The Likability of Unlikability in Elizabeth Strout’s ‘Olive Kitteridge’
Elizabeth Strout counters Olive Kitteridge’s unpleasantness with two of the most important, traits of a standout character: the Ghost and the Lie.
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The One Life of Two Women in Jacques Rivette’s ‘Céline and Julie Go Boating’
Céline and Julie Go Boating transcends its mystic device of hijacked cinéma verité to present an authentic idea of truth in the contrived world of celluloid.
“Part of the Tradition Is Tipping Your Hat”: An Interview with Jazz Saxophonist Miguel Zenón
With two new live recordings, jazz saxophonist Miguel Zenon looks to two sources of inspiration for his border-crossing art and tells PopMatters his story.
Singer-songwriter Haroula Rose Discusses Her Debut Film ‘Once Upon a River’
Haroula Rose, singer, songwriter, and debut filmmaker emulates cinema from countries outside of the US in her understated adaptation of Bonnie Jo Campbell’s Once Upon a River.
15 Years Ago Paul Simon’s ‘Surprise’ Synthesized Traditional and Transformational Songwriting
Surprise shows that the familiar pleasures of Paul Simon’s work are the themes and musical sparks that leave a lasting influence.
Akira Kurosawa Films 101: 1991 – 1993
Today we end our examination of every Akira Kurosawa film. After the ambitious epic Ran, Kurosawa embarked a three smaller but more personal films.
20 Years On, Sum 41’s ‘All Killer No Filler’ Is a Classic Pop-Punk Party
Despite an initially lukewarm critical reception, Sum 41’s All Killer No Filler enjoys a place in the pop-punk pantheon as it hits its 20th birthday.
Power, Loss, and Madness in Kurosawa’s Ran and Shakespeare’s King Lear
By identifying King Lear with the ancient Japanese warlord Hidetora, whose violations emerge from a breach of publicly identified self-hood, Akira Kurosawa plays with the quintessentially Shakespearean focus on individual personality.
The 10 Best R.E.M. Albums
R.E.M.’s career falls into three periods: the underground I.R.S. Records years, the Warner Bros. “wonder years”, and the post-Bill Berry output.
That Rare Occasion of Freedom: Filmmaker Boaz Yakin on Making ‘Aviva’
Filmmaker Boaz Yakin talks with PopMatters about the liberating experience of forsaking tone and not caring if he makes a cent on his gender-swapping, story-told-through-dance, not-from-Hollywood film, Aviva.
The 18 Ways of Beginning and Ending an Album
Whether by chance or by careful planning, there is an observable pattern to intros and outros in albums. PopMatters breaks down 18 of them.