The Avengers — Where Do We Go From Here?
The Avengers is an exercise in giving characters enough screen time without making them seem exploited and underutilized. And, for the most part, it works…
Tyrannosaur
Say what you like about Roger Ebert, but the guy is probably doing more to turn me on to movies I haven’t seen these days…
The Weekend Arena 5/18
This weekend brings us the latest installment in the two-hour-commercial genre, a bunch of people popping out progeny, an exploration of men and their grooming…
Pixar is Making Fun of You — The Incredibles
Upon the most recent viewing of The Incredibles, I’ve come to the conclusion that the film directed and written by Brad Bird is not about…
The Weekend Arena: 5/11
Last weekend was ruled by The Avengers, and it’s probably a good bet that most production companies assumed this would be the case. I’m sure…
Marley: The Movie, The Book, The Icon, The Man
[Image via Awards Daily] We hear it all the time: “The book was so much better than the movie.” It’s usually true. Filmmakers have so…
The Weekend Arena 5/4
The amus bouche of summer superhero spectaculars enters theaters this weekend. While it’s not The Dark Knight Rises, The Avengers will certainly draw droves of…
The Hunger Games — Propaganda and the Nazi Aesthetic
Directed and adapted by Gary Ross, The Hunger Games deviates from its literary counterpart penned by Suzanne Collins. The difference is not so much in…
The Weekend Arena 4/27
This week brings us Cusack as Poe and a number of literary references. It also portends the dangers of long term engagements in the presence…
Take 5 — Car Chase Edition
Question 1: One trope that recurs rather often in movies — and sometimes justifies the perpetuation of a franchise — is the car chase. Overall,…