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MacGuffin Spotlight
What We’re Watching – 6/30/11
As I finished some exams a few weeks ago, I’ve been able to watch a lot more films recently. In fact, I’ve probably seen more pictures over the last couple of weeks than I caught over the preceding couple of months. Here, then, are a…
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Midsummer Check-Up on 3D
In the middle of this summer season of blockbusters at the theater, it seemed like a good midway checkpoint to see how 3D is faring. In a previous article I wrote in response to the tacit dismissal of 3D as being worthwhile (you can see…
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An Appreciation – King Kong
The adventure film. Of all the genres and subgenres that movies incorporate, I feel that the adventure film is the one that excites people the most. It’s the kind of movie that can bring people to the theater in droves; it touches us in a…
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A Moment in Audiard’s “A Prophet” (2009)
It began, perhaps, the moment the deer flew into the air. Upon impact, when car and flesh collide, we move from within the cabin to a view outside. Shot in slow motion, the carcass rises with a lightness, unexpected because of its weight, and we’re…
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Bird Watching – Julie Taymor’s “Frida”
Like many pop culture junkies, I’ve followed the tales about the ups and (plunging) downs of the development of the Spider-Man musical on Broadway. Arguably ridiculous premise; record-breaking budget; actors getting injured; a seeming lifetime spent in previews; the interesting creative combination of director Julie…
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What We’re Watching – 6/15/11
What’s Brandi been watching? In the theater: I didn’t get to see Super 8 this past weekend, but after hearing such positive things about it, I decided to squeeze it into my busy Tuesday, treating myself to dinner and a movie. There I sat, buttered…
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Bird Watching – Kathryn Bigelow’s “Strange Days”
It’s probably fair to say that Kathryn Bigelow is the most famous female film director working today. Maybe that’s why I’ve taken my time in getting to discussing any of her work in this column. Nobody needs to be told who she is. She has,…
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An Appreciation – Children of Men
The beginning of Alfonso Cuaron’s great film, Children of Men (2006), is like a cinematic wake up call, slapping us right in the face to gain our attention. We see a man in a coffee shop ordering a drink. A group of people huddle together,…
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