Articles in the August 2009 Department
August 2009, Cinema and Television »
With the summer having reached its zenith so arrives the beginning of the end of this year’s blockbuster season, as marked by the release of Hasbro’s GI Joe: the Rise of Cobra (directed by Stephen Sommers). Per the summer blockbuster recipe, the film preemptively promises a plethora of action heavy on the computer-generated effects, loud explosions, pretty girls, passable men, one or more love subplots, transparently cliched villains, childhood nostalgia, and a moral and/or political leaning however veiled it might be. Innovation as relates to blockbusters is rarely more than …
August 2009, Cultural Comment, Literature »
With time, unfound gems will be uncovered, newly discovered favorites will be shelved and I’ll be a richer person from the experience. I’d now like to reflect on those stories that count most to me and have left the greatest impact: my favorites.
August 2009, Cinema and Television »
Every decade since Geoffrey of Monmouth’s History of the Kings of Britain was published in 1138, the urge to reimagine the Arthurian legend for a modern audience has bubbled up from some enduring cultural wellspring. And what could be more appealing than the Golden Age of Camelot? The fellowship of equals for the Knights of the Round Table; justice and power aligned with the good; pretty girls wooing and armor-clad heroes jousting. The past thirty years in film have been no exception — however, the results have been mixed. The …
August 2009, Cinema and Television »
It should come as no surprise: this article is property of The One-Time Potterphobe.
Reviewing the sixth film in a world-famous fantasy series such as Harry Potter poses a somewhat unique challenge: you either are invested in the series and therefore require a detailed review of how Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince measures up against both source material and previous entries, or you aren’t. Which is to say one watches HP6 from either devotion, compulsion, or boredom.
For this one-time Potterphobe, it was a humid Columbus afternoon’s boredom with the hyper-masculine …
August 2009, Cinema and Television »
Loss is a consistent theme in Kore-eda’s films, but is it the same thing as letting go? In order to advance, loss is necessary. While burdened (or fulfilled) by the accumulated weight of a lifetime of memories, living forever without them all may seem unimaginable. But once all that has been erased, would you know the difference? It may be a great kindness that each individual is the judge of his or her own life.
