It’s that time of the year when the “best of…” lists come out. These are my favorites so far. I can only think of 5 stand-outs. (One or two may be technically from 2006, but I saw all of them in 2007).
1. Once (Ireland)
Very simple, and absolutely charming and uplifting. Out on DVD on [...]
Once is currently playing at the Angelika theater in Dallas, off of Mockingbird, at the 75.
This movie is excellent. Here’s a round-up of what critics have been saying.
A few weeks ago I wrote a post titled The Cultural Meanings of Spider-Man, in which I reviewed some of the scholarship on this American icon. In my post, I discussed Niall Richardson’s article The Gospel According to Spider-Man (2004), which analyzes the use of religious motifs in the first Spider-Man movie. Well, I write [...]
The Cultural Meanings of Spider-Man: Critical Approaches to an American Icon
Now that Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man 3 is due in theaters in a few days, starring the inimitable Tobey Maguire as Peter Parker, we may want to pause to consider the power of this enduring American icon. For almost half a century, Spider-Man has been a [...]
I saw David Fincher’s Zodiac last night over at the Studio Movie Grill in Arlington with my buddy Scott Williams, German Professor from TCU (and former UT Arlington Language Acquisiton Center Director). The first thing I want to say is that the concept of eating a full meal while watching a movie in a movie [...]
A week or two ago, I posted an “early” review of Mel Gibson’s Apocalypto on this blog. I’m no expert on the Maya or the Aztecs, and found the film’s historicity disconcerting. It seemed to conflate the Maya and the Aztec and, in a first draft of my review, I referred to Jaguar Paw’s pursuers [...]
Last night I was able to see Mel Gibson’s Pre-Columbian epic Apocalypto at an advance screening for professors and students. The film tells the story of a young warrior called Jaguar Paw, whose village is razed by Maya raiders intent on capturing slaves for ritual sacrifice. After enduring a terrible journey to a Maya city [...]
