Dr. Geek: Do Zombies Have Your Brains?

“They’re coming to get you, Barbara!” If you know that line, where it comes from, what the “they” are, then there’s a good chance you are a zombie fan.  If you’ve ever argued which is better, the slow zombie of George Romero fame or the fast zombie of Danny Boyle fame – or even which is the “real” zombie — […]

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Cinematic Soulmates: Man on Wire and Exit Through the Gift Shop

It’s documentary day here at Cinematic Soulmates.  Today we’re going to look at two movies that don’t appear to be all that similar, but are united by their subjects, both of whom are larger than life men who hail from France and set out to accomplish amazing things while presenting heightened versions of themselves to the world.  Now, before you […]

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Dr. Geek: The Darker Side of Anime

Although perhaps not as big sales wise as it once was, anime and manga remain highlyinfluential in the United States since exploding unto the scene with the Pokemon universe in the 1990s.  The aesthetic qualities and conventions of anime and manga have influenced American artists (I’m looking at you, Joe Madureira) and creators of comic books and animation (see Avatar: […]

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Cinematic Soulmates: Raging Bull and Boogie Nights

Obsession is a favorite topic of many filmmakers, and it’s one that you see recur quite often in cinema.  Films as diverse as Sunrise (1927), Amadeus (1984), Zodiac (2007), Jaws (1975) and countless others have all touched upon the subject of obsession in one way or another.  Quite often, the films are about the way in which obsession leads to […]

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Does It Hold Up: The Blair Witch Project

Quite often, movies, books, music, television shows, and other pieces of pop culture serve as a reflection of the time when they were made. Sometimes they are very much rooted in that time, and no longer feel relevant in the decades that follow. Occasionally, though, they maintain every ounce of the power they were infused with when they were first […]

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Dr. Geek: The Popularity of The Fail

As a society, as a civilization, even as a species, we like to celebrate success.  With the Summer Olympics under way in Ye Olde London Towne, we have one of the great examples of how much we humans celebrate success.  We give people medals, trophies, money, cereal endorsements, all for outrunning, outgunning, outswimming, outsynchronizing their rivals.  We are surrounded by […]

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Dr. Geek: Batfans, Putting the Fanatic Back in Fan

The theory goes that the term “fan” originated as a shortened form of fanatic.  Fanatic comes from long, long ago, when the only fanatics were of the religious type, as a way to describe such people with excessive zeal, enthusiasm and passion, as if driven mad and consumed by the madness.  Due to its etymological origin, the term fan, when […]

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