Gremlins

Gremlins

A common malady among aspiring artists is to get hung up on an established set of rules. That's not to deny that any rules exist. Art is a work performed to a standard. Where artists run into trouble is when a type of creative myopia sets in that sees only…
November 12, 202014 Comments
Rehabilitating E.T.

Rehabilitating E.T.

You know that a new medium has come into its own when its subculture bleeds into pop culture. Old media still defaults to treating video games like some novel fad, even though they've been around for half a century now. Yet gaming rivals Hollywood as the most influential force in…
October 26, 202026 Comments
Anime Back in the Day

Anime Back in the Day

Back in high school and college when I was first getting into the anime scene, I came to notice a recurring and highly vexing phenomenon. Bootleg VHS tapes were still the main source of new stuff from Japan back then. Getting our fix legit meant sending away via a mail…
October 22, 202025 Comments
The Crow

The Crow

Lately, movie reviews and true accounts of high strangeness have become popular post subjects here. With the spooky season upon us and Hollywood on its knees due to Corona-chan, I thought it fitting to post my analysis of a movie that is itself a nexus of high strangeness. Said to…
October 16, 20206 Comments
Batman Returns

Batman Returns

Tim Burton's first Batman movie was a classic black swan event. Like Star Wars, it was a genre film by a fledgling director whose quirky vision inspired little confidence in the corporate office and the press. Also like Lucas, Burton defied expectations to create a genre-redefining cultural landmark that launched…
October 14, 202019 Comments
Vicki Vale Popcorn

Batman 1989

Back in the 80s, an action movie by a young director with only two films under his belt was shot at a venerable British studio with a motley cast of Oscar winners and veterans of 60s schlock from Hammer/American International. Dismissed as B movie camp by the press, and even…
October 12, 202035 Comments
Hamburger Nationalism

Hamburger Nationalism

With the constant churn of the news cycle, it's easy to forget that the current counterculture moment initially coalesced around pop culture revolts like Gamer Gate and Sad Puppies. Whether the aim was to reform games journalism or expose the logrolling at science fiction awards, these early efforts brought together…
September 29, 202029 Comments
Web Comics Autopsy: Penny Arcade

Web Comics Autopsy: Penny Arcade

Pop culture trends come in cycles. A new property shows up on the scene, gains traction, and explodes in popularity. Entropy always gets a vote, though, and the IP holders inevitably turn to milking the brand. A consequent decline in quality follows, and the brand--sometimes the whole genre--goes moribund. The…
September 23, 202020 Comments
Galaxy Quest

Galaxy Quest

My 80s and 90s movie reviews seem to be resonating with readers. This response makes sense, given that many have rightly despaired of Hollywood ever treating classic franchises with anything but contempt. Multiple commenters brought up one film in particular that seems worthy of review, especially since it has the…
September 14, 202059 Comments
The Running Man

The Running Man

In keeping with my recent penchant for reviewing lesser 80s and 90s classics, I took the occasion to rewatch 1987's camp dystopia actioner The Running Man. Based on a Stephen King novels published under his Richard Bachman pen name and adapted for film by the screenwriter of Commando and Die…
September 7, 20208 Comments