movie review - The Reading Junkie

Why I hate the Foundation series

January 20, 2026October 21, 2025 by Maria Kondorskaya

So, we watched the Foundation series and I hated it. I wanted to write a long review, but I suck at long texts. So here’s the verbal gist of my mental effort: 1. The show has no plot. It’s a zoomer ideal of a roller-scroller show where a clip comes after clip and a cinematic … Read more

What’s wrong with new TV shows?

January 20, 2026April 14, 2025 by Maria Kondorskaya

Everything. But let me elaborate on it. The other day we started watching the Foundation series by Apple. When the opening credits started, I sighed and asked, “Oh, is it new?” Something in my intonation made Ian laugh. He said that not everything that’s new is bad. Well, so far it’s not good either. This … Read more

History of culture as a History of Choices

February 1, 2023 by Maria Kondorskaya

Today let’s talk about the history of culture as a history of choices or the subtle beauty of The Thief and the Cobbler versus straightforward shine of Aladdin. Yesterday I saw the Thief and the Cobbler animation film for the first time in my life. And I am pleasantly surprised. Despite its messy production history, … Read more

Alita – The Antithesis of Toxic Feminism

January 20, 2026January 12, 2021 by Ian Kummer

Summary: Alita is fun and beautifully done, and well worth seeing. Feminists’ reviews were savage. Their attacks reveal much about them and the new puritanism (ideological, not religious) sweeping America.

Spielberg Saved Private Ryan and Killed Patriotism

January 20, 2026November 22, 2020 by Ian Kummer

Synopsis: The classic 1998 gory D-Day movie Saving Private Ryan is a triumph of war cinema that lesser filmmakers have attempted to imitate countless times in the following decades up to the present day. Saving Private Ryan practically defined the entire genre of American war films, but also helped destroy it, perhaps irreversibly.