Thursday, July 2, 2026

Life After Romero: The Other Day of the Dead Movies (2005 - 2017)

 

George Romero’s Day of the Dead hit theaters in 1985. Following up the masterpiece that was Dawn of the Dead in 1978, it wasn’t a huge success at the time. Over the years, however, it became a horror classic, featuring great makeup effects, memorable characters, and, without question, the best zombie in the entire Dead series.


The story ended, the survivors escaped, and that should have been that.


Then Romero went full George Lucas and couldn’t leave well enough alone. 


What I really wanted to look at were the years following the zombie resurgence of the early 2000s. As much as I don’t want to spend much time discussing Romero’s later films, it’s impossible to ignore the release of Land of the Dead in 2005. Romero was back, zombies were popular again, and horror fans were paying attention.


Of course, that wasn’t the only thing happening. The Dawn of the Dead remake had been a major hit the year before, proving there was still plenty of life left in the zombie genre. And whenever something becomes popular in Hollywood, somebody inevitably starts looking for a familiar name to slap on a poster.



Day of the Dead 2: Contagium (2005)


I can distinctly remember walking down the horror aisle at Blockbuster Video, seeing this on the shelf, and thinking, “What the hell is this?” A sequel to Day of the Dead? It even used the same logo as Romero’s film. To make things even stranger, it was released by Anchor Bay Entertainment, one of the major DVD distributors at the time. Everything about the box was trying to convince me this was somehow a legitimate continuation of Day of the Dead. Well, aside from the dodgy Photoshopped zombie, but okay, given the time, it’s whatever. 


I had to rent it. I had to see what this was about.


Now, while I can clearly remember seeing this in the store, I can’t for the life of me remember how far I made it into the movie before shutting it off. I was duped. They got me. Not only was this not connected to Romero’s film, it was one of the worst things I had ever seen. No hyperbole.


So of course, 20 years later, I went back to rewatch it, or watch it in full for the first time. Was it really as bad as I remembered?


Well, yes.


If you’re asking why I would do such a thing, the simple answer is because I’m an idiot. Which may very well be true. But after Scream Factory’s recent 4K release of the original Day of the Dead, I had this urge to revisit the non-Romero films. You know it’s a bad idea. You know nothing good can come from it. Yet for some reason, you still feel compelled to see what happens.


The film follows a virus outbreak inside a psychiatric hospital. Zombies appear, people die, and characters spend an alarming amount of time explaining things that don’t matter.


With a run time of 1 hr 43 minutes, that’s actually two minutes longer than the original. 


Fuck off. 


Oh, here’s the fun fact in all this. This was never intended to be a Day of the Dead sequel. It was filmed under the title Contagium. But as we established, zombies were popular again, and to cash in on the latest Romero film, the DOTD title was slapped on at the last minute. 


Which explains a lot, because there is absolutely nothing about this movie that feels like its supposed predecessor. No tension. No atmosphere. No sense of dread. Just endless scenes of people standing around discussing viruses while the movie slowly drains the life out of the room.


It took me 20 years to finally finish this thing. And I can say without any doubt that I will never watch it again. Some movies deserve a second chance. This wasn’t one of them.


Oh, and the zombies talk in this one.




Again, fuck off.



Day of the Dead (2008)


If Contagium existed to cash in on Romero’s return, then the 2008 remake existed because Hollywood had apparently decided every horror movie made before 1990 needed a remake.


The Texas Chainsaw Massacre. Halloween. The Omen. Black Christmas. Studios were digging through old horror titles like they had discovered a cheat code.


Eventually they got to Day of the Dead.


Unlike Contagium, this one at least had the advantage of feeling like an actual movie. I’m not saying that it’s good, but it was clearly made by people who knew what they were doing. For better or worse. 


Director Steve Miner was no stranger to the genre. He had already directed Friday the 13th Parts 2 and 3, along with Halloween H20. The writer, Jeffrey Reddick, worked on the original Final Destination. You had recognizable actors like Mena Suvari, Ving Rhames (who ironically had already survived one zombie apocalypse in the Dawn remake), and let me check my notes… Nick Cannon.


