Quick DVD Reviews and a Couple of 'Shotgun' Links

I've been super busy lately and unable to get on this blog post-Oscar's to get some material up. Well, after a dismal showing once again in the prediction department (and the unfortunate events of Slumdog Millionaire winning Best Picture) let's just forget this years Oscar's even happened. With the 'official' movie season starting next week with Watchmen (no offense to Paul Blart: Mall Cop or Madea Goes to Jail) there hasn't been a whole lot to write about as far as new movies go, so I'm taking...

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Would Vladimir Nabokov Like Slumdog Millionaire?

I just posted a review for Slumdog Millionaire in which I'm pretty harsh to Danny Boyle. And deservedly so, it was because of him that the film is bollocks. But I was sitting around thinking today....what would Vladimir Nabokov think. Yes, I'm that nerdy. You see, Nabokov had this to say in regards to art: "Style is morality". Hmmm. The brilliant Martin Amis (a fan of Nabokov, he also wrote a book about the famous author) compounded upon this idea by adding: "Style is morality; style judges."...

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Stranger Than Paradise: An Existential Journey Wrapped-Up In an Image

Just got done watching Stranger Than Paradise. I've lost count how many times I've seen it, but it's easily my favorite Jarmusch film. If you've seen the movie, then you may understand why the image above (our three lead characters looking out over a snow-impaired, frozen expanse of nothingness) says more than I ever could about the film....

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To Avoid Fainting Keep Repeating, It's Only a Lousy Remake...

I'm probably way behind on this rant, but allow me to indulge myself. I just saw that they are remaking Last House on the Left. To that I say, 'ugh.' I mean seriously, it's hot on the heels of the 're-imagining' of Friday the 13th (did we really need to re-imagine that?), and apparently the studio thought we needed some more crap infiltrating theaters in February. I guess Paul Blart had to make his exit sometime.Here's what I don't get, is there really a need for the kind of sadistic torture film...

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Neo, Cyber, and Postmodern Noir: A Look at Film Noir as an Evolving Genre

Many critics suggest that Touch of Evil (1958) was the last true noir film, not because the studios stopped making hard-boiled noir films, but because it seemed that as a society, as a culture, America was moving towards something different and was unable to associate themselves with the ambiguous morals of the genre (it’s ironic that postmodernism would base itself on this idea). However, the genre has actually evolved – it has elevated itself – into new, more controversial, more sophisticated...

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He Aint Heavy, He's My Brother

[This is a repost from last month. Why repost? Well, because the wonderful blog Film for the Soul is Counting Down the Zeroes. Click the link for the explanation. This is one of my contributions to the ongoing discussion involving films from 2000. I'll be back later with another film (re)view: the sorta-ingenious "slasher" film Final Destination. Until then, go check out the other fine entries over at Film for the Soul.] Almost ten years ago Kenneth Lonergan made a film about a brother and sister...

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