Derek Jacobs

I am a molecular biologist who loves movies and wants to think about them and discuss them from the perspective of romantic realism, a reason-based school of aesthetics championed by novelist-philosopher Ayn Rand.

The Knives Out and Glass Onion Double-Feature Film Review

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The “whodunit” style of mystery story has experienced a renaissance over the recent years with updated versions of the classic Agatha Christie stories like Murder on the Orient Express and Death on the Nile having reasonable success with audiences. More thriller-style mysteries like Gone Girl and Where the Crawdads Sing have been adapted from popular … Read more

Avatar 2: The Way-off Water

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Avatar 2: The Way of Water is a three-hour Disney ride more than an actual film, and it feels as though the creators believe that’s plenty. Characters are drawn broadly and their motivations even more so. Plot elements are convenient, shoe-horned, and repetitious retreads of the first film, at least when they aren’t completely nonsensical. Themes are unchanged from the original, an afterthought at best. This is a movie that is more about the experience of watching it than the actual content of the movie.

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Project Announcement: “Viral Agents” – A Science Fiction Novel

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Since about 2015, I have been keeping jottings on various creative writing projects. Some are probably best suited to short stories, but I felt that others had a good chance to become full-fledged novels. In November of 2017, I wrote the opening scene to one of these projects in a fit of inspiration and creativity. Then I set it aside for almost four years. Partly this was because I wasn’t prepared to focus on it, and partly because I knew I needed to learn a lot more about plotting, writing, and everything else that comes along with turning a blank page into a complete work. I read books on writing (a post for a different day, I’m sure). I plotted out my story. I developed my characters and themes, and at some point the only thing left to do was write.

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National Novel Writing Month 2022 – a NaNoWriMo Victory Tale

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For those of you not in the know, November is National Novel Writing Month, or “NaNoWriMo”. Created by the nonprofit organization of the same name, NaNoWriMo promotes creative writing throughout the world by sponsoring content, providing tools for writers, and hosting platforms for writers to record and share their progress towards writing 50,000 words in the month of November.

This year I participated, and now I have the first draft of my first novel to show for it.

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State of the Blog – March 2020

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March is underway, and it is time for a quick update here at Plot and Theme. As usual, February is a pretty slow movie month, so there wasn’t a lot that I saw, but hopefully that will be balanced with the plethora of interesting movies set to debut in March.

Plot and Theme’s Very Favorite Films of 2019

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Now that we’re squarely into a brand new decade, and I’ve had enough time to reflect on the films and flicks from the past year and draw up a preliminary Top 10 List for the year. Plot and Theme turns five years old in 2020, and while I am sure that some of my opinions … Read more

The Ignominious Return of My Questionable Opinions

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This will be a short entry, but at least it will be one. Almost one year. That is how long it has been since I have posted an idea to Plot and Theme. The reasons I could list are all pretty banal: I had less time to write, it got less fun to write, and … Read more

“Widows”: a Pulp Fiction with Class

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Steve McQueen’s work has always been weighty and dour, but with a distinct sense of purpose. Viewers are probably most familiar with the Best Picture-winning 12 Years a Slave, but McQueen’s other features depict a sex addict (Shame) and the Irish hunger strikes during The Trouble (Hunger). Widows, McQueen’s newest feature shares some of the … Read more

“BlacKKKlansman” and its Multi-layered Performances Pop Off the Screen

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Spike Lee’s BlacKKKlansman tells the true story of Ron Stallworth, the first black police officer hired in the Colorado Springs Police Department. Based on Stallworth’s memoir Black Klansman, the film follows the young upstart officer through the racial prejudices of the police department. When he is transferred to the undercover investigations department, Stallworth hatches a … Read more

“They Shall Not Grow Old” and Peter Jackson’s Recreation of the Western Front

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They Shall Not Grow Old is a day-in-the-life of the British soldier during World War I. The documentary from Peter Jackson was commissioned by the Imperial War Museums and 14-18 NOW in association with the BBC to celebrate the centennial of Armistice Day. When these groups approached Jackson, they had only one caveat: Jackson must … Read more