Tag Archives: movies

Guest Blog Post: Overlooked Women in Movie History

Posted on March 8, 2018 by Ralph Hanson

Saw an interesting post on Facebook this morning about women in the movie industry from my friend Dolores Hill Sierra. Dolores is retired from teaching communication classes at Blackhawk Community College in the Quad Cities area of Illinois where she … Continue reading →

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How watching a movie leads to Facebook ad

Posted on October 4, 2017 by Ralph Hanson

I recently watched the movie The Fifth Element on TV at home, and I don’t believe I posted anything about it, though I certainly searched it for cast and crew information. Fascinating to see that such a low level of … Continue reading →

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A few more thoughts on the Bechdel Test

Posted on October 4, 2017 by Ralph Hanson

The Bechdel Test is a fairly simple test for the presence of women in movies.  It asks three simple questions: Are there two or more women in the movie who have names? Do they talk to each other? Do they … Continue reading →

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Twitter Responses are the New Autograph (All media are social)

Posted on September 21, 2017 by Ralph Hanson

Updated 10/9/17 We all have our moments that David Letterman called a “brush with greatness,” moments where our lives intersect with someone famous. In the past, when you met a movie star, musician or famous author, you might ask for … Continue reading →

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Images of the Twin Towers in Cinema

Posted on September 11, 2017 by Ralph Hanson

Reposted from Sept. 11, 2011. Before 9/11, the silhouette of the twin towers of the World Trade Center were one of the quickest ways movie makers had of establishing that we were looking at the NYC skyline.  Here’s a beautiful … Continue reading →

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Questions Worth Asking (Maybe)

Posted on July 26, 2017 by Ralph Hanson

What’s the story behind the possible end of Snopes? Yes, it’s a true story. Sadly, it’s a typical new media battle over who will control a web site. Truly hope this ends well. How do reporters (or anyone else) authenticate … Continue reading →

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Listing Beatles Songs, 21st Century Movies, and Frank DeFord Stories

Posted on June 11, 2017 by Ralph Hanson

For some reason, lists of things have been popping up in my reading over the last several days.  Here are several worth taking a look at: Beatles Songs Ranked From Worst to Best Vulture has put out a ranking of … Continue reading →

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Are ‘Contact’ and ‘Prometheus’ essentially the same movie?

Posted on March 29, 2017 by Ralph Hanson

  I recently saw the 1997 science fiction movie Contact on streaming for the first time, nearly 20 years after its initial release.  And as I watched it, I was immediately struck by how many ways it resembled director Ridley Scott’s Alien … Continue reading →

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An Unwelcome X-Men Mutation

Posted on October 6, 2016 by Ralph Hanson

I just recently rewatched X-Men: Days of Future Past and was struck again by what a good super hero movie it was. It handled the mythos and back story well, it had characters following consistent motivation, and it had characters … Continue reading →

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Taking a look back at the summer movie season

Posted on September 5, 2016 by Ralph Hanson

It’s been a rough summer for the movie industry, with a lot of big budget movies stumbling and barely making a profit, and the industry as a whole having its second worst summer since 2001. Vox’s Todd VanDerWerf has a … Continue reading →

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