We all have gaps in our cinematic knowledge. If we confess our ignorance of some of these films, someone, somewhere will say, “How have you not seen that?!” Catching Up is about these films, and viewing them so long after seemingly everyone else has. Some of these entries may be stunning, some are embarrassing, but all of them are classics. Time to […]
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“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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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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There is nothing inherently wrong with mediocrity. Not everyone can be above average, and even fewer people ever achieve true greatness. That’s nothing to be ashamed of (even though we are often made to believe otherwise). However, mediocrity can be extremely frustrating for those who desire nothing more than to rise above it, but are unable to do so as […]
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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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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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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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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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For this installment of Great Moments in Cinema, we’re going all the way back to 1924, to look at a sequence that celebrates the power of cinema, which was at that time was still a young and novel medium, and had not yet evolved the style of film grammar with which we are all familiar today. Nevertheless, Buster Keaton, the […]
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In light of some of the… “discourse” generated by reviews of The Dark Knight Rises that have been less than positive, I feel my standard disclaimer might need to be bolded for extra emphasis this week: I’m not going to claim that this is “the right way” to handle this material. I also don’t claim to be an expert on […]
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