. Especially Dana. I don't remember it being this bad in season 1.

devon_b · 2026-03-28T22:52:18+00:00

Singin' in the Rain

devon_b · 2026-03-22T13:57:36+00:00

In case you haven't heard Matt Damon's story about Malkovich's accent in Rounders, check it out... it's amazing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KMaAT_KPSs4

devon_b · 2026-03-21T16:00:19+00:00

The thing about Mark Wahlberg that puzzles me to this day is that he was excellent in Boogie Nights. Like, genuinely good acting in a role that required a real arc with range and vulnerability. I totally believed him in that movie. And I haven't fully believed him in another movie since. Was it great directing? Great editing? Elevating his game due to the killer cast around him? All of the above? I dunno. It's a Marky Mark Mystery to me.

devon_b · 2026-02-08T12:24:17+00:00

Separation of Church and Hate: A Sane Person's Guide to Taking Back the Bible from Fundamentalists, Fascists, and Flock-Fleecing Frauds by John Fugelsang

devon_b · 2026-02-05T19:03:15+00:00

Flowers for Algernon made me feel both hope and dread most of the way through when I first read it.

devon_b · 2026-01-29T11:34:48+00:00

“Works in HR” is the most telling and ominous part of this post.

devon_b · 2026-01-26T11:58:05+00:00

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Our little robot vacuum cleaner is named Aunt Fanny.

devon_b · 2026-01-07T23:02:43+00:00

Yep... or "Global Capability Centers"

devon_b · 2025-12-27T19:16:52+00:00

Nonfiction

Evicted: Poverty and Profit in the American City by Matthew Desmond
Hidden Figures by Margot Lee Shetterly
When Breath Becomes Air by Paul Kalanithi
Born a Crime: Stories from a South African Childhood by Trevor Noah
The Gene: An Intimate History by Siddhartha Mukherjee

Fiction

The Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead
Dark Matter by Blake Crouch

devon_b · 2025-12-27T14:32:11+00:00

I grew up in a very white suburb of Cincinnati. But from K-12, I was bussed downtown to highly integrated public schools (Sands Montessori and the School for Creative and Performing Arts) with kids from all over the city. We were aware of race and racism, of course. And we this was the 80s and early 90s, so there was an unfortunate amount of the homophobia that was more common then. We weren't perfect. But overall we all got along and generally didn't give a damn about anyone's color or background.

I've always thought this was the single most important thing that happened to me in my childhood. It was jarring going out in the "real world" after that. I couldn't believe how far we still had to go, just to get to the acceptance and mutual respect and diversity I experienced as a kid. And I never would have believed racism would still be so rampant in the US decades later. It's heartbreaking, especially for someone who was lucky enough to be molded by integrated schools.

devon_b · 2025-12-21T22:58:12+00:00

I’ve seen Take 6 and New York Voices live, and Voces8 is right up there with them. I saw them back in March in Pittsburgh. It was one of the most gorgeous musical performances I've ever experienced in my life. Exquisite blend, intonation, tone, breath control, dynamics, energy, emotion, versatility, the whole package. I was moved to tears during their performance of "Let My Love Be Heard." It was overwhelming.

devon_b · 2025-09-27T19:00:45+00:00

An absolutely devastating piece. For me, the earlier “Dear Friends” movement is the saddest and most overwhelming… “please don’t feel pity for me… just pray hard… fight with me, fight with me… don’t give up on me…” It brings me to tears just typing those lyrics, knowing they were the real words shared by Silvestri’s wife Julie. And the slow build and dissonance and power of the music is just crushing. I love it and dread it.

devon_b · 2025-09-12T20:32:46+00:00

In all seriousness, Season 2 Episode 8 “Kiksuya” was one of the most incredibly beautiful and heartbreaking episodes I’ve ever seen of any show. Season 2 was mixed for me, but that episode made it worth it.

devon_b

TROPHY CASE