What is happening in ‘I’m Thinking of Ending Things’? – a plot summary, analysis, and the ending explained

Charlie Kaufman’s latest film I’m Thinking of Ending Things is arguably his most inaccessible work yet. I’ve spent quite a bit of time thinking about it, reading about it, and dissecting it. Here’s the best explanation I’ve been able to come up with (Note: Spoilers, obviously).

It’s been a long time since I’ve made a video essay as researched as this one, and it’ll probably be a long time until I do one again. It’s just too much work to do on top of my full time job to become a regular thing, but this movie was so compelling (plus I had a brief opening with the holiday weekend) that I pushed through to make it happen. I hope enjoy it.

Inception is about filmmaking

It’s an oft-discussed theory that Christopher Nolan’s Inception is about filmmaking and/or the creative process more generally. On the occasion of its 10th anniversary, I got together with Patrick Willems to discuss the discourse that’s followed the film since its initial release.

‘The Rhythm Section’ Video Review

Reed Morano’s The Rhythm Section poses a genre scenario with an interesting twist: what if an assassin was terrible at her job? Like, truly epically bad?

I discuss the net effect of this in the above video review, featuring Melissa Tamminga.

The unfortunate racial humor of ‘The Gentlemen’

Some thoughts on the unpleasant experience of watching Guy Ritchie’s The Gentlemen. For further reading, I’d also recommend John DeVore’s review.

Filmmakers are problem-solvers

Brilliant piece of self-examination by David Sandberg, the director of Shazam!. Every movie is the result of thousands of decisions by dozens of people. Attributing intentionality to any single minor aspect is a fool’s errand.

Netflix’s “Always Be My Maybe” from an Asian-American Perspective: Details You Might Have Missed

I was thrilled to see that Netflix recently released a new romantic comedy featuring two Asian-American leads (Randall Park and Ali Wong). There were so many things that the film nailed that I made the above video with my wife to talk about them. We discuss what the film gets right about the Asian-American experience, and dive into details you might have missed. Check it out.

Prospect movie interview

I was grateful to get a chance to chat recently with the filmmakers of the indie film Prospect. We talked about designing space helmets and what challenges you need to overcome when you’re trying to make a sci-fi film with mostly practical effects.

You can check out my interview in written form over at Slashfilm. Prospect is out on video on demand March 8th.