A student, Leta Sundet, gave a presentation today about gratitude in Isak Dinesen’s story, Babette’s Feast . One of the things that hit home was the fact that the disaffected members of the little religious community are reconciled when by a bodily act - by beginning to use their taste . . . . Continue Reading »
Sometimes, when Romney is trying so hard to convince an audience that he agrees with them (on what? who cares? Romney doesn’t), he comes off like the Matt Dillon character in There’s Something About Mary , when Dillon is trying to explain how much he likes the mentally handicapped. . . . . Continue Reading »
Having written one , two , three , four ALMOST FAMOUS-driven posts and now this one, I obviously do think it is an excellent film. Its one weakness is a certain complacency, underlined by its ending. I don’t have a problem with happy endings per se, but the one it provides really is too easy. . . . . Continue Reading »
First off, let me direct you to this Batman thread from the old No Left Turns site. Second, I saw The Dark Knight Rises and here are my thoughts below: There has been some discussion about whether The Dark Knight Rises is critique of Occupy Wall Street. The most obvious villain (though as it . . . . Continue Reading »
I’m currently working on an introduction to a book I’m co-editing on one of the greatest films about communism, The Lives of Others , and I’m wondering what other films there are that portray life under communist oppression that our readers know about. There don’t seem to be . . . . Continue Reading »
The Hunger Games is a dystopia about a country named Panem, in which one city, the Capitol, rules twelve other districts. Due to the districts’ rebellion, the Capitol has instituted the Hunger Games: each district submits two children to a contest where they fight to the death. . . . . Continue Reading »
Thomas Hibbs has updated his book Shows About Nothing: Nihilism in Popular Culture in light of films and TV shows of the last decade like Christopher Nolan’s movies and AMC’s Mad Men. He says Nihilism has been the reigning philosophy in Hollywood since the 1960’s. By Nihilism, . . . . Continue Reading »
In a March 2011 NYT review of Tree of Life , AO Scott explains one of the achievements of this great movie: “There are very few films I can think of that convey the changing interior weather of a child’s mind with such fidelity and sensitivity. Nor are there many that penetrate so . . . . Continue Reading »
While the Ryan people were announcing that he wasn’t running for President (sigh), I was out watching FRIGHTNIGHT. Very enjoyable vampire movie that does a smart job of incorporating some of the anxieties of the Great Recession. That is tougher to do than it sounds. The . . . . Continue Reading »
Stewart Clem has this to say about The Tree of Life : Malick’s film “looks unflinchingly at life’s greatest mysteries – love, loss, alienation, and suffering – without a hint of cynicism. It’s a feat that’s rarely even attempted.” It “not only . . . . Continue Reading »
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