Movies About Gladiators

Welcome to Nowhere (Bullet Hole Road) — A Savage Journey into the Heart of the American Road Movie

Dustin Freeley March 7, 2012

Characteristically, the road movie is a catharsis played out on the big screen. Mounting frustrations of quotidian, pedestrian existences crescendo into a need to break…

Wanderlust — Home and Homeless in the Same City

Dustin Freeley March 5, 2012

Beginning in 2008, frugality became the new luxury. The bling that was in a few years prior became excessive and the winnowing of credit card…

Weekend Arena: 3/2

Dustin Freeley March 2, 2012

February had a moment, like Chronicle and Undefeated, but most of it fell flat. March is the month were things start to get a bit…

Albert Nobbs — Passing for Anonymous

Dustin Freeley February 28, 2012

In a number of portrayals of women passing as men, gender-bending is a method of establishing an identity. In Albert Nobbs, the diminutive, soft-spoken, ginger-haired…

Dark Days — Literal Notes from the Underground

Dustin Freeley February 27, 2012

It’s believed that thousands of people live below the streets of New York City, inhabiting the shoulders and gullies of the labyrinthine subway. Those pounding…

What Khodorkovsky May Teach Us about Nation (Re)Building

Tim Adkins February 25, 2012

Image via Khodorkovsky-movie.com No one ever accused Ronald Reagan of being a genius(*). So when he implored Mikhail Gorbachev to “tear down this wall,” he…

The Weekend Arena: 2/24

Dustin Freeley February 24, 2012

Real-life Navy SEALs, Tyler Perry pretending to be profound, but really just taking your money, the President’s daughter in a space prison, the enigma that…

The Artist — Cute Doesn’t Equal “Best”

Dustin Freeley February 23, 2012

The Artist is charming, heart-warming, and fun, but I’m still uncertain why it’s destined to win the top prize at this year’s Academy Awards. To…

The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo — Salander As She Should Be

Dustin Freeley February 21, 2012

Being, seemingly, one of only two people across the globe who disliked Steig Larsson’s trilogy, I didn’t flock to see David Fincher’s screen adaptation. In…

Our Idiot Brother — Flat Idealism

Dustin Freeley February 20, 2012

Ned lives contently with Willie Nelson (his dog) and girlfriend, Liz, somewhere in upstate New York. The vibe is reminiscent of hippiedom, or at least…

Backcountry — The Suffocating Wilderness

5 Anti-Valentine’s Day Films for that Hallmark-Induced Hangover

Breaking Amish — Shattering the Bottom of the Barrel

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