Okay… maybe this isn’t sounding as impressive as I thought it would.


The story follows a group of soldiers and civilians in a small Colorado town as a mysterious virus begins turning people into zombies. There’s a military quarantine, a mad scientist, fast-moving infected, and enough gunfire to make you wonder if you’re accidentally watching a Resident Evil movie.



That’s the problem here. This isn’t a remake of Day of the Dead. It’s a generic, run-of-the-mill zombie film. Tons of bad CGI, cliché characters, forced one-liners, and action scenes that quickly become repetitive. The movie never develops an identity of its own.


It feels like a made-for-Sci-Fi Channel movie of the week. I’m honestly surprised that it wasn’t. Bland, uninspired, nothing to see here.


But it sucks less than Contagium.



Day of the Dead: Bloodline (2017)


Somehow this completely went under my radar, and while I may have heard about it in passing, this was going to be a first-time watch for me. Grand opening, grand closing.


Bloodline takes the basic premises of Romero’s film. Zombie outbreak? Check. Safe compound? Check. Then it tosses most of it out the window and introduces the worst villain in this not-so-official franchise. A character who is portrayed as a stalker and sexual predator before the outbreak even begins. That’s certainly… a choice.


The film follows Zoe, a medical student living in a survivor camp years after civilization collapsed. When she begins studying a zombie named Max in hopes of finding a cure, she discovers that he isn’t your average flesh-eating corpse. 


Spoiler: he’s the creep. He also looks like a Great-Value Bub. 



If the last movie was forgettable because it played everything on standard mode, this one goes in the opposite direction. Unfortunately, this one stinks just as much. 

It feels less like a Dead movie and more like a completely different script that somebody threw zombies into at the last minute. Again, this has nothing to do with Romero. The main character makes decisions that are questionable even by horror movie standards. The rest of the cast is made up of characters you instantly forget as the movie goes along.


What I can’t get over is the decision to make your main antagonist an undead restraining order. He’s treated as more of a threat than the actual virus.


Honestly, there are several points where Capt. Rhodes would have solved this entire movie in about thirty seconds. Joe Pilato was the man.


When the project was first announced in 2013, the producers stated that they wanted this remake to stay close to Romero’s original. 


Well, you can choke on that.


This was one of the more miserable experiences I’ve had watching a group of movies back-to-back-to-back. And I did it entirely of my own accord.


Romero’s last two entries, Diary and Survival of the Dead, get a bad rap among horror fans. Rightfully so. They’re rotten. Land of the Dead? Eh, it gets a pass. It’s fine.


It’s just such a shame to look at how strong that original trilogy was. And not just what became of it, but what spawned from it.


One more for the fire.

Wednesday, July 1, 2026

Minions and Monsters (2026)


This is the story of the Minions in Hollywood and how they decided to make a monster movie to save their careers and win an Oscar.

If you are a film lover you will need to see this film 9 or 10 times to catch all the references and throw away bits. The first third of this film is non-stop insanity with seeming every inch of the frame filled with wondrous or referentialbits or images. The amount of film references boggles the mind. After the first third the film settles down a bit but there are still tons of references.

After a manic first third the film settles down  and the plot really kicks in. The rapid fire insanity is lessened as the drive to make a monster movie, with real monsters, and the minions quest to find a big bad to follow and the romance  all take a turn front and center. Our interest shifts from trying to catch all of the references to seeing how the plot plays out. 

I am not going to lie, I absolutely loved the manic first third. I loved that the film had a sense that anything could and would happen. What follows that isn't bad, it's just very structured and the sense that anything could happen at any moment is lost. For me the the five star opening  becomes a four star film over all.

I loved this. 

If you are a film nut you may want to splurge and see this on a big screen. I say that because I don't know how much is going to be lost on a TV or phone.

