Once upon a time, an English professor explained to me–and the rest of her class–the seven basic plots in literature. In addition to providing a working context for writers, she suggested, the prevalence of these themes relieves all creative people of the burden of avoiding cliché. If there are only seven stories any of us can tell, […]
Inception is the most bold, daring, thought-provoking, original work released by a major Hollywood studio in the last decade. To classify Christopher Nolan’s film to any specific genre is a disservice to the audience’s expectations. Dreams and ideas lay at the forefront of this psychological mind-bender; how one man’s subconscious thoughts can either make or break his […]
Early in the second act of Get Him to the Greek, intern Aaron Green (played by Jonah Hill) is hungover and squirming nervously as the limo carrying him and Aldous Snow (played by Russell Brand) inches through the morning rush in London. Green meekly asks the driver to drive faster or take another route. The driver answers […]
Halfway through 2009’s X-Men Origins: Wolverine, Logan (Hugh Jackman) delivers the line “I come with you. I’m coming for blood. No law. No code of conduct,” which marks a departure from the moral, yet stigmatized killing machine who ventured heroically through the Civil War, World War I, II, and the Vietnam War. And, this seems to be […]
Often, remakes signify a growing lack of originality that seems to be burgeoning throughout Hollywood, and this stigma is often compounded two or three fold when a production company decides to remake a horror film. Some prime examples would be the most recent installments of A Nightmare on Elm Street, Friday the 13th or Rob Zombie’s Halloween […]
(“Chew on This” is Bill Coffin’s column on horror cinema, analyzing the some of best movies the genre has to offer, new and old.) If you haven’t yet seen Battle Royale, you’re not alone. Despite this film’s cult status, its challenging subject matter made it the kind of movie that wasn’t even available on Region 1 DVDs, let […]
Two years ago, I was heading from Oregon to New York. As a week of Pinot drinking was slowly seeping its way out of my sweat glands and gradually returning my retinas to their inherently white color, the seven hour, two-part flight was a bit daunting. However, things began to look up as I arrived at PDX […]
Somewhere in the comic universe, there is a Mason-Dixon Line (a Stark-Wayne Line?) that separates Marvel from DC. Fierce battles take place across that line. As you may guess, dear reader, this is…not…one of them. You’ve heard about Iron Man 2, right? It’s, like, the biggest movie in the world. Right now. (But not of ever. Some […]
Because of its rather unique take on superhero origin stories, Iron Man was quite enjoyable and offered a glimpse at the birth of a superhero from his purely embryonic origins. The initial need for superpowers was unnecessary as Tony Stark is depicted as an enviable character prior to his iron baptism – an affluent playboy who drives […]
May13
Chew On This: Shiver
(“Chew on This” is Bill Coffin’s column on horror cinema, analyzing the some of best movies the genre has to offer, new and old.) There’s something going on over in Spain, because while the American movie industry has seemingly lost its ability to produce a decent creepy movie, Spanish filmmakers, led by Guillermo del Toro (Pan’s Labyrinth) have […]