'Searching' is a must-watch tech thriller

It’s not common that films manage to truly reflect the impact of modern-day digital conveniences in sleuthing. But the new crime thriller “Searching” manages to do so while offering a gripping narrative that will leave fans of the genre on the edge of their seats.

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 Nope, there are no UV lights and cotton swabs used in this film. Our protagonist David Kim (played convincingly by John Cho) relies on his familiarity with social media apps and online search engines to uncover a complex scheme surrounding his missing daughter.

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Director Aneesh Chaganty (who co-wrote the film with Sev Ohanian) managed to provide a movie with tons of twists and turns, banking on a father’s given desire to seek out the perpetrators of his daughter’s “abduction.” It begins with a montage series of shots reminiscent of Disney’s “Up,” based on various clicked photos and videos showing the passing of Cho’s wife from cancer. The father-daughter bond and resulting estrangement are thus immediately established.

Audiences feel as though they are the ones clicking on the PC screen or scanning phone messages as the camera is often just left zoomed in. This adds to replicating the drama as it unfolds and makes for a uniquely immersive cinema experience. I won’t spoil it, but suffice it to say that the plot barely misses a beat as Mr. Kim discovers new leads online and confronts suspects even as we are taken to the film’s breathtaking final reveal.

“Searching” is definitely one of the brilliant, little gems of 2018. It’s a refreshing new take on the detective genre and showcases how we can be our own investigators in this digital era.

Hi, my name is Jeff Mohlman, and I’m a student at the University of Ohio pursuing a degree in English Literature. I fancy seeing myself as a future novelist as well as movie and art blogger. More of my writings and musings here.

Movies about writers that will inspire your creativity

If you’re a writer looking for some source of inspiration aside from books, you can turn into movies. Because of their active imaginations and attraction to dramatic moments, writers live exciting and colorful lives. Here are some examples of movies about writers that will definitely make you want to write more.

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Midnight In Paris (2011) Played by Owen Wilson, screenwriter Gil Pender feels that he is struggling to write his first novel. During a vacation in Paris, Gil somehow travels back in time and finds himself in 1920’s, where literary greats such as F. Scott Fitzgerald and Ernest Hemingway exist.

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Almost Famous (2000) Budding music journalist William Miller (Patrick Fugit) gets a dream assignment writing for Rolling Stone magazine. As William goes on tour with a rock band, he discovers that fame and music is definitely not all glitters and adoring fans. The story is loosely based on director Cameron Crow’s experiences as a reporter for Rolling Stone magazine.

Reprise (2006) Reprise explores the lives of two best friends, Philip and Erik, who aspire to be writers. Philip has a book published that catapults him into fame, while Erik stays in the sidelines. Unprepared for the perils of fame, Philip has a breakdown and is hospitalized, and Erik decides to take care of his troubled friend.

My name is Jeff Mohlman and my goal is to be a novelist. Of course I want to be the author of a bestseller but I know that it takes skill to be one. As an English Lit major, I’m enjoying the long list of books in our required reading list. As a writer, we draw inspiration from the books that we read, movies we watch, and artworks we look at. For more articles like this, visit this page.

Going indie: My two favorite mumblecore films

In not so many words, mumblecore is a subgenre of films, films that are mostly produced by independent (or indie) studios with meager budgets, organic acting, and mostly improvised dialogue.  Mumblecore films also focus more on characters than plot.  Over the past three decades, this subgenre of the film has gotten more traction what with a slew of indie directors following in the footsteps of guys like Woody Allen and Richard Linklater. 

Here are our two favorite mumblecore films.

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 Before Sunrise (1995)

Richard Linklater came out with 'Before Sunrise' in 1995 before the mumblecore movement became a full-blown hit.  The film focuses on two strangers played by Ethan Hawke and Julie Delpy, who meet on a train and decide to spend an after, then later on an evening, exploring Vienna.  The dialogue was just so natural that it was extremely easy to get into the feel of things.  Linklater later came out with two sequels to this exemplary drama.

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Safety Not Guaranteed (2012)

A lot more recent, we have a film by Colin Trevorrow, starring Mark Duplass and Aubrey Plaza.  Mark Duplass plays Kenneth, an eccentric and rather private person who puts an ad seeking out someone to go back in time with.  Aubrey Plaza plays an intern at a publication who is sent to investigate the ad and possibly write an article about it.  They meet and find out they have a lot in common.  It’s heartwarming and funny, and incredibly worth your time. 


