Articles in the April 2010 Department
April 2010, Cinema and Television »
If you have had regular access to the internet these past six months, you have no doubt been exposed to the extensive marketing campaign that preceded the release of KICK-ASS. Not a week went by without new trailers, vignettes, movie stills or one of the approximately 150 posters, making this easily the most-hyped release of the first half of 2010. Kick-Ass is based on the comic-book by Mark Millar (Wanted) and John Romita Jr. and adapted for the screen by director/writer Matthew Vaughn (Stardust, Layer Cake) and Jane Goldman. Now that it’s finally arrived, critics can be roughly divided into two types:
–Those that applaud Kick-Ass for being a clever satire/smart deconstruction/subversion of the superhero genre, and
–Those that condemn it for being morally bankrupt for its sadistic violence and foul language.
For reasons explained before, I don’t believe the hype, either positive or negative. And after witnessing Kick-Ass with my own two eyes, I am forced to admit that both groups of critics are wrong.
April 2010, Cinema and Television »
Steve P nears the end of his journey through Kill Bill with the Cruel Tutelage of Pai Mei and Elle and I.
April 2010, Cinema and Television, Subheadline »
How To Train Your Dragon was a pleasant surprise and a lot more fun than I had expected from the trailer. I would go so far as to call it the best Dreamworks Animation to date.
Yes, the story is at first glance an all-too familiar one. A Young boy, a misfit in his community, befriends an ancient enemy and defies a centuries-old tradition. From that information alone, you can probably deduct where and how the story will proceed, but sometimes the joy is not …
April 2010, Cinema and Television »
Blake done a bad, bad thing.
I watched Crazy Heart tonight. For those who don’t know what the film is about – Jeff Bridges plays Bad Blake, an alcoholic country music star whose glory days are in his past. Blake moves from town to town and bar to bowling alley leaving a stench of failure, booze, and vomit. There must have been some confusion about the title when writer/director Scott Cooper went to pitch the screenplay since Blake never comes close to fitting any DSM-IV definition of crazy. Maybe Wino Heart …
April 2010, Cultural Comment, Literature »
I’m a semi-novice at many things. Within the past few years, I’ve become more and more of a semi-novice Luddite. I’ll often see some new piece of technology, with buttons and a screen of some sort, and be absolutely smitten.
