Film/TV

683 results
Page 43
Phoenix (left), Cotillard: Villain as victim.

James Gray’s ‘The Immigrant’

Ellis Island blues

What went on under Lady Liberty’s lamp? James Gray’s The Immigrant tells the Ellis Island story as the dark side of the American Dream.
Robert Zaller

Robert Zaller

Articles 4 minute read
Another fan is born. (Photo © 2013 - Gravitas Ventures)

'Dear Mr. Watterson'

The 'Bigfoot' of comic artists

Calvin and Hobbes may be the world’s last great household names in cartoon strip characters: the last universally known and universally loved ink, paper, and watercolor world we’ll ever fall into.
Alaina Johns

Alaina Johns

Articles 5 minute read
Ivor Novello in "The Lodger"

Relâche and 'The Lodger' at the Penn Museum

Old movie, new music

Live music by Relâche enhances enjoyment of Hitchcock's first hit, the silent film The Lodger.

Pamela J. Forsythe

Articles 3 minute read
Trying to sidestep circumscribed roles: the women of "The Bletchley Circle." (Photo by Ed Miller - © World Productions.)

'The Bletchley Circle'

Is it a bird? Is it a plane? No – it’s crime-fighting women!

Ultimately, the series is not about the crimes being solved but rather the true identities of these extraordinary women. Each of them is forced to live a lie, pretending to be the helpless, hapless stereotypes that the male-dominated society of the time forced them to play.
Armen Pandola

Armen Pandola

Articles 4 minute read

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Tatiana Maslany and Tatiana Maslany in "Orphan Black."

The female antihero on television

Sisters are doing it for themselves

Right now, there’s a crop of TV shows that both pass the Bechdel test and feature female characters who would feel right at home with Jax Teller and Walter White.

Paula Berman

Articles 5 minute read
Kicking ass and taking names: Jaimie Alexander in "Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D." Photo by Kelsey McNeal - © 2014 American Broadcasting Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

The Fall 2014 TV season

Geek Wonderland

As a lifelong geek, I consider this to be the Golden Age of television. Of all the choices on TV (and let’s face it, there are a lot of choices), geek programs as a rule have a higher level of writing and production values than your average cop show or prime-time soap opera.
Gary L. Day

Gary L. Day

Articles 6 minute read
Trying to pass: Scarlett Johansson in "Under the Skin." (© 2014 – StudioCanal)

'Under the Skin' and 'Only Lovers Left Alive'

New takes on horror

Genre films are not just for hacks — well-regarded indie directors Jonathan Glazer and Jim Jarmusch try their hands at horror.

Andrew Mangravite

Articles 5 minute read
Mads Mikkelsen in "Hannibal" (Photo by NBC - © 2012 NBCUniversal Media, LLC)

This is my design: The horror of 'Hannibal'

The viewer of Hannibal enters a world where the most horrifying aspects of being a human being are explored. Our bodies are fragile, our minds vulnerable. We are easy prey for a nearly omnipotent devil such as Hannibal Lecter.

Paula Berman

Articles 5 minute read
Here comes da flood. (Photo credit: ILM - © MMXIV Paramount Pictures Corporation and Regency Engtertainment [USA], Inc. All Rights Reserved.)

Darren Aronofsky’s ‘Noah’

How did ‘Noah’ offend you? Here are a few suggestions

Darren Aronofsky's Noah has something to offend — or at least disappoint — just about everyone. Why no animals enjoying a turn around the deck, Darren?
Alaina Johns

Alaina Johns

Articles 5 minute read
Léa Seydoux (right) in "Blue Is the Warmest Color" (photo  © 2013 - Sundance Selects)

'Blue Is the Warmest Color' and 'The Great Beauty'

The view from Europe

Blue Is the Warmest Color and The Great Beauty make excellent companion pieces, presenting a surfeit of gorgeous filmmaking as they bookend two lives in advanced industrial democracies.
Jake Blumgart

Jake Blumgart

Articles 5 minute read