Category: Movies
It’s bigger on the inside
I think what makes The Tardis so compelling as a storytelling device is its strength as a metaphor for our own human condition. Like us, it’s larger — much larger — on the inside than it appears on the outside. Infinite. Surprising. Confusing. Contradictory. And extraordinarily, strangely beautiful. And also like us, our minds, our…
What’s that sound? ~ All Along the Watchtower, Bear McCreary style.
It’s a rare enough thing that television offers art of remarkable quality, but (imho) Battlestar Galactica — the “reimagined” series which aired beginning in 2003 — did just that. Not only in its scripts, cinematography, visual effects and acting, but also the soundracks scored by Bear McCreary and (for the pilot) Richard Gibbs. Exquisite stuff…
Normalizing Celebrity ~ On the beauty of being vs. the glamour of fame.
A fellow film colleague posted a link to a set of celebrity images. Some of those images had been photoshopped by Danny Evans to give his “artist’s impression” of what these celebrities might have looked like without makeup, hair stylists, fashion stylists, diets, personal trainers, botox and a battery of cosmetic surgery or korean plastic…
You’re not bad. You’re just in pain ~ Scent of a Woman
I have to admit, I’m still a bit miffed that Al Pacino won the Oscar for Scent of a Woman, essentially robbing Robert Downy Jr, who had so exquisitely channelled Charlie Chaplin that same year. But, hey, Pacino had his moments.
Matches and the eternal sunshine of the spotless soul ~ Lawrence of Arabia
Metaphor. I love metaphor. Matches. I just posted one about matches. Matches and pain. This one isn’t about pain. Not at all. It’s about perfection. This one is about the fire that burns inside each of us. Well, maybe there’s a little pain. It’s the pain you feel in your eyes as the sun rises…
The trick … is not minding that it hurts ~ Lawrence of Arabia
I’ve always loved this scene introducing Peter O’Toole in David Lean’s Lawrence of Arabia. In a film rife with extraordinary storytelling and wisdom, it remains my favourite. In hindsight perhaps it’s the spiritual undertone of Lawrence’s statement that’s always intrigued me most because, of course, Lawrence isn’t only talking about physical pain here. There’s plenty…
Jason Bourne and identity — who am I?
Who are you? Are you the sum of your experiences, your actions, your memories? Are you your dreams, your plans, your aspirations, the person you’ll someday become? Are you your past, or your destiny or your present? The best films in any genre are always the ones that touch on essential human questions. What is…
Blade Runner ~ do androids weep electric tears?
Blade Runner is among my favourite films. In a veritable symphony of cinematic elements — cinematography, script, production design, soundtrack, direction, acting — it doesn’t miss a note. The film touches on all the major themes of the human condition: love, death, good and evil, redemption, justice, ethics, greed, passion. It’s philosophically spiritual and passionately…
Language is a Virus ~ Laurie Anderson
I’ve had a life-long fascination with progressive rock and the avante garde movement in music. Bands like Genesis, Pink Floyd, Talking Heads and Jethro Tull for sure, but also some more obscure folks you weren’t likely to hear on the radio. People like Brian Eno, Robert Fripp, John Cage and this fine example of the…