Jeff Mohlman is a college student, writer, and art and movie enthusiast who studies at the University of Ohio. For more on Jeff and his interests, check out this page.

Characteristics of young adult literature: A quick overview

While fairly new in terms of history, young adult (YA) literature occupies quite a number of shelves in bookstores and libraries and is gaining traction in the publishing industry.  In fact a number of YA novels have been adapted in the big screen, earning commercial success and even critical acclaim.  Here’s a quick look at this book category.

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There have always been books written with a teenage audience in mind.  Acclaimed works like Catcher in the Rye and Lord of the Flies, too, have teen protagonists.  It’s only quite recently, however, that the industry named this category YA and published books specifically for it.  In general, it’s a piece written for a teen audience, featuring a teen main character, and grapples with teen issues and concerns.

Common qualities of YA literature include featuring coming-of-age narratives, where a young adult is introduced into adulthood through a ritual-like experience or entering a new environment or life context.  This category also commonly deals with sexuality and its development, as well as common issues around race, class, and religion.

YA literature often gets rid of adult figures, and young adults instead shine in the spotlight and go through their struggles and epiphanies on their own.  Adults are relegated to a minor position, or are eliminated entirely.  It also deals with raw emotions – and understandably so, as it’s a time of raging hormones, the struggle for emotional maturity, and the blossoming of emotional independence and new personal ideologies. 

Jeff Mohlman is a college student at the University of Ohio who is currently enjoying his art, communications, and English courses. He unwinds by sharing his thoughts on movies and art online. Learn more on this page.

Writing Disciplines Needed To Become a Novelist

A career in literature can be rewarding and fulfilling.  Authors spend their whole lives improving their craft, building an audience, and pushing their limits.  Artists are free to reach their goals on their own terms but adhere to certain disciplines to remain productive.

Writing prose has a different set of disciplines compared to poetry.  One might say writing a novel is more difficult because of the length of the long writing process and of sustaining that creativity.  If you’re planning on becoming a novelist, here are some writing disciplines you need in order to succeed.

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Create your own flow

Authors like Stephen King and J.M. Coetzee have daily routines like spending at least an hour a day writing.  An author can be distracted from writing due to other responsibilities such as editing and research.  Creating your own workflow that requires you to spend time to write is a great way to stay productive.

Carry something you can write on

Ideas can come out of nowhere as an author ponders on his or her thoughts.  Having a notebook or a digital notepad on your smartphone or tablet can help you record your ideas for later use.

Understand your weak areas

Novelists must be able to discern his or her weakness in the craft.  If they feel like they’re slow to start or spend too much time doing research, they must adjust to these flaws and be more conscious of deterrents to their work.

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My name is Jeff Mohlman and I was born and raised in Ohio. True to my roots, I decided to not leave my state and study English Lit at the University of Ohio. Right now most of my courses are about art, communications, and literature. Read more about my hobbies in this blog.

Why Parents Should Encourage Children To Read Books

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We live in an age of incredible dependence on technology. Enter a coffee shop and you’ll see people either talking to one another or fiddling with their phones or on their laptops. Most of the people you see by themselves are engaged in whatever electronic device they have on hand. Even at home, at the dinner table, children are glued to their mobile devices. During their free time, they’re either playing games or streaming a video, hypnotized by what they’re seeing.

This is why it is more important than ever to encourage kids to read books. Electronic devices have a way of robbing children of their creativity. Studies show that an increasing number of children are being drawn into and eventually addicted, to streaming videos of other kids unboxing toys or playing video games. Children are slowly stopping to think for themselves.

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Reading books helps children regain that creativity. After all, books are worlds in themselves. Through words and descriptions, children imagine a different reality in their minds, with creatures of all shapes and sizes. Books don’t spoon-feed images but rather they draw out the images from the minds of their readers.

Encouraging children to read books is one of the best thing parents can do for their kids. Children will adopt this habit and learn that one’s imagination is worth more than all the streaming videos on the internet combined.

Hi, my name is Jeff Mohlman, an English Lit student at the University of Ohio. Learn more about me and the stuff I love by checking out this blog.

Was 'The Godfather Part III' unfairly judged?

It took over 15 years, but fans of the first two Godfather films were rewarded when Francis Ford Coppola finally came out with “The Godfather Part III.” It was set to be the explosive final chapter in the trilogy. But shortly after the viewings, people were collectively confused. There was a feeling of dread that this third and final installment came up short. 

