Room (2015) Review
Room (2015) rates 9 out of 10 on the rewatch scale. Emma Donoghue adapted her own novel and kept the one decision that makes it bearable, which is that everything is narrated by a five-year-old who thinks the shed is…
Tag: Grief and Loss (Page 2)
2010sJohn Wick (2014) Review
John Wick (2014) rates 8 out of 10 on the rewatch scale. Two stuntmen directed it for twenty million dollars, put the camera far enough back to see the whole body, and built an entire criminal economy out of about…
2010sGravity (2013) Review
Gravity (2013) rates 8 out of 10 on the rewatch scale. Cuaron opens on a thirteen minute unbroken shot and then destroys everything in it. The technical achievement is genuine and permanent. The dialogue keeps explaining a film that was…
2000sThe Time Machine (2002) Review
The Time Machine (2002) rates 5 out of 10 on the rewatch scale. H. G. Wells's great-grandson directed it, collapsed from exhaustion, and Gore Verbinski shot the last eighteen days. The first act is genuinely good and the film throws…
2000sAtonement (2007) Review
Atonement (2007) rates 8 out of 10 on the rewatch scale. A thirteen-year-old tells a lie and two lives end. The last ten minutes do not reveal a fact, they change what kind of object you have been watching.
2000sThe Life Aquatic (2004) Review
The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou (2004) rates 7 out of 10 on the rewatch scale. Anderson's least loved film and his saddest. A failing documentarian on a converted research vessel, hunting a shark that may not exist, and the…
Book ReviewsOrdinary Heroes
Joe Pfeifer was a few blocks away on a gas call when the first plane flew over him into the North Tower, and he ran the initial response from the lobby with no working radios and no way to know…
GhostwritingCan a Ghostwriter Finish My Late Parent’s Memoir From Their Journals and Recordings?
A ghostwriter can turn a late parent's journals, letters and recordings into a finished memoir. Here's how the voice gets chosen, how gaps get handled, and who owns the rights.
GhostwritingCan a Ghostwriter Help Me Write a Caregiver Memoir?
A ghostwriter can help you write about caring for a parent, spouse or child. Most people write these books after the caregiving ends. Here's what to save now and how the book comes together.
Grief and LossFrom the Renaissance Faire to the Drum Circle: A Tribute to Vernon Lewis
Vernon Lewis was a drummer who showed up at Renaissance Faires and drum circles around Southern California, and he had a gift for drawing people into the music without ever asking them to come. This is the story of how…
Grief and LossRemembering Cindy the Rocking Horse Lady
Some people show up exactly when you need them most, and you never forget the first time you see them. This is the story of how a woman on a giant wooden rocking horse helped pull a grieving man back…
Grief and LossRemembering Deanna Bennett
A tribute to Deanna Bennett (1945-2023), Palm Harbor author of the Anna Immigration Trilogy and founder of the East Lake Writers' Workshop, from Richard Lowe.