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Website copyright © 2002-2025 by Dennis D. McDonald. From Alexandria, Virginia I support proposal writing & management, content and business development, market research, and strategic planning. I also practice and support cursive handwriting. My email: ddmcd@ddmcd.com. My bio: here.

www.ddmcd.com Research & writing about data, technology, movies, media, and books
Jasmin Dizdar's “BEAUTIFUL PEOPLE”
Jul 18

Jul 18 Jasmin Dizdar's “BEAUTIFUL PEOPLE”

Dennis D. McDonald
Drama
This movie is filled with angry, argumentative, strange, cruel, and just plain mean characters. Ultimately, it is profoundly humane.
Steven Spielberg’s “War of the Worlds”
Jul 2

Jul 2 Steven Spielberg’s “War of the Worlds”

Dennis D. McDonald
Cruise, Horror, Monsters, Science Fiction, Spielberg, War, First Contact
This movie gave me nightmares.

Jul 1
Jul 1 Voyage to the Planets and Beyond

Dennis D. McDonald
Space Travel
Intelligent speculation and scrupulous attention to detail are ruined by repeated depictions of instantaneous radio communications between Mission Control and the magnificently detailed Pegasus space ship as it tours the planets.
Christopher Nolan's “BATMAN BEGINS”
Jul 1

Jul 1 Christopher Nolan's “BATMAN BEGINS”

Dennis D. McDonald
Action
The story overall is a solemn and theatrical exploration of extended, troubled, guilt-ridden adolescence.
Peter Jackson's “DEAD ALIVE”
Jun 27

Jun 27 Peter Jackson's “DEAD ALIVE”

Dennis D. McDonald
Comedy, Horror, Peter Jackson, Zombies
I’m not sure what this says about me and my taste in movies, but I think this film is some type of masterpiece.
Hayao Miyazaki's “HOWL'S MOVING CASTLE”
Jun 12

Jun 12 Hayao Miyazaki's “HOWL'S MOVING CASTLE”

Dennis D. McDonald
Animated, Fantasy, Japanese, Miyazaki, Anime
What did I like least about this film? The answer: the ending. It is too pat, too rushed, too abrupt. What do I like most? Just about everything else. In fact, I found myself smiling at what I was seeing on the screen more often than in any movie I’ve seen since The Incredibles — and that is saying a lot.
Appleseed
Jun 3

Jun 3 Appleseed

Dennis D. McDonald
Animated, Japanese, Anime
This anime epic now available on DVD successfully presents a convoluted story and a creative approach to the integration of 2D characters (shaded to look 3D) and 3D graphics.
Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith
May 24

May 24 Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith

Dennis D. McDonald
Star Wars
My favorite scene: Senator Palpatine talks with Anakin Skywalker and encourages Anakin to consider turning against the rest of the Jedi. Problem is, there aren’t any other scenes like this where emotion and drama actually surface.
Seven Brides for Seven Brothers
May 6

May 6 Seven Brides for Seven Brothers

Dennis D. McDonald
Music
There's only one serious problem: the music itself is un-memorable. But this is made up for by an unusual story, interesting characters, vivid colorful photography, and amazingly choreographed song-and-dance numbers.
Lucky McKee's MAY
Apr 25

Apr 25 Lucky McKee's MAY

Dennis D. McDonald
Quirky, Horror, Weird
So don't just expect blood and guts with this movie. There's serious well-made weirdness going on here.
Zhang Yimou 's HOUSE OF FLYING DAGGERS
Apr 23

Apr 23 Zhang Yimou 's HOUSE OF FLYING DAGGERS

Dennis D. McDonald
Action, Chinese
Zhang Yimou (Hero, The Road Home, Not One Less) outdoes himself in this sumptuous combination of Tang dynasty era martial arts, romance, changing seasons, terrific clothes, bamboo forests, and physics-defying flying objects (and people).
Zhang Yimou's HERO
Apr 15

Apr 15 Zhang Yimou's HERO

Dennis D. McDonald
Action, Chinese, Disappointing
This is without a doubt the most boring film I’ve seen in months.
Frank Miller, Quentin Tarantino, and Robert Rodriguez's "SIN CITY"
Apr 9

Apr 9 Frank Miller, Quentin Tarantino, and Robert Rodriguez's "SIN CITY"

Dennis D. McDonald
Crime, One of a Kind
It was the dame’s earrings … They kept jangling in my mind, like tolling Easter bells out of some giant, hollow, cavernous cathedral … dark, inky shadows … except for those damn earrings… like golden beacons in a monochrome Dark City …
Mike Leigh’s “Vera Drake”
Apr 3

Apr 3 Mike Leigh’s “Vera Drake”

Dennis D. McDonald
Drama, Spouse Approved, Class Warfare
One depressing thing about this movie is what it points out about "developed" Western societies: there are two levels of access to medical services, one for the rich, and one for the poor.

Mar 28
Mar 28 Outfoxed: Rupert Murdoch's War on Journalism

Dennis D. McDonald
Documentary
Are there people in the U.S. who still believe that Fox News is "fair and balanced"? I don't really think so, and that's the weak point of this "documentary" with an editorial point of view.

Mar 19
Mar 19 Constantine

Dennis D. McDonald
Action, Horror
When I read about this movie I knew I had to see it —- demons, hellfire, angels, exorcism, all duking it out for mastery over human souls.

Mar 17
Mar 17 Mani Ratnam's YUVA

Dennis D. McDonald
Drama, Indian
Thoroughly undistinguished music aside, Yuva is an engrossing melodrama that combines politics with brutality, intellectualism, social activism, soap opera, and young love.
Ishirō Honda's “THE MYSTERIANS”
Mar 15

Mar 15 Ishirō Honda's “THE MYSTERIANS”

Dennis D. McDonald
Action, Japanese, Popcorn, Robots, Space Travel, Kaiju
In 1957, Toho Studios released Akira Kurosawa’s epic The Hidden Fortress, a film that George Lucas has stated strongly influenced his creation of the Star Wars saga. I wasn’t paying attention. That was also the year that Toho released Inoshiro Honda’s sci-fi epic The Mysterians.
Lynn Hershman-Leeson's TEKNOLUST
Mar 14

Mar 14 Lynn Hershman-Leeson's TEKNOLUST

Dennis D. McDonald
Comedy, Quirky, Science Fiction
This movie is like a breath of fresh air. The story is original, the acting is uniformly engaging, the dialog is witty, and it looks cheap in all the right places. It’s an in-your-face-reminder that you don’t need a bezillion dollars to create something fresh, entertaining, and original.
Hayao Miyazaki's “NAUSICAÄ OF THE VALLEY OF THE WINDS”
Mar 9

Mar 9 Hayao Miyazaki's “NAUSICAÄ OF THE VALLEY OF THE WINDS”

Dennis D. McDonald
Aircraft, Animated, Japanese, Miyazaki, Anime, Dragons
What is it about Miyazaki and Studio Ghibli that are so consistently impressive? Seeing 1984’s Nausicaä of the Valley of the Winds for the first time reminded me of some of the answers to this question.
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Copyright © 2002-2026 by Dennis D. McDonald. I support proposal writing & management, content and business development, market research, and strategic planning. I also support democracy, respect for the law, and cursive handwriting. My email address: ddmcd@ddmcd.com.