Tag: film
Separate Tables: On Differentiating Between Talent and Celebrity
I learned about the meaning of celebrity at an early age. Eons ago, after a grade-school student concert in which I sang, I was sitting alone in the cafeteria when an unassuming, blond-haired woman nearby began to speak to me. “You have a beautiful voice,” said Mia Farrow. I’m not sure if I blushed, but…
Chef and Conflict: The Dramatic Imperative
There are people on this planet who believe the Apollo 11 moon landing was faked. There are people who believe Howard the Duck is underrated. There are people who believe bacon is not good. But you know what no one believes? That conflict isn’t the root of drama. That’s the first thing they teach you…
20 Great Dracula Movies: Cinema that Sucks
Ever since making his feature film debut in the 1922 masterpiece, Nosferatu (admittedly under a different name), Count Dracula has been a staple character in the horror genre. By now, there have been literally hundreds of adaptations of Bram’s Stoker powerful Victorian novel, and the titular character has also had the added impact of popularising the…
It’s True Because It Works: Historical Storytelling in Lincoln
Steven Spielberg’s Lincoln (2012) may seem at first glance a straightforward historical film, narrating how President Abraham Lincoln ensured the liberation of the slaves at the end of the American Civil War. But closer examination of the characterisation of this great president, impeccably played by Daniel Day-Lewis, reveals a script that forces us to challenge…
Hollywood and Societal Problems: Inflated, Created or Unrelated?
One day, film critic of tomorrow, you will be able to say you were there at the dawn of the #WOMTAY. But you will have to read until the final paragraph to know what that means. Ann Hornaday caused a bit of an internet stir with her column in Sunday’s Washington Post in which, among…