NCFCA Member Paul Davis Jr. takes us on a cinematic journey of spy-craft, horror, and addresses why film matters on this edition of Take Five.

Take One: Why is watching films important to you? 

• Film is a special thing. First, it is an all-encompassing art-form. It combines the traditions of theater, music, dance, painting, photography, and so-on all into one fantastical piece. Secondly, it is a great way to see the world, or see the same world through other eyes. You get to see and feel it all, and it can help expand the mind, but more importantly the heart. Lastly, film has always been a big part of my life. It has been something I shared with my family, something that gave me comfort when I was alone, a way to make new friends, a way to get to know someone on a date, so I think for me personally, it’s just always been there for me.

Take Two: When reviewing films, what is the one element that will always impact your review in a negative way (bad: story, character, acting, editing, cinematography, etc.). Why?

• I don’t think any one thing has ever ruined a film for me, or is the first metric I use to negatively review or critique a work. Story and acting are usually where I think a film fails most often, but it isn’t exclusive. More than anything, I think I look at any element that is wildly, disproportionately weaker to the point of distraction. Jurassic Park has a few story contrivances and problems, but they aren’t strong enough to distract from the whole. Much of 28 Days Later… is an ugly movie, but it doesn’t matter in the context of the story.

Take Three: If your life was adapted into a film, which genre would you want it to be and why?

• Something more out there like Sci-Fi or Horror, so that way they actually have to find what’s interesting about my dreadfully standard life and how best to externalize that.

Take Four: Name one film that really scared you? Why? 

• The first movie that gave me regular nightmares as a kid, even though the movie didn’t scare me much at the time, was Jaws. I think it was the primal nature of the creature. It isn’t something to be reasoned with, it’s just there. The eternal predator in perpetual motion.

Also It from 2017 .

Take Five: Name one acting talent who you think would be a perfect James Bond recasting and why.  

• I think when people bring up the James Bond question they don’t think about the requirements of the part, the time between films, and the age of the actors being suggested. I’m of the mind we should be looking for someone a little younger so that they can be in multiple films and bring something new to the part. I’m going to say Daniel Kaluuya. He’s got an intensity, he’s younger, and effortlessly smooth.

Paul Davis Jr.  is dedicated to Film and Television History, preservation of physical media, and educating listeners without boring them to tears. You can find him on the Film Buds podcast