Go see it. You will laugh start toi finish.

Tuesday, June 30, 2026

Supergirl (2026)


"Celebrating" her 23rd birthday, but in reality, hiding from the universe by staying on a planet with a red sun and getting drunk, Kara, aka Supergirl, ends up having to travel across the universe to find the antidote to the poison that was injected into Krypto by a band of brigands. The brigands were in the process of stealing Kara's spaceship when Krypto tried to stop them. Traveling with Ruthye, the daughter of a sword maker killed by the brigands, she has three days to save her dog.

SUPERGIRL is not the mess that many internet pundits and supposed gate keepers have declared it. I am not going to lie and say its a perfect film, it is not, but I think the issue here is not so much the script as the fact that this feels like it was trimmed down from a longer better film. I say this because repeatedly there were times where I got the sense that something was left out. It's the sort of left out you get when you trim bits that add context not because the script was broken at the start. I believe this more because the sequences that feel whole and the construction of the story, especially in the inclusion of Lobo, feels right.

I want to say at the top that this not going to be a film that disappears, despite what the gatekeepers and misogynistic film bros may want to happen. I think that this film is going to grow in stature over time. Having had the film live rent free in my head since I saw it Saturday, I am of the opinion that it is much better than we all think. I think we will see this once we all step away from what we thought the film was going to be and take it for what it is- something greater and more important than the disposable reel of celluloid that the pundits and hateful film bros have labeled it.

But I'm getting a head of myself.

The day after SUPERGIRL opened I bought a ticket and took a ride. The theater was largely empty- owing to the fact that the film at 1030 am was in three or four other theaters at the multiplex. The audience was largely girls and their families. That was not what I expected but it made me smile. I honesdtly I expected an audience of male comics geeks, but they apparently all skipped my screening.

The opening sequence where the brigands come and kill Ruthye's family is really clunky. It's borderline bad  and I feared that the script was as bad as everyone seemed to be saying. Fortunately it was not.

From there the film shifts to Kara and the film picks up. 

Okay Milly Alcock-IS Supergirl. She kicks ass. Its a performance for the ages. It's one of the truly great superhero performances that just gets better and better as we get more shading as the film goes. Seriously she is one of the truly great broken but functioning characters I've seen in cinema, never mind superhero cinema. By the time we get her final encounter with Krem and the final scene you get this glorious (and Oscar worthy) emotional journey. There is no way Oscar will not notice it, but audiences will. The little kids who don't feel they belong and feel utterly crushed by life will notice it and they will embrace it and they will absolutely take it to heart and carry it with them as proof that they can go on. Cinema should not just reflect what is, or entertain, but it should give hope as much as possible. Alcock gives hope and I'm guessing millions of kids and adults will connect to that.

The misogynistic fan boys and those delighting in crushing the film should be wary since this film is very much an attack on them. The film is about an all-male society who kidnap and use women only for breeding being crushed by two women. It's a film about women standing up for themselves and making their world a better place. This is ultimately a film that was made for girls and outsiders who feel put down and put upon. This wasn't made for the self-important male film community. This film is a ultimately a female empowerment film that is closer to real than a film like Barbie- because Kara is closer to every person sitting in the theater and not a self-assured young woman who can't fail. Kara can and does and yet goes on. The failing and then getting up is what gives the film its resonance and power.

And before you yell at me about Lobo, yea Lobo is there. Yes, Jason Mamoa is great as Lobo, but he never outshines the ladies. Yes, Lobo is there. Yes, Lobo helps Kara and Ruthye, but he is never the focus, nor the only reason the ladies succeed. In the film Lobo is referred to as a god. He's really not that, but within the context of the film he is. Lobo is essential a deus ex machina- a machine of god. He comes in and nudges things. He helps when it suits him, he makes a suggestion to Ruthye about how to escape and then he leaves -and even then, she exceeds what he thought she would do. All of the work is done by the women. Lobo is little more than a necessary plot device.