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Soon after, fans began to blast the film. Coppola himself was ridiculed for putting up such a mediocre effort. Even the Oscar nominations for the movie felt like they were nothing more than an award-giving body paying its final respects to the first two films.

It’s true, there were so many things to groan at with “The Godfather Part III.” There was Sofia Coppola’s uninspired performance. There was Andy Garcia’s hammed-up acting that fell short of all the previous Godfathers, let alone the current one. There was the felt absence of old-school Godfather characters. Everything just felt off. 

However, if one were to judge the film on its own merits, it was an achievement in filmmaking and still as epic as the first two. It wrapped up the story the best way it could. And it wasn’t the least bit disrespectful to the universe the first two installments built. 

Was “The Godfather Part III” unfairly judged? On its first viewing, it would seem so. But give it a chance and try to watch it again to appreciate the effort and the love put into it. You’ll see it wasn’t that bad of a movie. 

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Hi, my name is Jeff Mohlman, an English Lit student at the University of Ohio. Learn more about me and the stuff I love by checking out this blog.

Nature Photography: Mobile Phone Edition

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Mobile phones now come with cameras that take excellent photos. If in the past camera phones took trashy pictures, today’s technology tells a different story. Cameras in smartphones increase the gadgets’ value by hundreds of dollars, and we’re not complaining.

As millennials take breaks from their city lives and glued-to-the-phone attitude, they put their smartphones to wise use when they engage in nature photography. This could be the same for those who are past the generation yet can’t live without their phones. Photographers encourage smartphone users to stop taking pictures and start taking photos. The difference? Knowing how to make something look as beautiful in the photo as it is in real life.

You don’t need fancy equipment to get the perfect shot. All you need is a good eye and an excellent understanding of your subject. To be able to succeed in mobile nature photography, take note of your landscape’s focal point. You need to have a point of focus for your viewer. Know what attracted you to take a photo of the landscape and zero in on it using the Rule of Thirds so you won’t have to literally zoom in on it.

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Keep in mind the time of day you’re shooting. The best time is not at high noon, as it does nothing for your landscape. Make great use of dusk and dawn which are called the “Golden Hours.” Shooting at these times provides sufficient light to bring out the landscape’s patterns, textures, and dimensions. Consider your perspective as well—varied perspectives bring power to the images.

Hi, my name is Jeff Mohlman, an English Lit student at the University of Ohio. While being a novelist is my goal, I do enjoy tinkering with my camera and just snap away. If you are into literature and photography just like me, visit my blog.

The Superhero Film: An Overview

The superhero film is a much-celebrated genre in contemporary Hollywood, and it has definitely hit its stride over the last decade or so.  There’s been a long cycle of films adapted from comic books and feature heroic characters with superhuman powers, coupled with a rich diversity of villains.  Here’s a quick look at the genre.

Since the 1930s, superheroes have been part of the hinterland of American cinema, with characters like Flash Gordon, Buck Rogers, and Superman appearing not just in comic books but also newspaper comic strips, radio serials, and television.  Note, though, that the dedicated, large-budget superhero film that enjoys special effects is a relatively new phenomenon, one that is traceable to the blockbuster “Superman” in 1978 and its sequels.

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There’s also the success of Tim Burton’s “Batman” in 1989, which offered a rebooting of a preexisting superhero and combines adult themes, morality, and a dark mise-en-scène with intense fight sequences.  

This and previous superhero films encouraged Hollywood to further explore superhero franchises through the ‘90s.

Several franchises defined this genre.  2000’s “X-Men” is noteworthy, with filmmaker Bryan Singer and company opting for something realistic to ground general audiences who were not previously familiar with the characters.  “Spider-Man” in 2002 also had a profound effect on the genre, which featured a spectacle that deviated a bit from the dark, far more serious “X-Men,” albeit with touches of director Sam Raimi’s dark humor.

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“Catwoman” (2004), “Elektra” (2005), “Batman Begins” (2005), “The Dark Knight” (2008), “Iron Man” (2008), “The Avengers” (2012), and “Deadpool” (2016) are just some of the many that helped the superhero film further flourish and attain massive commercial and artistic success. 

Jeff Mohlman is a college student at the University of Ohio who unwinds by sharing his thoughts on movies and art online. More on his interests here.