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 Three Tiers of the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU)

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With Avengers: Age of Ultron hitting theaters early in May and Ant-Man putting the finished touches on Phase II, I found myself thinking again about the other ten films that form the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU). Generally speaking, these blockbusters based on Marvel’s comic book heroes offer a fun movie-going experience, but having seen them … Read more

Time Travelling Film Noir – A Review of “Predestination”

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Predestination is a movie which rewards viewers for knowing as few details of the plot as possible, and yet it is hard to talk about this film without revealing at least something, so I will keep discussion of the plot to the first seven minutes of the movie – certainly sufficiently intriguing to whet your … Read more

“Ex Machina” Portrays a Unique Exploration of Feminine Independence

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Ex Machina, the directorial debut of Alex Garland (screenwriter of 28 Days Later, Sunshine, and Dredd), is a fascinating exploration of the essence of humanity which challenges an audience to wonder at the nature of not only consciousness, but independence and justice. The movie opens with a plain title screen and we are introduced to … Read more

How to Use Spoken Language As Style – “Inglourious Basterds”

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Quentin Tarantino’s World War II historical fiction revenge film, Inglourious Basterds, makes specific stylistic choices with regard to language which significantly affect the quality of the film by providing characterization, generating thematic tension, and even directly influencing the plot. Generally speaking, the choice of which language to use in a film is almost done by … Read more

The Basics of the Aesthetics of Film and Cinema

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In the mission statement of this blog, I indicated that I would be approaching the field of film criticism from the perspective of a particular school of aesthetics – Romantic Realism. But, in order to establish what is meant by “Romantic Realism”, to explain its principles and apply its methods of analysis, there is a … Read more

The State of Hollywood and Self-Conflict: A Review of “Birdman”

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HOVER TEXT!

Alejandro Iñárritu’s Birdman, Or: (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance) dedicates itself to providing commentary on the state of the dramatic arts, especially in Hollywood, while also offering a haunting, too-familiar meditation on ego and inner conflict. These two foci are married through telling the story of an actor named Riggan Thomson (Michael Keaton) who is … Read more

The Things We Think and Do Not Say – A “Plot and Theme” Mission Statement on Film Critique

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I have enjoyed movies for the majority of my life. I think my first memories of movies were seeing Oliver and Company in the theater at the age of three, and watching Star Wars at a similar age and mishearing Darth Vader’s pleas to Luke as, “You don’t know the power of the Duck Side”. … Read more