Meet the New Highline Journal Film and Book Reviewer

We’re excited to welcome Daniel Magill as our first film and book reviewer since becoming The Highline Journal. Daniel brings his own experience, perspective and sense of humor to the role, and we’re glad to have him on the team.

By Daniel Magill

The Highline Journal may be a local news publication, but our readers engage with the national and international culture and its many expressions. 

That includes movies and books. 

I’m very excited to be fortunate enough to become the Journal’s first entertainment reviewer and writer. My first review – of the Cold War presidential thriller Brink of War by Angel Studios – represented my debut. We wanted to get that review out first while you still had a chance to catch it in theaters. If you miss it, I recommend catching it on streaming. Here’s a link to the review.

‘Brink of War’ Movie Pits Reagan Against Gorbachev

Jeff Daniels leads a gripping Cold War drama that turns tense diplomatic talks into a surprisingly emotional and mesmerizing film. In theatres now.

The Highline JournalGuest Writer

What We’ll Be Reviewing

This article provides a brief introduction to me, and explains what this new feature of the Highline Journal will cover.

Primarily, we will be reviewing movies and books. Not all movie reviews will feature new movies currently in theaters. At times, we will review older movies that you may or may not have already seen. Some of the best movies ever made have already been made, and it’s worth taking time to revisit them now and then. 

As for books, I will actually read the books that get reviewed, not just snippets of them. And being an independent author myself, I will be primarily reviewing independent books, mostly leaning toward the science fiction and thriller genres, though I’m open to others and you can feel free to send requests.  

Not Your Typical Review Writer

No other news publication does this – they all fixate on novels produced by the ever-shrinking number of national publishing houses. The sad reality is, most of those publishers are taking fewer and fewer creative risks these days. They’re mostly publishing novels that fit a certain political and social worldview, and only from certain types of authors who align with that worldview. 

In other words – not me. 

That’s not to say none of those novels are worth reading. But you can find out about those anywhere else. Here, we’ll be reviewing books most people have never heard of. Books by authors doing all the legwork themselves to get their books out there. Some of these books aren’t very good, and I won’t pull any punches. But there are some gems out there that you will love discovering through this column, and I hope you’ll get excited about that. 

Who Is This Guy?

So why am I qualified to write film and book reviews? The truth is, my father was a documentary and my mother was a romance novel. Okay, well, that’s not entirely accurate. 

The bottom line is – I know movies, and I know writing. 

In college at Oregon State University, I reviewed movies for a year for the school newspaper. After that, I began making short films, and then advanced from there to writing screenplays. 

Screenwriting is exceptionally difficult. You have to accomplish a lot with very few words and limited pages, and tell a visual story with written words. I spent fifteen years developing my craft, paying for feedback and working with mentors from the industry. I wrote ten feature scripts, including one that advanced in a national screenwriting contest known as Big Break. 

But by the mid 2010s – just as I was getting good – the film industry had changed. They now produce hardly any ‘spec’ scripts – original scripts not based on any other intellectual property. And I knew they’d never make the kinds of stories I want to tell, so I got discouraged and gave it up. 

But I had all these scripts and other ideas just sitting around. And the idea of turning some of them into novels kept pricking me in the brain. And in 2022, I finally gave in and started writing novels. My first two are out, and the third is coming out later this year. Two of my novels have received 5-star reviews from Readers Favorite. So you can take their word for it, not mine. 

In addition to writing, I’ve given detailed feedback over the years to numerous other writers – for both scripts and novels. I have deep knowledge of the film industry and of the craft of writing. And I look forward to using that experience to write reviews that I hope you find informative and maybe also entertaining. See, you’re laughing. 

Glad to be part of The Highline Journal! 

Daniel Magill is the published author of the Readers Favorite 5-star sci-fi time travel thriller "Future In Doubt" and the galactic "War Virus" series. He lives in Burien with his wife and kids.