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How Do You Know

By Adam Lippe

A visual motif is supposed to be used to express a feeling that is never overtly expressed by the characters, revealing something about them that they’re unaware of or trying to hide. A perfect example is Tammy Metzler in the movie Election, and the use of garbage that she either hides behind or hangs out […]

Scott Pilgrim vs. the World

By Adam Lippe

Back in 1991, when Naked Lunch was released to theaters, famed critic Roger Ebert had a rather unique response to the film. While he admitted that David Cronenberg had done a terrific job adapting the feeling of the William H. Burroughs novel that the movie was based on (there’s no real way to actually adapt […]

Sexploitation’s lasting effect: Part I

By Adam Lippe

While Fast Times at Ridgemont High used the teen sexploitation genre a merely a jumping off point for its surprisingly insightful and realistic portrayal of high school life, delving into more taboo issues than most films of that era, there were other, more simplistic examples of the genre, like Losin’ It or Porky’s. Not all […]

Tesis

By Adam Lippe

Though it is thought of as a necessity in a horror movie or a “thriller,” there is no real reason, apart from a lack of creativity, why characters must act in an unintelligent manner in order to find themselves in threatening situations, thus providing thrills for the audience. It’s more insulting than anything else and […]

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Roadracers

By Adam Lippe

Whenever there’s a genre parody or ode to a specific era of films, such as Black Dynamite’s mocking of Blaxploitation films or Quentin Tarantino’s Death Proof, the second half of Grindhouse, the danger is that the film might fall into the trap of either being condescending without any particular insight, or so faithful that it becomes the very flawed thing it is emulating.

Black Dynamite has nothing new to say about Blaxploitation films, it just does a decent job of copying what an inept [...]

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Featured Quote (written by me)

On Cold Fish:

Though the 16 year old me described the 1994 weepie Angie, starring Geena Davis as a Brooklyn mother raising her new baby alone, as “maudlin and melodramatic,” Roger Ebert, during his TV review, referring to the multitude of soap-operaish problems piling up on the titular character, suggested that it was only in Hollywood where Angie would get a happy ending. “If they made this movie in France, Angie would have shot herself.”

Well Cold Fish was made in Japan, where Angie would have shot herself and that would have been the happy ending.