Author: SR Staley

SR Staley has one more than 11 literary awards for his fiction and nonfiction writing. He is on the full-time faculty of the College and Social Sciences and Public Policy at Florida State University as well as a film critic and research fellow at the Independent Institute in Oakland, California. His award-winning Pirate of Panther Bay series (syppublishing.com) has won awards in historical fiction, mainstream & literary fiction, young adult fiction, and reached the finals in women's fiction. His most recent book is "The Beatles and Economics: Entrepreneurship, Innovation, and the Making of a Cultural Revolution" due out in April 2020 (Routledge).

Birdbox boosted by strong, experienced cast

For practical reasons, I focus my reviews on movies released in commercial theaters. But several…

 Posted in Film Reviews, Films, Horror, Science Fiction Tagged , , , , , ,

Fighting With My Family is a balanced blend of comedy and family dynamics

Movies about professional wrestling are not high on my “to watch” list — I’m not…

 Posted in Biography - Biopic, Drama, Film Reviews, Films Tagged , , , , , , , ,

And the Oscar goes to….

Links to my reviews of the 2018 movies nominated for 91st Academy Awards by category with winners highlighted in bold italics.

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Roma shines with a little help from Mexican history

The movie Roma shines when audiences understand the backstory to this Mexican film.

 1 Comment on Roma shines with a little help from Mexican history    Posted in Drama, Film making, Film Reviews, Films, Reviews Tagged , , , , , , ,

Spike Lee’s BlacKkKlansman brokers larger discussion on race in America

The knot in my stomach churned up by BlacKkKlansman still gnawed at my insides more…

 Posted in Biography - Biopic, Drama, Film Reviews, Historical (Actual) Tagged , , , , , , , , ,

Spider-Man: Into the Spider Verse is Genre Busting Fun

Wow. Just Wow. It’s been a long time since I’ve seen an engaging, genre-busting movie,…

 Posted in Action - Thriller, Film Reviews, Superhero Tagged , , , , , , ,

On the Basis of Sex honors the trials and vindication of legal pioneer Ruth Bader Ginsburg

On the Basis of Sex captures the human side of Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg

 Posted in Biography - Biopic, Drama, Film Reviews, Films, Historical (Actual) Tagged , , , , , , , , ,

Set It Up‘s light touch is a worthy diversion into romantic comedy

Set It Up‘s (2018) light touch uses a surprisingly snappy comic script and on-screen chemistry…

 Posted in Books, Comedy, Film Reviews, Films Tagged , , , ,

3, 2, 1, launch! Calusa Spirits official book release set

Calusa Spirits, the action-packed third book in the Pirate of Panther Bay series, is set…

 Posted in Book Signings, Marketing, Pirate of Panther Bay, Tortuga Bay Tagged , , , , , , , , ,

The story behind the cover of Calusa Spirits

The cover for Calusa Spirits is great, and I think thing it’s the best one…

 Posted in Channeling Isabella + Sailing, Historical fiction, Pirate of Panther Bay, Teen & YA fiction, Tortuga Bay Tagged , , , , , , , , ,