Tag Archive
Reflections in a Golden Eye
The alcohol lobby used to be much more powerful. Now they can only advertise at certain times on TV. Of course, with the stigma of drinking now attached to the notion that alcoholism is a disease; it’s certainly less glamorous to get publically plastered, and more likely to have you wake up on an episode […]
The Tillman Story
There are few things more American than assumed ignorance. We’re the good guys; everyone else just doesn’t know any better and needs our help to get properly informed. If they’re not interested in our particular wares, we get suspicious or aggressive, whether it’s about Democracy, weapons, religion, or French Freedom French Fries. Amir Bar-Lev’s The […]
Predators
After learning that I disliked his horror movie, a director at a film festival spent two days trying to confront me. I tried to be nice about it, complimenting the things I did enjoy such as the cinematography and how much he was able to get out of his obviously limited budget. He pestered me […]
Shutter Island
Timing is one of the most delicate and important attributes a person can have. Every little decision we make can be affected by timing; from simply crossing the street when we have the light to knowing that the best time to take a bathroom break isn’t when you’re in the middle of carrying a piano […]
The Men Who Stare At Goats
No matter what you think of Saw as a film, it’s hard to deny that the guys who made it, James Wan and Leigh Whannell, are geniuses. Not that they’re all that talented, as a feature film Saw is derivative, badly acted, and needlessly convoluted. What differentiates Wan and Whannell from standard exploitation filmmakers (torture […]
Buffalo Soldiers
Halfway amusing, halfway obvious satire about the American army trying to kill time and make money while in Berlin in 1989. Because they are mostly former criminals, forced into the military to avoid jail time, they devise ways to abuse the black market. I smiled a few times and I giggled once or twice. Joaquin […]