I should say something about the violence- it's brutal and ugly- and while it isn't bloody it is graphic. People are impaled and broken apart. People die, badly. It is very much a PG-13 film. In its way it's disturbing. Actually, the violence and the evilness of the brigands are light years beyond almost any other superhero film, particularly a DC superhero film. 

I have heard a number of writers complain it's a bad shift from the world of last year's SUPERMAN. Well, the truth is it isn't that film, nor is it set on earth but on a meaner nastier and uglier place. It's not a reinvention of that world, or of the superhero genre, but simply a look at that world from a different perspective, perhaps from the shadows. This is not SUPERMAN and it is not trying to copy that film. You can't kick the film for not repeating what went before, especially since many who said that would have kicked it for repeating. (Think of it as Urasawa's Pluto compared to Tezuka's Astroboy)

Critics and audiences have to remember the films we see are not our films- but the work of artists and even when we critique them, we have to remember that we didn't make the films and they were never made to match our sensibility unless by happy accident.

That said the film does have problems....

The problem with the script is largely that there is a sense that something is missing. Yes, we have enough to carry the plot forward, however at the same time shading seems to be missing. I kept thinking I should know more, particularly about the brigands who are little more than standard, but incredibly evil, bad guys. And it's not that I need long exposition, rather I would have liked just some sort of odd line that added color rather than their entire being being summed up by their name- brigands. I mean we know more about the tech pirates who attack the space bus for one brief sequences than the brigands who are the big bads for a two hour film.

On the other hand, mostly the script nails it where it has to. Lobo is largely in the background. The plot moves and is cathartic. Most importantly the script is written so that all of the emotion shades almost all of the characters. Kara is a wholly formed woman. You feel her pain. When Ruthye finally unloads on Kara you feel the weight in her words. You especially feel the weight when Ruthye tries to rally Kara with words that echo those of Kara's mother. Most amazingly the film radically shifts our understanding of Clark/Superman, explaining why he is so good. Its something that explains a great deal and ultimately gives Kara a much bigger emotional standing when you realize what it takes for her to be good considering how she sees the world.

I should also point out that despite the jokes the film is very heavy. There is a weight to what happens. As I said above, people die and die badly. There is a cost, if not physically then psychically, for everything. This is not a Marvel movie where anything can happen, no one is ever really dead, and the world is shiny happy bunny farts. The world of SUPERGIRL is dark and ugly and painful. There is poverty everywhere. The worlds all look the same because most of what we see is shit holes. Almost all of the people in this film are barely surviving, and they are being abused by bottom feeders. It is not what people want from superhero films (think all the big spectacle of Marvel's output) and I think that is why people have not warmed to it... then again, the film actually isn't a superhero film,  it's a coming-of-age film. This isn't an action film but a character centric drama about two women fighting to find a way out of the darkness.

When this film clicks and is firing on all cylinders, it is one of the best superhero films ever made...

The trouble is it feels like a half an hour was chopped from this. What was the original cut of this film like? I would love to find out.

If there is anything really wrong with the film it's that the needle drops, pretty much every damned one of them is awful. I honestly cannot defend any of them. Needle drops should set the mood from the first notes; we shouldn't have to wait to hear several lines of lyrics to know what the song is saying and why they are using it to score a big scene. Nor should you use a cover version of a perfect song with the wrong tempo. Only that final cover is remotely right - but it's the absolute wrong version. And no, I am not saying this because I don't know the songs used as needle drops, it is because the songs chosen are just sonically emotionally wrong. I know if we swapped out every needle drop for something else everyone's opinion of the film would go up.

Should you see SUPERGIRL?

Yes. It's a solid action film. I don't think you need to run out to see it in IMAX theaters but do see it, just see it when you can.

What makes me happy is that ultimately, despite the shouting about the box office it won't matter. Kids, and I do mean kids, are going to find the film and it will be a hit, a cult hit but  still a hit. It will save lives and give hope to the kids who discover it and need to hear its message that despite the pain that they too can be heroes, that they can be snarky and funny and not stand down so long as they are doing good. This film will, in the long run, change lives.

