The radical notion that women like good movies
In case you hadn’t noticed, it’s awards season. We all know that some awards are better than others, and that the best picture is rarely the best picture (Crash as the 2005 Academy Award winner, for example). As flawed as film awards are, however, they are a good way to take our cultural temperature; they … Continue reading “Golden Globes and Independent Spirit Award Nominees”
Most of the commentary out there on The Social Network focuses on its awesomeness and front-runner status for this year’s Best Picture Academy Award. Plus, the film won its opening weekend’s box office, even though it’s numbers were lower than anticipated. While it very well may be a brilliantly-made film, one thing we can’t ignore … Continue reading “The Social Network Roundup”
You see it constantly in print advertising and commercials: advertisers show close-ups of women’s legs to sell razors; they show close-ups of women’s breasts to sell bras; they show close-ups of women’s backsides to sell underwear. And they show close-ups of a combination of women’s body parts to sell beer, fast food, cigarettes, cologne, cars, … Continue reading “Disembodied Women Take One: The Rear View”
American Violet is a small victory of a movie. American Violet tells the true story of an African American mother of four girls arrested and falsely accused of selling crack cocaine. Set in a fictional Texas town with the 2000 presidential election as a fitting backdrop of confusion and corruption, we see Dee Roberts fight–with … Continue reading “Movie Review: American Violet”
Persepolis. (2007) Written and directed by Marjane Satrapi and Vincent Paronnaud. I rented Persepolis before the recent Iranian election, and have been thinking ever since about the film. Persepolis is adapted from the autobiographical graphic novels written by Marjane Satrapi (which I haven’t read), and represents the first graphic-novel-as-film. Other graphic novels have been made … Continue reading “Movie Review: Persepolis”
Los Ojos de Alicia (2005). Written and directed by Hugo Sanz. In Spanish (no English subtitles). I saw the short film Los Ojos de Alicia as part of the Cincinnati World Cinema 8th annual “Oscar Shorts,” which screens this year’s nominated short films, along with ‘bonus’ films (of which this is one; I’m not privy … Continue reading “Short Review: Los Ojos de Alicia”
Here’s a selection of Sunday night’s Academy Award winners. Best Picture: Slumdog Millionaire Best Original Screenplay: Dustin Lance Black for Milk Best Adapted Screenplay: Simon Beaufoy for Slumdog Millionaire Best Actress: Kate Winslet in The Reader (While many think Winslet won for the wrong role, I’m glad to see her win. She’s a phenomenal actress. … Continue reading “Oscar Winners & Thoughts”
Representing President Obama as a “Super-feminist” has ignited a debate over who the savior of feminism ought to be (see here for a good overview), and likely sold a lot of copies of Ms. magazine’s January edition. Praise for the new president’s political aspirations regarding women’s rights isn’t contended; it’s how the feminist magazine chose … Continue reading “The Power of Representation”
