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.

TIFF 2017: The Tesla World Light

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Check out my quick review of the short film The Tesla World Light at Cinema Axis.

TIFF 2017: Tulipani: Love, Honour, and a Bicycle

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I really liked this one. Check out my glowing review of Tulipani: Love, Honour, and a Bicycle at Cinema Axis.

State of the Blog – September 2017

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Move to a new state, start a new job, and your movie blogging suffers. July was something of a testament to that, but I still got to see some cool movies. August was brutal, with only a couple of worthwhile releases, both of which I missed (but hope to get to soon). Anyway, Life Things™ are starting to get sorted, September will certainly be better than August with regards to releases, and thanks to my laziness, there’s a plethora of good content on the way.

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TIFF 2017: Threads

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My first review for TIFF 2017 – the beautiful animated short film “Threads” . . .

Patreon Pick #1: Marin Ade’s “Toni Erdmann” (2016)

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Writer-Director Marin Ade’s Toni Erdmann, Germany’s entry for Best Foreign Language Film at the 2016 Oscars, is a profoundly strange and wonderful film.  It wanders between awkward comedy, heartfelt drama, and outright farce with a complete control of its own voice and tone.  It’s an impressive and weird movie, and even though it stretches to … Read more

“A Clockwork Orange” and the Scary Defense of Free Will

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In A Clockwork Orange, Stanley Kubrick means to make you uncomfortable.  The magic of the film is that it can show terrible things and then making us care about the mind of the man responsible for them.  Kubrick accomplishes this titanic task through three main techniques, each of which will be detailed in this piece:  … Read more

State of the Blog – August 2017

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The minimally observant among you have probably noticed that Plot and Theme has been pretty dark over the last couple of weeks.  The explanation is simple:  I have just uprooted from the Midwest (Wisconsin) back down to the Grand Old South (North Carolina), and the recent past has thoroughly involved all things box-related.  Now, the … Read more

Romantic Comedy “The Big Sick” Delights and Devastates

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In The Big Sick, ideas about cultural identity and family are united with a comedic style reliant on awkwardness and sarcasm, all in service of a brilliant romantic comedy plot.  Kumail and Emily are growing into their new relationship, but a serious snag slams on the breaks.  Then, a sudden illness befalls Emily and Kumail … Read more

“Spider-Man: Homecoming” Does Whatever a Spider Can to Be Unique and Fun

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Though he has only a pair of independent films to his name, director Jon Watts (Clown, Cop Car) sure knows his way around a friendly neighborhood Spider-man.  The product of a team-up between Sony and Marvel Studios, Spider-man: Homecoming places the iconic webslinger in high school.  This choice dictates many aspects of the film, from … Read more