How do I know?

Because I saw young girls delighted by what they were seeing on screen. I saw them smiling at watching a girl kicking the ass of all the guys. I saw one little girl running though the theater dressed as Supergirl with a look of complete and utter joy on her face because she saw that she could do that...girls could be the hero.

I know that people go to films dressed as the characters be it Star Wars, Marvel, or Michael Jackson or something else, but this was the first time that I saw the world change as a bunch of kids saw a future open up. It wasn't so much they will be Supergirl (or Luke or Spidey), but it was kids realizing life hurts but they can fight through it and be something wonderful- hell Kara only wears the suit in the final minutes of the film - it is only put on when she chooses to be more than just Kara and become Supergirl. Looking in the eyes of the little girls, I saw them realize that they could be that.  SUPERGIRL is vital and important and one of the great films of 2026 because it will give girls, and anyone else who find it, the ability to go on and be good despite the pain.

As I write this I have no idea how the film did at the box office, but I do know how it will do long term. Short term it maybe a bust(or not) but in terms of the long term this film is going to rattle the pillars of heaven.

Monday, June 29, 2026

THE SINKING OF THE LISBON MARU (2024) hits VOD 6/30


In October 1942, an unmarked Japanese ship was targeted and torpedoed by an American submarine who didn't know that the ship was transporting British POWs. What followed was fight for survival as the men in the sinking ship tried to escape, the Japanese tried to keep them in and the Chinese fisherman on the nearby Donji Island tried to save as many people as possible even though it could cost them their lives.

The story of the sinking & rescue was told last year in a film called THE DONJI RESCUE which was changed to THE RESCUE AT DONJI for VOD release in the US. The earlier film haunted me so much that when this film crossed my inbox I had to see it.

Not to put dance around the matter Fang Li's film is a masterpiece. Its a film that crosses time and moves us with the story of what happened back in 1942, while making us misty with the realization that effects of war bleed off the battlefield and down generations.

What I love about the film is that Li manages to juggle multiple story lines and never lose them. We have Li's quest to find out what really happened in 1942 as well as his effort to find the wreck of the ship. We have the events of the sinking. Most importantly we have the stories of the families of them men on the ship and of the fishermen who stepped up to do the right thing. Some of the men didn't survive and some did, but their experiences effected the lives of their children and grandchildren. I was moved multiple times over.

In all my years of watching war related documentaries I've never seen a film that covered so much and did so so perfectly. Truthfully this is the first time where you realize that war doesn't just effect the lives of the people involved in the conflict, but everyone that comes after. It was a point that really hit home when the film ended and everyone was saying their goodbyes.

I can not really explain how good this film is. I might be able to do that down the road, once I've seen it a few more times.

Until then do yourself a favor and see this film when it hits VOD on June 30.

Last Ryde (2026)


A suicidal ride share driver ends up driving a sick man with two days to live

This is a film that doesn’t do anything new narratively, however the film scores because the cast take their assignments seriously and they create characters we want to hang out with because the make them people.

I’m not going to lie and say this film is going to rock the pillars of heaven, it’s not, but it is going to entertain you. Watching the film after 100+ films from Tribeca I wanted to go off the board and see something that I wasn‘t being yelled at by a PR firm to review ASAP. I just wanted something I could watch and get lost in. I got lost in THE LAST RYDE for the better part of two hours and forgot the world. That may not sound like the be all and end all of a review, but the truth is it’s the small films like this that are the best sort of ones to watch. Away from expectations it’s the films like this that we can just be and relax and let the people on screen make us smile for a while.

Is this high art? No but you a couple of hours you’ll forget the BS of the world and be.

Worth a look for the curious. 

Souvenir (2026) Dances With Films 2026


Two friends who are meeting for the first time in years have a rough reunion. However before they can part, they find a lost wallet and make an effort to find the person.

