The blog of Logan Tyler Smith

My name is Logan Tyler Smith, and in this series of LoganLand Prime I will analyze movies that are newer or more contemporary in the public consciousness. Welcome to the New Releases series. In “Toy Story 4”, the toy’s of the past three movies have to deal with a decorated spork who mysteriously came to life after being declared a “toy”. After the cowboy doll Sheriff Woody gets separated from the others along with the spork named “Forky”, he realizes more about himself and the world around him around the same time he reconnects with an old friend from a previous owner.  Toy Story has and always has been a practically perfect animated franchise. Right from the opening scene, the viewers are effortlessly hooked into the sprawling narrative of the series without much need for dull exposition. In addition, the film manages to somehow be genuinely funnier and better animated than the first three movies, if not generally better.  It’s no secret that the original Toy Story...

This is the segment where I talk about movies pre-2015 that may have escaped the public consciousness in recent years. I'm Logan Tyler Smith, and this is In Case You Missed It. In “Django Unchained”, a slave in the Antebellum South named Django is freed by a german bounty hunter in order to find a bounty. Once the bounty is found, Django and the bounty hunter team up to free Django’s wife from a sadistic plantation owner. This, however, will prove a more difficult task than initially expected. Django is one of those rare director-driven films that makes it to the mainstream. Written and directed by fan-favorite director Quentin Tarantino, this movie works on many levels. Some of the ways the film works include having witty dialogue, powerful performances, and a solid cast. Despite the film’s rocky subject matter and place in history, the film also makes you think in a matter-of-fact way about slavery’s role in America’s past. Some of the ways the slaves are treated throughou...

My name is Logan Tyler Smith, and in this series of LoganLand Prime I will analyze movies that are newer or more contemporary in the public consciousness. Welcome to the New Releases series. In “John Wick Chapter 3 - Parabellum”, notorious hitman and dog lover John Wick has reached his low point. Excommunicated from the “High Table” (a prestigious organized crime organization) for events of the previous film, John must use every trick in his arsenal to avoid ending up roadkill at the hands of seemingly every assassin in the world. John Wick is one of those franchises that should not be as good as it is given it’s concept on paper. A former hitman avenging the death of dog is certainly a hard premise to swallow. John Wick repeatedly steps up the franchises dense crime mythology and mixes it with the series’ use of powerful acting and sometimes impossibly effective fight choreography. This film in particular is truly a piece of action cinema meant for the big screen. If you’re...

Welcome to the place where we look at elements of a Director or Film's entire meaning in a way more meaningful than the tradition reviews. I'm Logan Tyler Smith, and this is Overall Analysis. Now I know Ready Player One (both the movie and then book) are getting a lot of hate on the internet around this time. There’s the video on JustWrite, another video I didn’t really watch, and a lengthy series of endless movie reviews. To be clear, I’m not talking about the movie (which definitely has different merit) I’m talking about the movie because - spoiler alert, it’s actually kinda great. Now I realize some of you don’t understand or appreciate this work, so I’ll make essay brief and to the point. Ready Player One is a love letter to the 1980s-and while that could definitely be a turn off to some people, to me and (hopefully) the general public, this content seems to have resonated. Not just in terms of the film’s box office returns (which were really profitable) but in terms...

Welcome to the place where we look at elements of a Director or Film's entire meaning in a way more meaningful than the tradition reviews. I'm Logan Tyler Smith, and this is Overall Analysis. To be clear, I do generally LOVE superhero movies, but that doesn't mean I like the god-awful DCEU mentioned in this TOTALLY persuasive title. It is crazy how profitable these films are given they're CLEARLY horrendous to both critics and general audiences alike. They have had maybe two solid hits and that's pretty much it. There are many reasons the DCEU SUCKS, and I will describe them below. If you stay until the end, I might give you an award. Just read this whole post (; The DCEU represents the big budget trash many of cinephiles have warned about. Francois Truffaut, a known French critic in the 1950s, was known for being SCATHING (much like I'm being now), and for good reason! In his (and assumedly his audience's) general opinion, there were LOTS of ...

This is the segment where I talk about movies pre-2015 that may have escaped the public consciousness in recent years. I'm Logan Tyler Smith, and this is In Case You Missed It. In “Moonrise Kingdom” two young kids run away together in the wilderness they claim as their own. On the quest to find the youngsters, the adults realize just how little they have life figured out in general.  Moonrise Kingdom is another delightful art film to add to the movie continuity of the year 2012. Immaculately framed, charmingly acted, and above all funny, Moonrise Kingdom knows exactly the type of movie it is. It’s shot almost like a cleverly illustrated storybook, yet remains inventive in its use of cinematic language. This language remains intact even when the story appears to take dark turns.  The film is admittedly two-dimensional, and never really tries to be anything more. In a weird way, that’s the beauty of this attractive, masterful painting. The film might be more of a pain...

This is the segment where I talk about movies pre-2015 that may have escaped the public consciousness in recent years. I'm Logan Tyler Smith, and this is In Case You Missed It. In "Frances Ha", a young New York dancer drifts through life while everyone else around her seems to be advancing in life. Going from a variety of living areas and dancing jobs, the young woman must eventually grow up and accept herself as an individual. Frances Ha is certainly not for everyone. While it, at first glance, appears to be a romantic comedy or drama, certain aspects of the film seem to defy genre conventions. The funny, well-acted protagonist never actually finds love, save for maintaining an important friendship in her life. The dialogue of the film may slow down parts of the film, but it remains a thing of beauty. Writer-director Noah Baumbach humanizes his characters (especially Greta Gerwig's humorous role) with a collection of witty, nuanced writings. Despite occasional ...