Attack of the Clones
The documentary The People vs. George Lucas, with all its jokes about Ewoks and midi-chlorians, is perhaps destined to be enjoyed most by Star Wars superfans. However, it raises a series of intriguing questions about creativity and control which extend far beyond a certain “galaxy far, far away.” Who “owns” a film or work of art, especially in this digital... Read More
Are You What You Eat?
The old adage purports, “You are what you eat.” As a child this statement might not have made sense, but in the world of The Walking Dead, it makes more sense than ever. While Halloween is past, it might seem odd bringing up a television show/graphic novel series based on the current reigning horror creature, the zombie, but the zombie, particularly as portrayed in The Walking... Read More
Rogue Women and a World Upside Down
The recent proliferation of movies starring a strong, take-no prisoners, independent female as the lead in an action role should give us pause. And though such films are not necessarily new to Hollywood, they are increasingly prominent, today. Some movies that come to mind are Hanna, Colombiana, Haywire, and (to some extent) The Debt. Each of these films stars a women playing... Read More
Adaptation and Authority
With the incredible number of movies being adapted from previously existing works, it was bound to happen. True believers are screaming in agony. Well some are at any rate. Stories being told in the films don’t match up with the already established story lines that have existed. Some deviations might be insignificant but are much more telling. In X-Men: First Class, how... Read More
Season Finales and the End of Days
Several recent posts on both mediation and The Other Journal have focused on the apocalypse and spectre of eschatological judgment. Indeed, the End of Days seems to be in the air at the moment, especially considering our recent cultural experience of the “delay of the parousia” when to the ridicule of North American news media the world failed to come to an end on May... Read More
No Marriage Without Judgment – The Hangover Part II
The ballyhooed and much anticipated comedy, The Hangover Part II, was released in theaters across the country this week. Just as the first film, the movie is backdropped with a pending wedding, which sets the constant tension in the film, as the frenzied (and exaggerated) situations of the “wolfpack” threaten to ruin the wedding. This time, the unfortunate trio is... Read More
Apocalypse and Messiahs
It used to be that superheroes were merely comic book fodder. Then they became Saturday morning fare. In both cases one was likely to find poor writing and cheap animation that stretched most minds when it came to suspension of disbelief. Even when the superheroes started appearing in blockbusters, such as the Superman series in the late 1970s and 80s, they were more camp than... Read More
Charlie Sheen: Modern Gladiator
“Are you not entertained? Are you not entertained? Is this not why you are here?” – Maximus, Gladiator (2000) It’s best to let the furor die down before writing about Charlie Sheen. He became larger than life all of the sudden, a multi-media spectacular of machetes, cussing, occult references and tiger blood. He embodied the self-help guru with the zaniness... Read More
Ambition and Empire: Initial thoughts on “The Kennedys”
Sunday night was the premiere of the controversial four-part miniseries “The Kennedys,” a show dropped by the History Channel in the U.S. and subsequently relegated to the hitherto unknown ReelzChannel (in Canada, it was shown on History Television, a Global affiliate). The controversy surrounding the show does seem a little strange in this day and age; there is nothing... Read More
The Adjustment Bureau Adjusts Free-Will
George Nolfi’s recently released film (March 2011), The Adjustment Bureau, has brought the philosophical-theological question of free-will to the big screen in an engaging way. Based on the short story, Adjustment Team (by Philip K. Dick), The Adjustment Bureau tells the story of David Norris (Matt Damon) and Elise Sellas (Emily Blunt) – two driven individuals who seem... Read More
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