Raimi’s 2013 film is much more akin to Baum’s novel than the 1939 classic.
From the beginning of Ted, writer / director Seth MacFarlane blends fairy tale and nostalgia into one film. MacFarlane-as-baritone narrator indicts the people of world for no longer believing that wishes come true. As if channeling the virtues of Jiminy Cricket, the narrator brings us into a wintery landscaped-Massachusetts, on Christmas Eve, “that time of year when […]
Over this weekend, we will learn to be careful what we wish for, know that even strippers can become movie stars, wonder if we have a long-lost sibling, ask ourselves what will happen after fifteen years of marriage, and ponder who keeps paying to see Tyler Perry films. Enoy! Ted: In one sense, Seth MacFarlane’s new film […]
As if they were recovering from a bad breakup by trying to mimic and outdo the other, Natalie Portman and Mila Kunis have both charted their trajectory from Black Swan toward movies where each female protagonist is just looking for a little symbiotic carnal catharsis. Natalie Portman, fresh off her Academy Award win for Best Actress, began […]
In The Wrestler, Aronofsky gave the audience an entertainer past his prime, wallowing in the remnant glow of stardom, listening to the death-rattle din of a once mighty cheering section. In Black Swan, we are offered a glimpse at Nina Sayers (Natalie Portman), the performer who teeters on the precarious apex of her prime, one younger, fresher […]
The power of disasters and the potential of an apocalypse fascinate movie goers, usually during times of strife or near the end of a decade. In the eighties, forty-six movies were released that focused on the dissolution of society as we know it, and most dealt with the threat or the consequence of nuclear war – alluding […]