The Imitation Game and The Theory of Everything… Successful and Forgettable Oscar Bait
Thoughts on two winners you’ll have forgotten won by the time you’re done reading this.
Category Archives: Active Observation
Leviathan: Too Big to Fail
In Leviathan, we are either killed by innocence or corruption. The choice is yours.
Documenting Jungle Madness
In which Lost Soul: The Doomed Journey…, a new documentary on the making of The Island of Dr. Moreau, and other chronicles of mad jungle adventures are thunk upon.
Hits, In Which David Cross Laughs At Everyone But David Cross
Hipster mocks hipsters. Universe implodes. Mild laughs ensue.
The Shooting & Ride In The Whirlwind: Monte Hellman’s Odd Pair of Westerns
In which we discuss these two ’60s westerns oft-cited as the original acid westerns, and wonder whether “acid western” is indeed a genre.
For Y’ur Height Only Comes Up Way Short
Weng Weng’s fighting style is mostly a blend of hiding behind things and sliding along the floor like Tom Cruise in his underpants.
Red Army: A Doc About Soviet Hockey, And Much More Besides
The Soviet Union was a strange place. Strange to anyone who didn’t live there, and, I’d have to expect, strange to those who did.
Phase IV: It’s Not What You Think
If you want to survive, you must adapt, submit, and succumb to cinema. Start with Saul Bass’ Phase IV.
This Week In Love Stories
In which three love stories no sane human would watch back to back are watched back to back.
Pride, Blackhat, Paddington, and Veda
It was a big week for the Evil Genius.
The Subjugation of (and in) The Duke of Burgundy
Without each other, we would have no masters and no slaves.
The Babadook: This Is How You Scare People
Mr. Babadook is coming to get you, kiddies. Watch out.
Denzel Washington as Lincoln… Reversing The Races for Spielberg’s Film
They said it couldn’t be done. Watch us do it anyway.
Martin Luther King Jr. Gets Conflicted in Selma
In Selma, MLK Jr has a dream, yes, but it is a dream of being unburdened.