“But Reason can never be persuaded that the existence of a man who merely lives for enjoyment (however busy he may be in this point of view), has a worth in itself.” – Immanuel Kant, Critique of Judgement In Shame (2011), Steve McQueen’s stunning follow up to his feature film debut – 2008’s Hunger – he shifts […]
Last night, as I was re-watching one of my favourite recent films, Tell No One (Ne le dis à personne) (2006), something struck me: this film thinks I’m smart. Or, at the very least, it doesn’t think I’m stupid.
In his influential book Camera Lucida, French theorist Roland Barthes explores of the power of photographic images, and their relationship to and with the viewer. Barthes’ book has been on my mind recently, as I race to watch my way through my filmography before I begin my graduate program in a week. Yesterday I re-watched […]
Another Earth (2011) has an interesting concept. This, of course, sounds like kind of tepid praise that is usually followed with a loaded “but”¦“ I have no such follow-up concerns. The current film landscape is filled with unoriginality. In August alone, Hollywood has or will release six remakes or sequels (Rise of the Planet of the […]
Crazy Stupid Love (2011) is not a very good movie. It might be worth the price of admission to see the way Ryan Gosling wears a suit, and it is certainly worth it to see Gosling and Emma Stone’s chemistry, particularly in one scene that so effectively balances emotional depth and subtle hilarity that it […]
The Oxford English Dictionary defines “fontrum” as, well”¦ nothing. Because it’s not a real word. But Urban Dictionary understands my affliction: Feeling embarrassment for someone that doesn’t have enough common sense to feel the embarrassment that they should be feeling for themselves for their actions. [sic]
In his review of the recently-released Friends With Benefits (2011), Toronto film critic Jason Anderson discusses the recent trend of Hollywood films “treating sex too casually.” To be clear, Anderson makes no attempt to argue for or against any moral implications of casual sex; rather, he discusses how such a casual treatment upends the traditional […]
Summer is a sensual season. In this case I don’t define “sensual” as “sexual” (after all, I’m so hot I don’t want to be within three feet of someone else), but rather in a more fundamental way: it is a time where all the senses feel engaged. Mornings and evenings are glowing, interrupted by the […]
Last weekend’s New York Times Magazine featured a funny, insightful, self-deprecating piece by Carina Chocano, in which she discussed one of my favourite hopeless clichés – the Strong Female Character: “Strong female character” is one of those shorthand memes that has leached into the cultural groundwater and spawned all kinds of cinematic clichés: alpha professionals […]
I’ve never seen a 3D movie. And I can’t say that I want to.
As a self-identifying feminist, I would be a rich woman if I had a quarter for every time I’ve heard, “It’s just a joke! Have a sense of humour!” in regards to innumerable movies and TV shows with which I found issue. Understandably, this pisses me off. But, I can’t help but think that there […]
Another day, another trailer. This time, for John Carpenter’s upcoming The Ward (2011).
Cinematic representations of real events are not hard to come by. Biopics consistently make up a huge portion of the late-fall Oscar bait, and major event-based films are a dime a dozen. War films are no exception.
I recently received the filmography for the MA program I will be starting in the fall. Now, this list is not what films we will be watching in the courses, but rather films with which we are expected to be familiar before beginning; the unofficial “canon,” as it were. (I listed it in its entirety […]
My roommate is a TV writer. We watch a lot of TV. We talk about TV a lot.