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John G. NettlesFeatures“A Salesman Is Got to Dream”: Arthur Miller (1915-2005)Arthur Miller stood against them all with the righteous outrage of the individual with both eyes open. [15 February 2005] Funny with Class: Johnny Carson, 1925-2005It was Carson's personal barometer for value that shaped pop cultural tastes, and in many ways continues to do so. Carson knew what was funny, and he knew how important funny was in difficult times. And he did funny with class. [24 January 2005] Testament to His Craft: Jerry Orbach, 1935-2004In the midst of the flash and cacophony issuing from the Idiot Box, Jerry Orbach emerged as a singular talent, his work an oasis of depth and humanity. [4 January 2005] 50 Ways to Love Your LivresIn the third of our summer reading lists, John G. Nettles suggests that you pick up a few books that carry the highest recommendation of all -- certain people don't want you or your kids to read them. [14 August 2001] The Monroe DoctrinePerhaps the saddest thing about Monroe's death is the culture of pervasive necrophilia that has risen since. Elton John brings the house down and rakes in millions singing, without a trace of irony, about how heinously those 'other' people so exploited her. [31 May 2001] Reviews
Delicatessen (1992)There is always something to look at in this film, even in the unsavory parts. [1 May 2006] 
The Ten Commandments (50th Anniversary Edition) (1956)It is the role that would provide Charlton Heston with fame, fortune, and the authoritative persona he now uses to convince people that hunting squirrels with AK-47s is not just a right but a duty. [29 March 2006] 
Ferris Bueller’s Day Off: Bueller Bueller Edition (1986)Call us the Breakfast Club Generation. We are all Molly Ringwald. [16 February 2006] 
Horatio Hornblower: Collector’s EditionOne wishes that the creators of the series had stuck more to the spirit of the Hornblower books than the letter, but Forester's fans are in their own way as rabid as Tolkien's or J.K. Rowling's, and they must be appeased. [15 December 2005] 
Bionicle 3: Web of Shadows (2005)Frankly, having sat with my kids through Transformers, Pokemon, Hello Kitty, Bratz, and My Little Pony videos, the Bionicle series is a work of comparative genius. [9 November 2005] 
No Direction Home: Bob Dylan (2005)Martin Scorsese's film is about Dylan's early life among the Mister Joneses of his era, ahead of rock and roll's learning curve and suffering the judgments of the slower kids in his class. [28 October 2005] 
The Legend of Zelda: The Complete Animated SeriesZelda, when not accompanying Link on Triforce retrieval missions or being kidnapped, is bafflingly obsessed with cleaning the castle. [17 October 2005] 
Experiments in Terror (2003)It's rather like being invited over to watch David Lynch's home movies. [26 September 2005] 
Gladiator: Extended Edition (2000)It's a bad sign for your making-of doc when the most interesting folks to listen to are the studio weasels. [23 September 2005] 
Futurama Monster Robot Maniac Fun CollectionIt is a short but powerful argument in favor of Matt Groening's dream project. [29 August 2005] 
Bill & Ted’s Most Excellent Collection (2005)Bill and Ted have barely a brain between them and speak in brilliantly realized Surferese: they're that guy you know who still snickers at the double entendres in Van Halen album titles. [21 July 2005] 
Sling Blade - Director’s Cut (Miramax Collector’s Series) (1996)Sling Blade is a piece of true Southern Gothic in the vein of Flannery O'Connor, Harry Crews, and (yes, I'll say it) William Faulkner. [6 July 2005] 
Richard Pryor: Stand-Up (2005)More than anything else, Richard Pryor was a confessional artist whose monologues derived from his own chaotic and frequently self-destructive life, Brother Richard testifying from the lip of the abyss. [7 June 2005] 
Reform School Girl (1994)Reform School Girl is a tepid straight-to-cable remake of a tepid 1957 drive-in flick. [18 April 2005] 
The Greatest American Hero: Season OneTelevision producer/thriller novelist Stephen J. Cannell is like the Bob Dylan of TV. [28 February 2005] 
Arrested Development: Season OneArrested Development is Bad Behavior writ large, and it is the most consistently funny half-hour to grace the Idiot Box in a long time. [24 November 2004] 