I love most of this film. The central thread of of the two friends talking is spectacular. I know there have been a number of these films recently, some better than others. This is, for the most part one of the best. Its worth your time to search this out.

Just be aware that the filmmakers didn't fully trust the story and the characters and they added some flourishes that didn't need to be there.

Forgive the distractions and just see this film.

Sunday, June 28, 2026

Tribeca 2026 - Tales from the Road

 

AMC 19th Street

Tribeca is done. 

I'm not sure how many films we saw but it's a lot- my rough count is 142 different titles but I saw a couple of films multiple times.

We reviewed everything we saw with the exception of two films - THE WEDDING ENTERTAINER because the red carpet nonesense, and he other was KILLING CASTRO  which was so fake I walked out because I didn't want to end the festival seeing a film I was going to rip to shreads.

What follows are some thoughts I had during the festival in more or less chronological order.

-----

Going into the fest there was a lot of negativity. A number of people who write on film were wondering why I covered so much when the fest was hit or miss. A lot of my real world friends were wondering why I bother because I don't get paid to do this. It had me in a bad mood until I saw some friends and the first great film.

----

I discovered this butter brioche muffin at a place near the AMC 19th street. I tend not to be a muffin person. I was intrigued. I went from this is okay to suddenly going this is wonderful in a couple of seconds

introducing playing potus from very far away

-----

Walking around the area before the first screening I was trying to orient myself.

Sadly there had been alot of change with a number of my favorite places to get food or just hang out and shop gone.

----

I met Benedict Wong a couple of times. He was a juror. He was a gentleman and put wup with me being amazed.

----

The worst part of Tribeca this year was Bill Lustig wasn't there or if he was I completely missed him. 

Every year, for the past 5 or 6, Bill and I would talk about what was playing, what was good, bad and indifferent. We'd talk about the spectrum of films and gave each other recommendations. 

I deeply missed talking movies with my Tribeca traveling companion.

----

I finally had someone come up to me because they recognized the bag.

Heading out to lunch on one of the first days Justine Brown passed me and stopped and and said "Hey I know that bag!"

Justine is a former EW writer and current college professor who has sent me some films for review. We had talked on line but had never met in person.

She rocks.

----

I ran into Monocurry and his family for the first time and ages.  We met up when we ended up at the premiere screening of BOB AND DAVE CLIMB MACHU PICHU.

Now the trick is going to meet up when we both can sit down and talk and not try to dance around Tribeca events.

Addendum- we are trying to work out Japan Cuts

----

There was a cranky writer who wandered the theaters in the early days trying to sort out where they wanted to sit in each theater. Once they sorted it out, they always took that seat in every other screening and got pissy when the seat was occupied if they arrived late.

----

I had breakfast with Liz Whittmore, and the world was okay for a morning

Bob Odenkirk and Amy Sedaris

----

This was the first festival where I was getting hate emails and tweets in real time. People took offense to what I said about some films.

It is nice to know that people are reading my stuff even if they are throwing brick bats.

----

There were a couple of films during the fest where there was some music with explicit lyric and some films that wanted to convince the world that all men were evil monsters made me think I was out of touch or too old to be doing this.... until I heard some good music that had explicit lyrics and saw some films that did more than just stand there and scream a position that I realized the problem was the films and not me.

----- 

PR people made me crazy.

Numerous ones refused to send me a screener because they wanted the films seen big and loud until they realized I really couldn't see the films on the big screen and then pleaded with me to watch their film during my non-existent free time away from the festival.

I also was not particularly happy with a few PR people pushing for coverage from Tic Tok or social media influencers until they realized that they weren't going to get coverage and they sent emails asking for coverage of things they originally said no to.

No offense I and my fellow writers are known quantities - you know if we say yes, we will get you coverage- why annoy the people who will definitely get word out there.


----

The festival felt less alive this year. Yes, the P&I screenings were better attended, I was never alone, However the excitement at the public screenings I attended wasn't really there this year.

