Category: Articles
Pulling Punches: Kill Bill, Movie Violence and Bringing Eyeballs to the Screen
So my wife Trudi and I are watching Kill Bill: Vol. 2 (2004) on TV the other day. The fight scene involving Daryl Hannah and Uma Thurman. Thurman’s “Bride” plucks out the eye of Hannah’s hitwoman. Then steps on it as her adversary writhes. Trudi squirmed. And I thought: Did I really have to see…
20 Great Dystopian Movies: The Shadow of Perfection
You can’t write an article on dystopian movies without mentioning utopian ideals. Many volumes have been written on the human impulse to construct and/or invest in utopian visions – visions that can be either celestial or corporeal in nature. And there’s a good reason for this – life is a combination of pain and joy, and…
A Tale of Two Racisms: ‘Jud Süß’ and Stepin Fetchit
If YouTube had never existed, I probably wouldn’t have gotten the chance to see Jud Süß (1940) and the Stepin Fetchit short film Slow Poke (1932). Thankfully, I did, and I’m very grateful. I think everyone should see these movies – with good reason. They’re some of the most offensive pictures ever created, and they’re…
Steven Knight: The Screenwriter as Auteur?
Regular readers of Curnblog no doubt recall fondly the slugfest Simon Butler and I engaged in a while back about the validity of the auteur theory. I don’t think we changed anyone’s minds, but hopefully it provided some reasonable debate. As an opponent of the theory that unquestioningly elevates directors above everyone else in every…
Blurred Images: Nudity, ‘Dating Naked’ and the Need for More Censorship
Which is worse: racism or treating a woman as a sex object? I pondered this question recently after catching a snippet of Dating Naked (2014-present) — the ridiculous new show on VH1 featuring would-be romantic partners appearing au naturel — on TV. This silly program dares to blur any offending genitalia or breasts out, so…