Spoiler Scale (How spoilery is this article on a scale of 1 to 10?):  7 Self-esteem is a good thing.  And in the parlance of MBA types, people want to follow those who exude referent authority.  But there can an awfully fine line between the benevolent dictator who is capable of empathetic exchange and the pompous ass who believes his/her own press, and ... Read More »

Spoiler Scale (How spoilery is this article on a scale of 1 to 10?):  7 We sit on our couches in front of the TV, in our cubicles at work, or in the back of our spin classes where nobody can see us – watching that person.  We may want to be like that person, or we may just want the good stuff ... Read More »

Spoiler Scale (How spoilery is this article on a scale of 1 to 10?):  3    Sometimes we cannot save ourselves.  We are not worthy of confession, communion, or redemption.  And perhaps the best we can muster from the core of our remaining humanity is to save an abused puppy left in a garbage can for dead. Well, that seems ... Read More »

Spoiler Scale (How spoilery is this article on a scale of 1 to 10?):  7 One common cop-out to avoid any serious philosophical discussion of the seven deadly sins is to bring up the e-word – excess – as in, “well, these behaviors are only ‘sins’ if committed in excess.”  But sometimes it takes only one act of lust, greed, ... Read More »

Spoiler Scale (How spoilery is this article on a scale of 1 to 10?):  8   As the enigmatic character Gordon Gekko famously declared, greed clarifies.  Indeed it does – too much so.  Greed is necessarily premised on the need to keep score when it comes to power – whether it be financial, political, religious, or otherwise.  For many, it’s a ... Read More »

Spoiler Scale (How spoilery is this article on a scale of 1 to 10?):  7   To be sure, each of us is capable of harboring lust for a number of different “things” (e.g., all of the numbers of pi), but sexual desire underscores a unique aspect to this particular sin – the futility of the pursuit itself.  People want sex ... Read More »

Spoiler Scale (How spoilery is this article on a scale of 1 to 10?):  3   From its opening frame, Calvary jumps right into the void with an unseen male parishioner’s confessing, “I first tasted semen when I was seven years old.”  “Certainly a startling opening line,” remarks Father James (Brendon Gleeson), immediately setting the stage for this self-referential, black comedy.  ... Read More »

Spoiler Scale (How spoilery is this article on a scale of 1 to 10?):  7     When, lo, as they reached the mountain-side, A wondrous portal opened wide, As if a cavern was suddenly hollowed; And the Piper advanced and the children followed, And when all were in to the very last, The door in the mountain-side shut fast. ... Read More »

Spoiler Scale (How spoilery is this article on a scale of 1 to 10?):  3   “I don’t know Pauline Kael.  Fuck Pauline Kael.”  It’s the kind of comment that a serious film critic may find downright “unseemly,” but that’s kind of the point.  As delivered by a long-time friend and colleague of Roger Ebert in the documentary Life Itself, it sums up Ebert’s place, relatively speaking, ... Read More »

Spoiler scale (How spoilery is this article on a scale of 1 to 10?):  4   Nothing undermines art like reverence.  And biopics are no exception to this rule.  Over the last 20 years, four feature-length documentaries have covered the 1993 murders of three boys in West Memphis, Arkansas, the resulting trials and conviction of the so-called “West Memphis Three,” the growth of their celebrity and civilian supporters alike, and ... Read More »