More than perhaps anything, we long for shared experiences. (read more)
Permalink    Comments (0)    TrackBacks (0)

Films, of course, depict images of life--some right on, some misleading. Maybe more should take the 51 Birch approach. (read more)
Permalink    Comments (1)    TrackBacks (0)

Do "difficult" films spur better discussion than purely entertaining films, or can we have the best of both worlds? (read more)
Permalink    Comments (0)    TrackBacks (0)

Feeling guilty about which films we do and don't watch is apprently prevelant enough to deserve its own term: "Netflix guilt." How sad is that? (read more)
Permalink    Comments (1)    TrackBacks (1)

Why do so many films rely on a wildly eccentric character or some big secret being revealed? Why can't more people tell the stories right at their fingertips, and tell them really well? Ed Burns did that with Groomsmen. (read more)
Permalink    Comments (0)    TrackBacks (0)

My wife works for a non-profit organization that is slowly but steadily planning and rebuilding one neighborhood of our city. I love hearing her talk about her work. To grow my knowledge about what she does a bit more, I... (read more)
Permalink    Comments (3)    TrackBacks (0)

The other day I was having a conversation over lunch with my friend, Ben, who is a student of Roman literature. Although some consider it an aimless, catch-all major for a college student to choose, he explained the Roman... (read more)
Permalink    Comments (1)    TrackBacks (0)

All of the dialogue around Kristin's post, Why Write?, has gotten me thinking. I'm at the point in my life when two whole hours back to back is far more rare than it used to be. My baby girl has... (read more)
Permalink    Comments (1)    TrackBacks (0)

(The following is a story from Kristin, she's a friend of Spout. I heard this story and thought she put into words something I've been trying to put my finger on for some time now. I asked her to share... (read more)
Permalink    Comments (8)    TrackBacks (0)

I finally got around to watching Oldboy last night. It's a Korean film by director Chan-Wook Park. Oldboy was named Best Asian Film at the Hong Kong film awards, won Grand Prize of the Jury at Cannes, and has come... (read more)
Permalink    Comments (1)    TrackBacks (0)

(Joy is the newest member of Spout and, currently, in the evenings she performs in the stage version of THE WIZARD OF OZ) Growing up in a more stage-focused than film-focused family, I saw The Sound of Music on stage... (read more)
Permalink    Comments (2)    TrackBacks (0)

Yesterday was Halloween. A day when it is acceptable to have perfect strangers knock on your door and ask for candy. I love it. My wife and I had so much fun handing out candy last year, we decided to... (read more)
Permalink    Comments (4)    TrackBacks (0)

There can be too much of a good thing. Surrounding yourself with the most savvy mavens and watching only the most avant-garde films and eating only food that's too unusual to even name gets old after a while. Every once... (read more)
Permalink    Comments (3)    TrackBacks (0)

Life doesn't fit into neatly labeled packages. Neither do films. "Action, comedy, drama and horror" are sadly insufficient labels. Can you remember the last time you could neatly label a day in your life with one of those terms? Neither... (read more)
Permalink    TrackBacks (0)

Moving forward involves looking back. Even if it's writing one sentence each morning on a piece of paper you keep on the bedside table or making lists of films you love. As time goes by, you can look back and... (read more)
Permalink    Comments (2)    TrackBacks (0)

Exercise your freedom to love what you love, but don't love it because you've never tried anything else. Say you eat one soft-boiled egg with a piece of white toast every morning for breakfast. Or maybe you only ever watch... (read more)
Permalink    TrackBacks (0)

Lists are indispensable. Lists are how we keep track of things and define who we are. A list of my favorite books, a list of places I've lived, a list of friends I have or no longer have. Lists are... (read more)
Permalink    TrackBacks (0)

Blockbusters are sweet. I saw every single one of the Star Wars prequels. I saw Mr. and Mrs. Smith. I saw, and enjoyed, Ocean's 12 because European locations look amazing on film. And yes, you can mock me. I enjoy... (read more)
Permalink    Comments (3)    TrackBacks (0)

I may catch some flack for this, but I'm going to list some recent developments that I see as connected: 1) The Undergraduate degree is today what the High School diploma was 25 years ago. If you have always been... (read more)
Permalink    Comments (5)    TrackBacks (0)

I want to throw this out there and see what you guys think. I've written about people finding films and how lacking in nuance that process can be. I've written that humans are the best source for an educated suggestion... (read more)
Permalink    Comments (1)    TrackBacks (0)

Nat runs a video shop in Libertyville, IL. He also is the founder, coordinator, director, secretary, fundraiser, and just about everything else for the Lake County Film Festival. I met him at the Waterfront Film Festival. I believe he... (read more)
Permalink    Comments (1)    TrackBacks (0)

When I was six years old I got lost in the grocery store. I went off to look at toys or something and suddenly it felt like I was in that giant military warehouse in the closing shot of... (read more)
Permalink    Comments (2)    TrackBacks (0)