Setting: Disney animation department. "Hey, you know how the first Lion King was kind of based on Hamlet, and the sequel was kind of based on Romeo and Juliet?" "Yeah, so?" "I was just thinking...we really shouldn't have done Othello for the third one."
Movies
Superversive Again, and Other Thoughts
On Sunday I went on Superversive livestream again to continue talking Disney with Ben Wheeler, Anthony Marchetta, and Caroline Furlong: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E56uDVZT3_Y&ab_channel=SuperversiveSF This one got a little heavier and heated in places, though still a good time overall. A good chunk of the first hour is spent discussing whether Mulan is better interpreted as a feminist … Continue reading Superversive Again, and Other Thoughts
Thoughts on “Twelve Angry Men”
One of the great American films is Twelve Angry Men, Sydney Lumet’s 1957 drama based on stage play about the deliberations of a jury in a murder trial. The facts of the case are presented entirely through dialogue as the jurors discuss the case. An eighteen-year-old boy from a rough neighborhood is accused of stabbing … Continue reading Thoughts on “Twelve Angry Men”
RE-POST: Why I Love ‘Independence Day’
For newcomers, I watch 'Independence Day' every year on the Fourth of July: the following is an old post on my great fondness for the film. When Independence Day came out, it was a huge hit, but ever since then it’s kind of become the poster-child for the big, dumb, CGI-fueled blockbusters of the … Continue reading RE-POST: Why I Love ‘Independence Day’
Scene Dissection: Rattlesnake Jake
Gore Verbinski’s Rango, starring Johnny Depp, is a very strange and uneven film. On the surface, it’s weird and creative, but at its core it follows a fairly strict and by-the-numbers formula, with mostly pretty flat characters living in the service of the jokes. It’s not a bad movie by any stretch, and it’s become … Continue reading Scene Dissection: Rattlesnake Jake
Surprisingness
C.S. Lewis, in a passage I can’t now find, comments that there ‘surprisingness’ is a different thing from ‘being a surprise’. The latter is simply a question of reaction; it’s subjective and, by its nature, can only come once. But ‘surprisingness’ is a quality in the thing itself, the quality of being so structured as … Continue reading Surprisingness
Thoughts on ‘Sing 2’
I liked Sing a lot more than I expected, and in fact found that it only got better upon reflection. So, naturally, I decided to check out the sequel to see if they managed to keep to the same level of quality. Honestly, this one's even better. Some time after the events of the first … Continue reading Thoughts on ‘Sing 2’
Low-Effort Blogging: A Breakdown of ’12 Angry Men’
12 Angry Men is one of the great American dramatic films and an absolute master-class in writing: an enthralling story set almost entirely in one room and consisting of nothing but, well, twelve very different men debating back and forth. It's what happens when you have a first-class director (Sydney Lumet) leading a first-class cast … Continue reading Low-Effort Blogging: A Breakdown of ’12 Angry Men’
Thoughts on ‘Sonic the Hedgehog 2’
2020’s Sonic the Hedgehog was a lot better than it really had any right to be, borne along on a tide of audience good-will, easy-going charm, and a fun throw-back performance by Jim Carrey. I was pleased with it and looking forward to the promised sequel. Well, now I’ve seen the sequel (actually, I saw … Continue reading Thoughts on ‘Sonic the Hedgehog 2’
A Quick Word on Caricature
It was while I was thinking over Lady and the Tramp that I came up with the following thoughts. Of course, one aspect everyone remembers about that film are the two wicked Siamese cats who torment Lady, complete with a gleeful song about themselves. And it's standard practice today to cringe over them a little … Continue reading A Quick Word on Caricature
Serpent's Den 