In Gellar Studies, Fuhrer uses Gellar and her character personas as a mirror to expose and interpret personal experience and questions of identity, belonging, and coming to terms with childhood abuse.
In Gellar Studies, Fuhrer uses Gellar and her character personas as a mirror to expose and interpret personal experience and questions of identity, belonging, and coming to terms with childhood abuse.
I’m not a die-hard Kevin Smith fan by any means, but when I had the opportunity to go on a cruise where not only Jay and Silent Bob themselves (Jason Mewes and Kevin Smith) would appear, but a whole cast of View Askewniverse actors, comedians, and musical acts, I caved to the peer pressure and purchased my cruise ticket a month before the inaugural cruise left the Miami port.
Returning to The Last Unicorn with my three-year-old daughter this year, I found that my love of it has not dimmed; my relationship to its symbolism and characters has evolved.
Kristin Garth’s novel, The Meadow (Alien Buddha Press), builds upon her autobiographical poetry collection of the same name. Make no mistake: The Meadow’s not salacious BDSM Twilight fan fic marketed toward mass audiences. What’s key to understanding this work is the humanity with which Garth imbues her young protagonist, Scarlet. As Scarlet explores her sexuality through lurid encounters with various characters, the reader cannot help but simultaneously sympathize and empathize with her as she attempts to reach catharsis. Furthermore, Garth paints this niche community with respect, while also fairly criticizing certain aspects of it. Readers wanting sole titillation look elsewhere.
Kim Vodicka’s (The Elvis Machine) latest poetry collection, Dear Ted, is a tsunami of words—simultaneously destroying with feminine rage and empowerment the male shitstorm women deal with every day while also honoring women survivors and those who deserve to be remembered. Mixing popular culture and open discussions of sexuality, Dear Ted eviscerates Ted Bundy and other serial killer/stalker/dater-esque men. Reading her poems becomes an act of complicity as each word or image slices male entitlement to ribbons. Even in the rare moments where the metaphorical knife briefly dulls, Vodicka’s poetic onslaught remains a continuous bloodletting experience.
For all its irreverence, Fired Up! is a pretty fun flick. But the most important reason I love it is because it’s part of the indelible bond I have with my friend Dillon. No matter where we are in life, we can always turn it on, enjoy each other’s company, forget about the world, and laugh for a little while.
Writer Kristen Renee Gorlitz and her team of collaborators have released a graphic novel entitled The Craving. Independently published through Mindweird Media, the story traces a zombie apocalypse and how it affects one couple. Before you complain about the oversaturation of zombie themed stories in literature, comics, and film, consider reading the graphic novel. Whereas Robert Kirkman’s The Walking Dead helped reinvigorate the horror subgenre and solidify modern zombie tropes, Gorlitz’s The Craving is more so concerned with character development and inverting reader expectations. This results in an intelligent and diverting story.
Grieving grandparents (Diane Lane and Kevin Costner) attempt to rescue their grandson and former daughter-in-law from her abusive new husband’s family in Thomas Bezucha’s modern-day Western. The film boasts accurate 1960s period detail and an introspective score by Michael Giacchino. Digital photography adeptly captures western vistas with a sense of awe, while color timing matches the character-driven narrative’s progressively darkening tone. Granted, some viewers may be irked by the inconsistent ways in which gratuitous violence interrupts the laconic pacing. See it for Costner and Lane’s performances, as well as Lesley Manville’s (Phantom Thread) devilish turn as the Weboy clan’s matriarch.
Is there anything creepier than being a fisherman on a New England island? Probably, but I always consider isolated places surrounded by large bodies of water to be horrifying. In The Block Island Sound, Harry is dealing with anger issues and his father's increasingly erratic behavior. What seems like run-of-the-mill alcoholism is something much more than that, and as things fall apart Harry begins to believe that something very sinister is afoot. With a tone similar to Dark Skies, a tense and heavy mood gives this film an unnerving aura. You'll think twice before discounting your local conspiracy theorist again.
Possessor embodies the definition of a mind fuck movie. It thoroughly dismantles preconceived notions about genre and eradicates the boundary between “low” and “high” art. Andrea Riseborough (Mandy) plays an agent who inhabits people’s bodies via brain-implant technology to commit assassinations. However, the longer she stays in a host increases her risk of permanent brain damage. Comparisons to his father’s work is inevitable, particularly eXistenZ, but Brandon Cronenberg’s vision is equally original and assured in execution. The film is layered with meaning and contains visually arresting in-camera practical effects. Not for the squeamish, Possessor is a transgressive work of art.
Road rage becomes revved to the max in this thrill ride about a man who terrorizes a mother and her son. Although plots points are fairly predictable, the story contains a few tense sequences, include a brutal murder at a diner. Caren Pistorius (Slow West) continues to exhibit range in a role that allows for vulnerability and ingenuity. But Russell Crowe is the main draw to see the film. His menacing performance and Ford truck render New Orleans claustrophobic—they always seem to be tailgating your bumper. Unhinged isn’t Duel or Speed, but it’ll keep you entertained for 90 minutes.
It’s a shame Dreamland most likely won’t reach a wider audience. Other critics have unfairly compared it to Bonnie and Clyde, but what Dreamland lacks in narrative cohesion and thrills—save for an intense dust storm sequence—it compensates with its interiorized character study. Lyle Vincent’s (A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night) cinematography, Meredith Lippincott’s production design, and Patrick Higgins’ score perfectly capture Depression-era period detail. Most of all, the film is buoyed by Margot Robbie (who also served as a producer), whose performance as bank robber Allison Wells continues to exhibit her innate ability to inhabit compelling, characters.
Film Editor Sean Woodard returns with the latest “Finding the Sacred Among the Profane” column, where he hacks apart the hokey supernatural elements of Jason Goes to Hell: The Final Friday.
Sean sings the praises of the enjoyable 1963 musical, Bye Bye Birdie, in this month’s “Once Upon a Time in Film Scoring” column.
Film Editor Sean Woodard goes down the mean streets of Los Angeles to uncover the seedy underworld of Brian De Palma’s adaptation of the James Ellroy novel, The Black Dahlia, for April’s “Finding the Sacred Among the Profane.”
In this month’s Once Upon a Time in Film Scoring, Sean explores the role of Ludwig van Beethoven’s music in the biopic Immortal Beloved.
Film Editor Sean Woodard returns to horror for this month’s “Finding the Sacred Among the Profane” column, exploring Werner Herzog’s Nosferatu the Vampyre.
Sean’s Once Upon a Time in Film Scoring column returns with an examination of the score for Lucio Fulci’s psychological giallo, The Psychic.
In this month’s “Finding the Sacred Among the Profane” column, Film Editor Sean Woodard explores The Color Purple’s religious themes.
For this month’s Once Upon a Time in Film Scoring column, Sean examines Elmer Bernstein’s theme for the underrated Charles Bronson Western, From Noon Till Three.