The Fairly Oddparents: Channel Chasers (2004)The Fairly Oddparents is damn funny, primarily because creator Butch Hartman speaks in a rapid patter of pop culture references. [27 October 2004] 
I Married a Monster From Outer Space (1958)It's difficult to know what to do with hideous alien invaders who only want to be daddies. [23 September 2004] 
Whispers in the Dark (1992)What emerges here is a painfully generic potboiler briefly masquerading as softcore porn. [8 September 2004] 
Trekkies 2 (2004)All the gravitas in the world, however, can't overcome the fact that 'fan' is short for 'fanatic', and a central question posed by Trekkies 2 is 'How much is too much?'" [30 August 2004] 
3-Way (2004)Dwight Yoakam needs our support, and that's the only reason to watch 3-Way. [28 June 2004] 
Secret Agent A.K.A. Danger Man MegasetPatrick McGoohan's Drake is an intensely moral character, but never sanctimonious, a diehard cynic who nonetheless believes in what he does. [5 April 2004] 
My Life As a Teenage RobotTeenage Robot is light comedy laced with loving techno-fetishism. [1 September 2003] 
The New Avengers ‘76: Season OneMacnee is as winsome and disarming as ever, so much so that when Steed gets play -- and he does -- it's easy to see why. [11 August 2003] 
Die! Die! My Darling! (a.k.a. Fanatic) (1965)Tallulah Bankhead was a walking mélange of Southern grande dame bitchiness, unapologetic hedonism, and an in-your-face performance style. 
The Whole Wide World (1996)Filmed with all the trappings of a pastoral love story -- truly breathtaking Texas vistas and a lovely score -- 'The Whole Wide World' is, ultimately, anything but. [4 August 2003] 
The Chess Player (Le Joueur d’echecs) (1927)The plot and scope of The Chess Player are sprawling, as is the running time of 140 minutes, but the film is as engrossing a spectacle as one will see. [3 July 2003] 
Secret Agent aka Danger ManJohn Drake, is about as unlike Bond as it's possible to be, the kind of agent who actually paid attention in spy school. [28 May 2003] 
Gunfight at the O.K. Corral (1957)It is, quite simply, the Hollywood Western in full flower, with all the nostalgia and sins of commission and omission that that implies. [12 May 2003] 
Frazetta: Painting with Fire (2003)Lance Laspina's film gives long overdue props to an artist whose influence reaches farther than most of his more 'mainstream' contemporaries ever will. [5 May 2003] 
The Dark Side of the Heart (El Lado Oscuro del Corazón) (1992)Here Death is Oliverio's sparring partner, a sardonic harridan who trades barbs with him like an existentialist Alice Kramden. [28 April 2003] 
Virus: Virus Buster Serge, Volume 1The sheer number of questions director Masami Obari piles on makes us wonder if even he knows what's going on. [25 March 2003] 
Ciao! Manhattan (1972)Sedgwick was one of the Tragic Muses, those women who did not so much make things happen as stand still and allow things to happen to them. [18 March 2003] 
The Road to Wellville (1994)Contrary to Kellogg's message, self-denial is ultimately the disease, not the cure. [18 October 2002] 
Mr. Strangelove: A Biography of Peter Sellers by Ed SikovSikov's book may be the most painful celebrity bio I've read since Albert Goldman's 'Elvis' (the similarities between the two men's lives are startling)... [10 October 2002] 
Neon Genesis Evangelion: Death and Rebirth / The End of Evangelion (1997)Multi-layered, ultraviolent, and profoundly disturbing, Evangelion depicts the end of the world as we know it and after seeing it, I most definitely do 'not' feel fine. [26 September 2002] 
Blood: The Last Vampire (2000)Blood: The Last Vampire is precisely the standard to which all adult-oriented animation should rightfully aspire. [6 September 2002] 
Tokyo Revelation (Shin Megami Tensei: Tokyo Mokushiroku) (2002)But too soon, it's back to more possessions and double-crosses and a baffling scheme. [30 August 2002] 
High Life by Matthew StokoeExplores the lengths one man will go to for a shot at stardom, and to say those lengths are extreme would be an understatement. [21 August 2002] 
Ghost Sweeper Mikami: Sharon Becker, Angora Deb, Wayne Grayson - PopMatters Film Review )There is one huge difference between Mikami and Buffy -- Mikami is strictly in it for the cash, possessed of an all-consuming greed that makes for real comedy . . . [12 July 2002] 
