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
PopMatters 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]
Friday, January 21 2011
Saint Fonda in the Backyard: The Iconic Jane Works It Out
Golden Age Hollywood scion, feminist activist, and general all-around bad-ass Jane Fonda is back, and this time out, she is hitting the campaign trail on behalf of the health of boomers and senior citizens. Fonda keeps Mazur on task and on his toes during this exclusive interview, preferring to focus on fitness rather than feminism or cinema.
Thursday, January 6 2011
The Best DVDs of 2010
As the medium continues to struggle with significance in the steady "streaming" of the 21st Century, here are PopMatters' picks for the best the format(s) have to offer.
Monday, November 22 2010
20 Questions: Lee Majors
Veteran actor Lee Majors is back as Col. Steve Austin of The Six Million Dollar Man (complete series releasing on DVD), as the father to the role where he was once the son, in the upcoming film, The Big Valley and as a rather Colt Seavers-like character (of The Fall Guy) here at PopMatters 20 Questions.
Friday, November 12 2010
Be the Media: The Current State of Activist Media and the Work of Franklin Lopez
At its best, López’s work engages in constructing a new vision where popular culture serves the interests of the poor and dispossessed, where humor is reignited within activism, and the D.I.Y. ethics of punk and hip-hop allow those with talent and gumption to be the media, once again.
