Film essays

In Search of the Distinctively Human | The Philosophy of Blade Runner 2049

Fight Club – How (Not) To Become A Space Monkey

Martin Scorsese – The Art of Silence

Michael Bay – What is Bayhem?

Artificial Truths For Real Happiness – Werner Herzog’s Family Romance, LLC

Mother (2009) – The Telephoto Profile Shot

Your Life is Not a Hero’s Journey

Wolf Children (2012) – The Lateral Tracking Shot

The Unfulfilled Potential of Minecraft – Assuming a Different Perspective

After Life – An Answer to Nihilism

The Office – How Michael Scott Makes a Sale

The Philosophy of Cloud Atlas | How Beauty Will Save the World

Creating The Ultimate Post-9/11 Allegory: The Dark Knight on Risk and Terror

Snowpiercer – Left or Right

Kingdom of Heaven | A Kingdom of Conscience, or Nothing – Kant’s Moral Philosophy

The Inner Chronicle of What We Are – Understanding Werner Herzog

How Stories Can Save Us – The Philosophy of The Fall

The New World | The Lost Art of Grief

Arrival | Facing the Fear of Existence

Jackie Chan – How to Do Action Comedy

A Mythology of Hope – The Lord of the Rings (part 2)

The Real Implications Of Ex Machina’s Turing Test

The Perilous Journey of a Truly Beautiful Soul – Hacksaw Ridge

Lynne Ramsay – The Poetry of Details

Gladiator | Turning Spectacle into a Meaningful Story

A Brief Look at Texting and the Internet in Film

The Absurdist Philosophy Of Synecdoche, New York

Drive (2011) – The Quadrant System

Hostiles and Wind River – America’s Unresolved Grief

The Philosophy of The Fountain – Escaping Our Mental Prisons

The Metaphysics of Inception – Engaging Ontological Uncertainty

Logan vs. Metal Gear Solid | Telling the Story of a Hero’s Departure

Praying Through Cinema – Understanding Andrei Tarkovsky

Prometheus & Covenant | Building a Mythos of Savage Creation

Venturing into Sacred Space | Archetype of the Magician

Edgar Wright – How to Do Visual Comedy

F for Fake (1973) – How to Structure a Video Essay

Your Name – What Makes Us Happy?

Who Are We Without Storytelling?

Heroism and Moral Victory – The Lord of the Rings (part 1)

Chuck Jones – The Evolution of an Artist

The Marvel Symphonic Universe

Ethical Behavior in Modern Society – Can We Still Get Into The Good Place?

Joel & Ethan Coen – Shot | Reverse Shot

Light versus Dark – The Philosophy of Doctor Sleep

Contagion – Anatomy of a Global Pandemic

First Man – A Sobering Look at Human Greatness

Satoshi Kon – Editing Space & Time

Everyday Virtue | Paterson & David Foster Wallace

The Unexplored Depths of Spider-Man 3 – Facing the Dragon of Grandiosity

Vancouver Never Plays Itself

The Fundamental Difference Between Stories And Reality

Memories of Murder (2003) – Ensemble Staging

Stoicism in Gladiator – Meditations II.

The Secret Life of Walter Mitty | Overcoming Maladaptive Daydreaming

The Imposter (2012) – Looking into the Lens

What Makes a Great King? Exploring the Archetype of the King in Movies and Television

Unraveling Death Stranding’s Existentialist Themes | Complete Review

Okja | Understanding the (Im)Morality of Animal Consumption

Not Just About Superheroes – The Hidden Metaphor In Glass

The Lover Within | How Moonlight Relates to ALL Men

How Ken Burns Captures History (And Why That Matters)

The Bad Sleep Well (1960) – The Geometry of a Scene

Robin Williams – In Motion

In Praise of Chairs

The Essence of Faith – What Signs Was Really About

Dunkirk re-edited as a Silent Film – The Power of Visual Storytelling

Knight of Cups | Our Eternal Quest for Meaning – Kierkegaard’s Existentialism

Chernobyl – How The World Became A Risk Society

Beowulf – Adapting the Oldest Story in English Literature

The Spielberg Oner

Get Out | White Fragility as a Movie Trope