Destroy: Sex Pistols 1977 byDennis MorrisThe Sex Pistols staged a reunion in 1996 that met with mixed reviews and are scheduled to reform this summer. Both comebacks have prompted the question 'How can you do a Sex Pistols show without Sid Vicious'" [27 June 2002] 
Filthy: The Weird World of John Waters by Robrt L. PelaThe man who built a career and a legend on the gleeful gross-out, the subversion of suburbia, and the celebration of the unthinkably perverse turned out to be, above all, a classy guy. [12 June 2002] 
Astro Boy New Adventures (Shin Tetsuwan Atom) - Volume 1 - PopMatters Film Review )I'm about to argue the cultural significance of a cartoon about a robot boy with machine-guns in his butt-cheeks. [30 May 2002] 
X-Men: EvolutionThe teen X-Men interact in that magical place, high school, and get to drive cars and look fashionably funky (mandatory skater cuts for the guys and thumb rings for the girls) and do all those other things a kid would do in a parent-free environment. [1 January 1995] 
Rocket PowerThe message 'Rocket Power' sends seems especially geared toward encouraging a new generation of self-absorbed punks: winning isn't everything, but it's 'way' cooler than losing. 
PopMatters - Television - Reviews - Madigan MenAs unfair as it may seem, a wealthy, handsome single architect with a commitment to monogamy and an Irish accent simply would not have that much trouble getting a girlfriend. Hell, 'I'd' date him. 
Malcolm in the MiddleIn much the same way that the Conners of 'Roseanne' exploded the myth of the unified, dad-centered sitcom family, the Wilkersons are a unit in which the siblings really do try to kill each other and the parents maintain control through guerilla strategy rather than homespun aphorisms -- just like real families. Radical notion, that. 
FriendsIn the end, 'Friends' has become the epitome of 'Must-See TV' -- not because it's in our best interest to watch it, but because without us, these people have no reason to be together. 
ERPerhaps there should be a redistribution of sorrow here, a socialism of tragedy. Spread the misery around so everyone can have some. Let Elizabeth be pregnant and let 'Dr. Dave' get sued for malpractice and pass the brain tumor on to someone else who can 'use' it. 
Courage the Cowardly DogThe fact is that all cartoons, from the surreal output of the Max Fleisher studios ('Betty Boop') and Disney's elitist morality fables ('Snow White and the Seven Dwarves') to Hanna-Barbera's execrable attempts at hipness ('Groovy Ghoulies'? 'Funky Phantom'?) and today's post-'Ren & Stimpy' moment of unrelenting gross-out humor ('Cow and Chicken', 'South Park'), are worthy of appraisal, if only because the medium itself is inherently subversive. 
Buffy the Vampire Slayer / AngelGiven Buffy's track record for playing with conventions, there may be hope for Dawn Summers on the horizon, but as of now she is definitely the Scrappy-Doo of the Scooby Gang. 
To Repel Ghosts by Kevin YoungKevin Young has produced something important here, an evocative and provocative examination of art, music, pop culture, and what it means to be -- to use the overworked but inescapable phrase -- young, gifted, and black. 
Sewing Shut My Eyes by Lance OlsenIt truly is 'an avant-pop anti-spectacle' -- that is, something perfectly ordinary. 
Liberty’s Excess by Lidia YuknavitchThe body is Yuknavitch's medium, and she puts it through its paces here. Her most powerful stories subject their protagonists to extremes of delight and torment -- when these characters feel, they feel in spades. 
Kamikaze Lust by Lauren SandersForging identities is seductive, but in the end it's a zero-sum game, unless one is willing to weld the new persona to the old circumstances, a point Lauren Sanders makes eloquently and insightfully in 'Kamikaze Lust'. 
John Huston: Interviews by Robert Emmet LongHuston is revealed as a seamless whole, tough guy and gentleman of culture, one of the last of the Renaissance Men. 
In Our Own Words: A Generation Defining Itself by Marlow Peerse Weaver, ed....calls upon writers all over the world born between the years 1960 and 1982 to express the thoughts, hopes, fears, and concerns of 'Generation X', now that they're old enough to qualify for nostalgia. 
