The blog, portfolio, and home base of Nick Schaden, a web designer/developer living in New York.
My newfound appreciation for film happened over two long haul flights. That may sound paradoxical, given airline movies suffer from low resolution screens, compressed audio, engine noise, and turbulence. But sixteen hours in economy somehow gave me a new perspective on what makes movies great. Only with air travel can I glance at and compare [ ]
The Korean director Hong Sang-soo is one of the most idiosyncratic auteur directors working today. He crafts minimalist dramas — conversations in bars, static camera shots — that are deceptively complex. Most of his films juggle multiple storylines, often featuring sly commentary on male-female dynamics and artistic pursuits. Though his films are often critically acclaimed [ ]
Early this year I wrote about macroeconomic pressures freezing the console and PC gaming markets in place. It’s only gotten more challenging in the months since. Thanks to tariffs and an AI boom that has increased demand for RAM and other hardware, a PS5 Digital now costs $600 USD, while an Xbox Series X costs [ ]
How noticeable are the sound and video improvements of Blu-rays over their purely digital counterparts on streaming services and video on demand? Stress the word ‘noticeable’. While discs have an unquestionable theoretical advantage over anything Netflix, Apple, or Amazon offers — vastly higher bitrate, no dependencies on inconsistent internet signals, lossless audio — who can [ ]
If you like film, you’d probably benefit from rewatching movies more often. The act can help us refine our tastes, and educate us on a film’s construction, making us more astute film watchers. It’s also a dependably fun way to spend a few hours, especially for movies you love. Rewatches matter because we can never [ ]
Every awards season, I’m reminded there is an endless discussion of the great films, but not nearly enough of the merely good ones. Scan any trade publication or film-adjacent social media in the period from December to February, and you’re bound to keep reading the same narrow list of ten to twenty films receiving all [ ]
Sirat is one of the most unique experimental films I’ve seen in years. Writer director Oliver Laxe grafts an art house movie onto a Mad Max inspired action thriller, and the results are simultaneously thrilling and harrowing. While my other favorites from 2025 stand out for their engrossing plot or vibrant character arcs, Sirat is [ ]
With the console and gaming PC market at a standstill, gaming is facing one of its largest crises in a decade. Momentum the medium took for granted — new console generations, affordable hardware upgrades, and a growing player base — has hit a wall. The ripple effects could be devastating, leading to more layoffs and [ ]
My favorite films of 2025 featured a wider range of genres, budgets, and themes than in the past. From heart-wrenching dramas to maximalist action, and tiny Sundance debuts to $100 million studio blockbusters, all ten films give me hope for the industry’s future. While it’s an especially challenging time for filmmakers, theaters, and financiers, great [ ]
It’s exciting to see that most of my favorite games of the year came from smaller studios willing to take big risks with story and gameplay. They offer an essential counterbalance to tired franchises that rely on micro transactions and familiarity to stay relevant. Yet as great as it was to play such creatively daring [ ]