Author Archives: williamjcobb

“Widow’s Bay” Review: Just When You Thought It Was Safe to Go in the Water Again . . . .”

Posted on May 10, 2026 by williamjcobb

It’s something of a mashup satire of horror/disaster movies, with pointed references to such classics as Jaws, The Fog, and many others.  Continue reading →

Posted in Apple TV's "Widows Bay" review, Horror Comedies, Horror Films | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

On the Demise of Texas Summer Camps and a Remembrance of Hells Past: It Wasn’t “Meatballs” or Camp Mystic

Posted on May 5, 2026 by williamjcobb

Although we played sports and had cookouts and ate hot dogs, it was less like Bill Murray’s iconic Meatballs (1979) and more like Stanley Kubrick’s Full Metal Jacket (1987). More like Boot Camp than Summer Camp. Continue reading →

Posted in Camp Mystic, Summer Camp Stories | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Ran the Pittsburgh Half-Marathon Today!

Posted on May 3, 2026 by williamjcobb

The real treat this year: My daughter, Liliana, ran the Half-Marathon with me. She didn’t think she was going to make it and did great! Continue reading →

Posted in Pittsburgh Marathon | Tagged | Leave a comment

“Dragonfly” Review: Chronicle of Broken Britain Packs a Punch

Posted on May 2, 2026 by williamjcobb

In “Dragonfly” the lives of Colleen and Elsie are heartbreaking but they seem real. Continue reading →

Posted in Broken Britain, Film | Tagged , | Leave a comment

Paul Andrew Hutton’s “The Apache Wars”: Historical Origins of Cormac McCarthy’s “Blood Meridian” (1986)

Posted on April 27, 2026 by williamjcobb

Hutton’s The Apache Wars, a nonfiction work, provides great context and understanding to this era, and reinforces the visions of Cormac McCarthy.  Continue reading →

Posted in Cormac McCarthy novels, History of the Southwest, Native American History, The West | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

“Beef” Imagines a World of Scheming, Conniving, Duplicitous Grifters

Posted on April 25, 2026 by williamjcobb

Think of it as The White Lotus meets Bong Joon Ho’s Parasite (2019). Continue reading →

Posted in Korean Film and TV, Netflix Series, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

“The A.I. Doc”: Dumb & Dumber Meet the Digital Overlords

Posted on April 23, 2026 by williamjcobb

The documentary filmmaker Roher may seem a bit dim as an interviewer but the tech-world savants he interviews know what they’re talking about, without dumbing it down too much, and have many insightful tidbits to add. Continue reading →

Posted in A.I., A.I. 2027, A.I. Apocalypse, A.I. Documentaries, A.S.I. (Artificial Super Intelligence), Eliezer Yudkowsky and Nate Soares' If Anyone Builds It, Everyone Dies, Mustafa Suleyman's The Coming Wave: A.I., Power, and Our Future | Tagged | Leave a comment

“Normal” Movie Review: Bob Odenkirk Blows Up the Fonz

Posted on April 19, 2026 by williamjcobb

I don’t think I’ve ever laughed at so many people getting shot, stabbed, killed, maimed, or blown to smithereens—including Henry Winkler, aka The Fonz from TV’s Happy Days sitcom of the Seventies. Continue reading →

Posted in Action/adventure comedies, Bob Odenkirk movies, Movie Review of "Normal" | Tagged | Leave a comment

Jonathan Kennedy’s “Pathogenesis”: Mystery of the Neanderthal Extinction Solved!

Posted on April 17, 2026 by williamjcobb

A popular theory has been the humans basically pushed Neanderthals out of their territory some 50-40,000 years ago and prevailed because they were smarter. Not so, according to Kennedy. Continue reading →

Posted in books, Human Prehistory, Neanderthal Extinction Event | Tagged , | Leave a comment

The Finale of “DTF St. Louis”: Sad Coda to Great Character

Posted on April 15, 2026 by williamjcobb

Here’s what I find most fascinating and admirable about DTF: The writers/director cleverly frame the season as a murder mystery, when it isn’t. Continue reading →

Posted in David Harbour, HBO series, HBO's "DTF St. Louis", Jason Bateman, Prestige TV, Uncategorized | Tagged , | Leave a comment