Thursday, April 18 2013
Trouble Man: ‘Django Unchained’ and the Obliteration of Identity
In his latest work, Quentin Tarantino re-establishes his reputation as an experimental filmmaker, putting a revolver to the head of genre and gleefully pulling the trigger.
Friday, February 1 2013
The Best DVDs and Blu-rays of 2012
From classics to contemporary television, the typical titles and the surprising outsider choices, the year in home video was just as divisive, and delightful, as the rest of our meaningful media.
Monday, August 13 2012
Abandoned ‘Star Wars’ Plot Points, Episode I: The Ties That Surround Us, Bind Us and Penetrate Us
To celebrate the added "layers" of unnecessary 3D onto both the Prequel and Original Trilogies, here are some actual plot layers straight out of George Lucas' old plans that just might have made Star Wars a more engrossing saga (in somebody's mind, anyway).
Friday, June 15 2012
Show Me Something That’s Built to Last: A Brief and Biased Retrospective on the Grateful Dead
With the release of All The Years Combine, the Grateful Dead prove their historical importance once again - this time through the magical art of video.
Tuesday, March 27 2012
Death to Boring Vampires: The Life and Death Antidote to Contemporary Vampire Culture
Who else is bored with vampires? Guillermo del Toro’s Cronos rescues the vampire myth from boring romanticism.
Thursday, March 15 2012
Revisiting ‘The Bodyguard’: A Romantic Blockbuster for Adults
The legacy of the The Bodyguard, beyond the greatness of Whitney, the vision of Kasdan, and the wisdom of Costner, is that it's possible to please the public and produce profit on a massive scale by intelligently presenting the complexities of adult love.
Thursday, February 16 2012
No Formula for Funny: An Interview with Nick Kroll
Given the sheer number of hit films and TV shows he's been in, Nick Kroll could be listed as one of the most successful comedians of his generation -- yet there are some who don't know who he is. In speaking to PopMatters, he reveals how he creates his celebrated characters.
Monday, January 9 2012
The Best DVDs of 2011
With the continuing rise of Blu-ray, this year sees a lot of repeat entries. Just because they're here again, however, doesn't mean they're any less special.
Thursday, January 5 2012
Howard the Duck: Trapped in a World He Did Not Make
Howard smokes cigars, uses profanity, indulges in pornography, and drinks. Despite his downfalls, Howard is not a villain by any definition of the word. If anything, these imperfections make him more human than any of his Hollywood alien peers.
Tuesday, October 4 2011
20 Questions: William Shatner
William Shatner, Captain Kirk, Cultural Icon Extraordinaire. Shatner Rules. Like all great American actors – he’s not American. We’re not even sure he’s human. We’re certain, however, that he’s The Captain of Everything -- not least PopMatters 20 Questions.
Tuesday, August 30 2011
The True Call of Slacker: 20 Years Later
Richard Linklater's Slacker commemorates its anniversary and finds an audience outside of twenty-somethings.
Tuesday, August 9 2011
20 Questions: Jon Polito
Jon Polito’s mug is so familiar that he almost feels… familiar, like the merchant at the corner store, the beat cop in your ‘hood, or the local mobster. Yeah that's it, the local mobster.
Friday, July 1 2011
The Best Film, TV and DVDs for Summer
Draw the curtains against that relentless summer sunshine. Crank the air conditioner not only for comfort, but to drown out that infernal sound of laughing children. While away some free time this summer in the company of your TV with these recommended shows.
Wednesday, May 4 2011
Allen Ginsberg Didn’t Say That: A Conversation on the Film ‘Howl’
C.E. McAuley and friends get wordy about Allen Ginsberg, Howl, and the release of the film now on DVD.
Wednesday, April 27 2011
Celebrity and the Celebration of Art: The Transformation of Benedict Cumberbatch
Benedict Cumberbatch’s body of work is impressive. So what has previously prevented his transformation from a highly talented, sought-after actor to bona fide international celebrity?
Monday, April 11 2011
“It Will Change the Genre Forever”: An Interview with “The Walking Dead’s” Jeryl Prescott
"It seemed like an odd marriage: Frank Darabont and AMC ... and zombies." Jeryl Prescott talks about how her Southern roots prepared her for this story of zombie apocalypse in the South.
Friday, April 8 2011
Revolution in the Mirror: Life Imitates Art in the Middle East and North Africa
Mass uprisings were sweeping the Middle East and North Africa just as Sergei Eisenstein’s 86-year-old agit-prop masterwork, Battleship Potemkin, commenced a multi-city US tour.
Friday, March 25 2011
“What a Crazy Random Happenstance”: Destiny and Free Will in ‘Dr. Horrible’
Among other things, Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog provides a meditation on good and evil and the role that choice plays in embracing one or the other.
Joss Whedon 101: “Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog”
From the moment it first hit the Internet in the summer of 2008, Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog received near universal acclaim as one of the web's first great creations. With Whedon proclaiming that his future work will be direct to Internet rather than TV, this could be the shape of Whedon's work to come.
Wednesday, February 23 2011
Hatchet II: Interview with Adam Green, Kane Hodder and Tom Holland
Horror film is the purest genre, as it taps into our emotions directly, without the pretense of art. "It never takes me long to get into character. It's a good thing that I have the type of job where your criminal record has no bearing on your success." -- Kane Hodder on playing Victor Crowley [Hatchet I & II]