Here To Go: Brion Gysin by Terry Wilson and Brion GysinGysin deserves much better treatment than relegation to a footnote in the history of the Beats, much more consideration than simply as a 'friend of Bill'. 
Gunman’s Rhapsody by Robert B. ParkerNext time Robert B. Parker decides to time-travel, especially when mucking about with mythology, he'd be well-advised to bring his 'old' shooting-irons with him. 
The Donald Richie Reader: 50 Years of Writing on Japan by Donald Richie (edited by Arturo Silva)Throughout his work one point is central: the greatest contrast and point of confusion between the Japanese and Westerners lies in their respective concepts of the surface of things. While Westerners are wary to a fault, distrusting surfaces and ever obsessed with the true meaning behind them, the Japanese exist in an eternal 'now' that renders all of their expressions true. 
The Cold Six Thousand by James EllroyThe best approach to Ellroy is always to check your liberal tendencies at the door and trust in the cosmic justice that awaits all in the best tradition of 'noir'. 
Colonel Tom Parker: The Curious Life of Elvis Presley’s Eccentric Manager by James L. DickersonWhatever Elvis's other problems may have been, his biggest failing was his utter dependence upon his manager, Colonel Tom Parker. 
Chum by Mark Spitzer...dark, violent, funny, visceral, and incredibly profane -- an icepick in the gut and a sledgehammer to the skull. 
Beat Punks by Victor BockrisOstensibly it centers around Bockris' thesis that in the Seventies the survivors of the Beat Generation owed their resurgence to the vitality of punk, which had been, in turn, inspired by the Beats. 
Burroughs Live: The Collected Interviews of William S. Burroughs, 1960-1997 Edited by Sylvere LotrinHe is one of those rare writers who, both in his work and his life, has defied easy categorization and demanded constant reassessment. Though he was a close friend of Jack Kerouac, Allen Ginsburg, and their crowd, he was never a Beat Generation writer. Neither a poet nor a Buddhist, Burroughs was less concerned with achieving inner harmony than with generating chaos, developing his theories of agencies of control and searching for ways to dismantle them. 
Batman Unmasked: Analysing a Cultural Icon by Will Brooker. . . the main thrust of his study argued to allow a queer reading of the hero's adventures. 
The Blue Guide to Indiana by Michael Martone...a pleasant diversion if deadpan satire is your thing. 
Adios Muchachos by Daniel ChavarríaPlace 'Adios Muchachos' alongside the work of John D. MacDonald, Carl Hiassen, and a good deal of Elmore Leonard, and it'll fit right in with those masters of incongruously sunny, quirky capers. 
Highlander: Endgame (2000)The Highlander series has these problems and more, being first a film franchise that started well and then went suddenly sickeningly wrong, then a syndicated TV show, and now again a film property. 
The Exorcist: The Version You’ve Never Seen (1973/2000)The Exorcist: The Version You've Never Seen is really The Version That We Would Never Have Let You See If We Didn't Need New Material For DVD. 
Cradle Will Rock (1999)Tim Robbins has never been shy about being one of them damn Hollywood liberals -- pro-union, anti-death penalty, solidly Green, married to Susan Sarandon. 
Convergence (released as Premonition) (2001)It's clear that we are supposed to be blown away by the cosmic wonder of it all, but I'm afraid my sense of cosmic wonder gave way to an incoherent gargle of rage: after ninety minutes of non-plot, non-character-development, and non-action, the payoff is a single piece of non-exposition. Beowulf (1999)Beowulf saves the girl and carries her to the stronghold, where she immediately breaks away again and allows herself to be killed. Evidently there's 'something' inside the castle worse than death -- the rest of the movie. BlogsRe:Print: Confessions of a Craphound [28 August 2008]Re:Print: The Joys of Danger [8 August 2008]Re:Print: Sympathy for the Devil… [18 July 2008]Re:Print: Simpsonology [4 July 2008]Re:Print: (Tough)Loving the Alien [20 June 2008]Re:Print: He was our friend: Kurt Vonnegut’s ‘Armageddon in Retrospect’ [30 May 2008]Re:Print: Read It, Junior - It’s Good for You! [24 April 2008] |
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