Despite being the land of opportunity, America offers many real-life examples to the contrary. Even the dream factory of Los Angeles has a reputation to chew up and spit out the masses that come to seek wealth and prosperity. In 2008, a six-episode cartoon that … Continue reading Immigrants: L.A. Dolce Vita (2008)
With all its intricacies and rituals, practically all of them implicit, we take a lot of human interaction for granted. Never really stopping to see just how ridiculous these rules may seem to outsiders. In 2008, a visitor from a far-off land would shed some … Continue reading Meet Dave (2008)
Recent events might have brought home how precarious our place is, civilization could be wiped out by a cold, or a meteorite, or even a hitherto unfulfilled prophecy. And as I noted before, this has been the topic of media obsession for some time. When … Continue reading Friedberg and Seltzer at the Movies Part 5: Disaster Movie (2008)
300 was a film adaptation of a graphic novel adaptation of a historical battle. One that beat the odds to become an iconic success recognised all over. The battle cry of “This is Sparta” alone forever archived among the forums of the internet. Instantly Friedberg … Continue reading Friedberg and Seltzer at the Movies Part 4: Meet the Spartans (2008)
When your character rides off into the sunset, it is typically a satisfying way to end things and move on. It can also be tempting to bring them back as if you hold off, audiences might lose interest, actors go on to other projects and … Continue reading Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (2008)
Adapting anime (and in this case Manga too) to live-action is a particularly challenging task. Reality is strictly confining, what with gravity and other limitations. While the page’s only limit is your imagination and your talent. In 2008, the cinematic duo, The Wachowskis, who made … Continue reading Speed Racer (2008)
It’s no secret that films are increasingly becoming big-budget affairs, with photorealistic computer-aided motion-captured antagonists accompanied by teams of professionals to ensure a big return for the dollars spent. But for those without these resources, it’s not impossible to make a film. In fact, sometimes … Continue reading Macabre Month 3 Part II: Colin (2008)
It’s hard to make Romantic Comedies interesting, audiences have certain expectations how they should play out, as such it’s pretty easy to stick to a formula and harder than you think to mess it up. In 2008, A romantic comedy tested all those conventions to … Continue reading From Paris to Berlin Part 2: The Hottie and the Nottie (2008)
When you create a cult legend, it can be hard to follow up that initial success, you don’t want to be seen as repeating the same thing again in your work, so you try something fresh, this can either take off or crash and burn. … Continue reading Sit Down, Shut Up (2009)
It’s hard to think how close we as a species are to total annihilation, sure we have mitigated the modern dangers that befell our ancestors, but secured in our concrete fortresses a lot of those dangers have felt quaint, almost eradicated. But these unknowable terrors … Continue reading The Happening (2008)
The Real Mr. Positive 