----

I saw a lot of films I realized were good but just not for me.

Save and Amy and Bob and some guy

----

There was a weird rumor that flashed for one morning that said the festival was looking to do away with P&I screenings. It was talked about for one morning and then never mentioned again. I never ran down the source only that someone had said they were told they might go to all online coverage for press next year - which would limit coverage because many films were not on-line

---

There was a side discussion about baseball stadiums and someone suggested that if you wanted your kid to love baseball keep them away from Yankee Stadium because its serious and staid and not fun for kids like Citi field. Citi Field was a fun a place for kids (Addendum: when the Mets aren't dying)

----

I saw a lot of films that would have been better with something swapped out, cast or director or music

----

Watching the films it seemed that a growing number of filmmakers don't fully grasp how to edit their stories for maximum effect. They understand the craft of filmmaking but not the storytelling side with poor choices in how things move or in their shot choices.


----

I went into the Harry Potter Store on 22nd Street

I wish Rowling wasn't such a twit because I thought the store was a blast. It is a magical place.

Sadly I just won't do anything to knowingly put cash in her pockets.

----

I heard the Madonna screening at the fest was a nightmare with a mediocre film, a rambling speech and the refusal to allow anyone to take pictures. A couple of people sent to cover it said they couldn't because they made it impossible to do so.

----

I saw Disclosure Day and was mixed. My saying that on social media resulted in attacks that said I didn't understand Spielberg. I liked the engagement but think they should have waited to see the film before saying I got it wrong because several people crucifying me didn't like the film when they saw it.


----

No one seemed to be on the red carpet for the AI feature

----

I loved walking to the city when the Knicks game was on and hearing pockets of cheering as they scored.

----

I don't mind people talking before a film but I didn't need the kid explaining to the audience of TOY STORY 5 the other four films in detail including the deeper meaning (his own) of every scene.

----

I did  like the two critics dismantling DISCLOSURE DAY as if it were a doctoral thesis.

I don't think they were right top to bottom but it was facinating.

----

I disliked that the feeling that the festival was one long day. 

It was my fault since I was only home to sleep for a few hours, but it messed with my mind and I am still recovering.


----

I hope they get the AMC 19th street under better control next year. In one of the theaters, you could hear construction literally on the other side of the wall. In others the AC was so loud it drown the sound of the films.

----

I walked out of MUMFORD AND SONS HOUSE BAND, the next to last in person film I saw, and felt - that's it I can end here and be content.

At the same time I was seized by the feeling that either I or the festival may not be there next year.

----

Walking out of AMC 19th street that last time I knew it was time to go. I wanted to get pictures of my friends who are volunteers but it didn't happen. They were busy. 

The last film there was about choosing to do what you love over what you choose to make money. I just suddenly thought maybe my road to happy is somewhere else.

Leaving I knew it was time to go... and not just Tribeca but also possibly Unseen Films

There was something final about the feeling. I had this sense that I might be wrapping up Unseen.`I say that because as I walked out of the fest I knew I had nothing really slotted past my coverage of the fest. I simply didn't make plans past the end. The was nothing but old film reviews into February and I was completely okay with that.

Things did drop in- you all read the coverage of the last week-and there is coverage for the next week- but I still don't have much beyond that. Right now, I am only doing a couple of films at NYAFF and I have plans to do something with Fantasia but there is nothing cinema related tied to the site beyond that. (well I do have a package for NYFF)

I'm not sure where I stand - and that's okay- I suggest keep reading and see what happens. As I write this a week before it posts I have no clue.

Why am I telling you this?

Because this is a piece on the thoughts I had while at Tribeca and this being the end was one of those thoughts.

----

RANDOM QUOTES:

When you go into the bath you mind must be fresh, clear like lettuce - ZEJTUNE

If you ask for a $100,000 for a car a ban will say yes. If you ask for $100,000 for a tractor they will say no -HARVEST

I some how managed to escape (and most of these were just okay- they need a new programmer for this section)