Breaking down ‘The Rings of Power’

As part of the Decoding TV podcast, I’ll be doing coverage of Prime Video’s The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power with Don Marshall. Don Marshall regularly shares his knowledge of Middle Earth with his 580K+ Tiktok followers and I’m so thrilled that he’ll be providing his expertise with for this momentous show.

You can watch our breakdown of the first couple of episodes on YouTube above, or tune into the podcast version of the same.

Did Maverick Die at the Beginning of ‘Top Gun: Maverick’?

Did everything we see in Top Gun: Maverick actually happen? Or was most of it actually a death dream that Tom Cruise’s character had right as his mind was disintegrating in the Darkstar?

I first learned about this theory from Bill Simmons’ Rewatchables podcast and an Alison Willmore piece over at Vulture. While my first reaction was to reject it as silly…I think it’s actually possible to read the film this way! In the above video, I break down the case for this theory.

‘The Northman’ Is Weird

The Northman is one of the most visually spectacular movies I’ve ever seen. It also feels like a weird hodgepodge of studio notes overlaid onto an art-house film. For YouTube, I was pleased to chat with Brendan Hodges about what we thought about the movie. We discuss the themes, the performances, and the incredible visuals.

Watch our conversation above! Note: Lots of SPOILERS within.

‘Severance’ Season 1 Review

I was pleased to have the chance to chat with Myles McNutt about Severance season 1 for my YouTube channel. We discussed why this season of the show delivered the goods, what we thought about each of the character storylines, and our hopes/dreams/fears for season 2.

Konogonada’s ‘After Yang’ Is About What It Means To Be Asian-American

Kogonada’s After Yang is a gorgeous, lyrical film that asks the same questions that great sci-fi films do: What does it mean to be human? What defines us? Is it our memories, our emotions, our compassion? What is love, really, when you think about it?

For me, the film made me reflect on what it means to be Asian-American. In the video essay above, I explain why. Thanks hope you have a chance to check it out!

This Projector Changed My Life

I’ve resisted living the Projector Life for many years but I recently gained access to an office space that had a huge white wall, so I thought: Why not give this a shot? I purchased the BenQ HT2050A for about $700 and i’ve been blown away by how good the image is (especially at this price point).

In this video review, I break down why I love this projector but also some of its limitations. Check it out!

My Top 10 Films of 2021

In this video, I count down my top 10 films of 2021. Despite everything, it’s been an amazing year for movies. I’m grateful I got to enjoy so many of these in a theater and hoping that 2022 brings more cinematic wonder to each of our lives.