Art, entertainment, and the hard-boiled mystique
The Maltese Falcon (1941). DB here: The traditional opposition between Art and Entertainment still holds some sway. Art, some believe, is the realm of higher significance and profound emotion, while entertainment yields mere diversion and superficial engagement. Art embodies wisdom and technical breakthroughs, while at best entertainment is home to talent and cleverness. Art harbors […]
“Best Picture” ≠ “Live Action”
Wreck-It Ralph (2012). Kristin here: Way back in 2006, I posted a long piece on the increasing prominence of animated features being released each year. This was in the infancy of the blog, and the entry shows it–few photos, inserted as thumbnails. We only gradually worked up to our format of posting plenty of illustrations. […]
POKER FACE: Detective off the grid
Poker Face, Ep. 10 (“The Hook”). DB here: Charlie Cale, an easygoing but tough young woman from New Jersey, has a unique gift. She can detect when someone is lying. She has exploited this in a career as an itinerant poker player, but after the word gets out about her ability, she winds up working […]
ASTEROID CITY adrift in the cosmos
Asteroid City (2023). DB here: Asteroid City tells two stories. One ends more or less happily, the other more or less sadly. The first one takes place in roadside America, 1955. In a minuscule town made famous by an asteroid crater, five finalists for Junior Stargazer awards assemble with parents and siblings for the […]
BABYLON and the alchemy of fame
Babylon (2023). DB here: The circus parade has just passed, and behind it comes a little man mopping up all the droppings left by the lions, tigers, camels, and elephants. Somebody calls out, “Why don’t you quit that lousy job?” The little man answers: “Are you kidding? And leave show business?” From one angle, the […]
Calm that camera!
Succession (2023). DB here: Thanks to our Wisconsin Film Festival, Ken Kwapis paid us a visit. Director of The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants and many other features, Ken also has experience directing TV, notably The Office. He’s a generous filmmaker, and he radiates enthusiasm for his vocation. I took the opportunity to talk with […]
Older, but wiser?
Calais Pier (J. M. W. Turner, 1803). Kristin here– Over the past three years, starting early in the pandemic, I have found a soothing and edifying occupation which one can indulge in at home: doing online jigsaw puzzles. Mostly I choose ones with images of ancient Egyptian places and artifacts and of my favorite painters. Having […]
Manual labors
The Tin Star (1957). DB here: Type “screenplay writing” into Amazon and you’ll get over 6000 hits. Some of those books will be biographies of writers or screenplays of released films. But there’s still a huge number of DIY books with titles like How to Write a Movie in 21 Days and Writing Screenplays That […]