​A little over a year ago, I did a blog post about 15 Movies with Great Cinematography, and since there are so many movies with great cinematography, I thought I should do more of these movies justice by continuing from the previous post. So here are fifteen more movies that I believe best present the art of cinematography:

​Last December, just as I wrapped up work on the first children’s book I illustrated for another author, Gardenland: The Peas’ and Carrots’ Party Shake-Up, I was contacted by someone who wanted me to illustrate his children’s book. How exciting! This new author was the community & media relations manager of the Visalia Rawhide minor league baseball team, and he spotted my profile on The Society of Book Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI). He asked me to illustrate a book he had written called Tipper Takes the Mound, which told the story of how Tipper the Bull, the real-life current mascot, was trained to pitch at his first game as the mascot. 

​Twenty-five years ago, a special animated movie based on a children’s book by William Steig premiered in theaters—one that wasn’t like any other pre-existing movie. Shrek introduced the world to a smelly, ugly, fat ogre of the same name who enjoys his filthy life alone in the swamp; he even learned not to care that everybody hates him and wants him dead. He’s continually the stand-in for anyone who received online death threats and was told by bullies, “No one likes you.” One of those who identifies with Shrek includes me. My previous negative social experiences, particularly during high school, made me want to imitate Shrek and put up a wall around my home so nobody could ever come in—friendship and family were just not worth the trouble. Even today as an autistic adult, I’ve become a victim of the modern loneliness epidemic and often genuinely believe I’m better off alone. Thus, Shrek, in this monumental anniversary year ought to be recognized as more relevant than ever.

Like many people worldwide, I’ve had a fear that the plague of AI, which continually taints emails, social media, online shopping, books, art, therapy, and even doctors, could someday lead to fewer or even no jobs left for humans. AI is everywhere, particularly on social media taking over Instagram, Facebook, and TikTok. What especially disgusts me is the YouTube channels that are made fully by AI, including religious content creators making videos entirely with ChatGPT, which risks spreading lies people could buy into.
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Being an author and illustrator, I see AI affecting children’s books as well, with Amazon being flooded by the ugliest book covers you’ve ever seen—many of which are generated by an AI prompt. The people responsible for these don’t seem to care about the art of writing or illustrating, or the buyers they’re fooling. I wish they cared about supporting the work of real authors and illustrators, but it seems to be only about the money. In my personal research on how AI can be used to work for me rather than in place of me, I have found four fun and responsible ways to use AI: 

By Trevor Pacelli
​What’s Christmas all about? Since I grew up in the Christian church, I was taught that the holiday is about celebrating Jesus’ birth, even though history doesn’t always agree. For starters, Jesus wasn’t born on December 25th and many traditions, like tree decorating and mistletoe, originated from a pagan festival called Yule. Even for some who aren’t Christians, thinking of Christmas as a religious celebration is a humbling reminder not to get caught up in the commercialism, and that message is why so many people love A Charlie Brown Christmas. However, other widely loved Christmas specials assign different meanings to the holiday. How the Grinch Stole Christmas! implies that it’s about singing together, whereas Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer says it’s just about the toys. Figuring out the purpose of life is a massive reason certain stories, including these three Christmas classics, leave an impression on so many of us. Here are six Christmas-themed feature films I think do the best job in presenting a strong reason for the season:

By Trevor Pacelli
​Wow. Thirty years of Toy Story. To this day, it’s one of those movies that nobody seems to dislike, while the second installment is perhaps more loved than the first with its deeper narrative that expands further on the premise of toys coming to life. The series eventually received a third and fourth part, gave Buzz Lightyear a (rather phoned-in) spinoff, and next year, in 2026, Toy Story 5 will come out. To commemorate the legacy of this iconic series, I think now is a good time to look back on what made Toy Story so appealing to all ages.

By Trevor Pacelli
AMC movie theaters have been trying to keep themselves relevant by constantly playing an ad of Nicole Kidman monologuing about how magical the movie theatrical experience is: “That indescribable feeling we get when the lights begin to dim… and we go somewhere we have never been before. Not just entertained but somehow reborn together. Dazzling images on a huge silver screen. Sound that I can feel. Somehow, heartbreak feels good in a place like this.” No offense to Nicole Kidman fans, but I always cringe whenever I see this super melodramatic ad that sums up everything wrong with how movies are currently advertised.