Last of the Mohicans

The Last of the Mohicans

Frequent readers of this blog will already be acquainted with my appreciation for the films of Michael Mann. Today we follow the great director down a sudden career turn that proved as entertaining as it was novel. And I mean that last in both senses of the word. Mann's 1992…
August 21, 20233 Comments
Musa

Musa (2001)

In the annals of cinema, there are gems that transcend cultural boundaries. One such masterpiece is the 2001 Korean epic Musa, a stunning portrayal of honor, camaraderie, and the clash of civilizations. I'm a big fan of Korean cinema. It's one of the few places you can find expert craftsmen…
August 14, 20235 Comments
Iron Age

Dawn of the Iron Age

Yesterday's post on the Death Cult's conquest of pop culture occasioned much comment about where indie creators - in particular newpub authors - go next. A common refrain among the commentariat invoked a burgeoning new counterculture movement, the Iron Age. The rise of another online campaign to counter corporate skinsuit…
August 8, 20232 Comments
Pop Cult Hipster

Shades of the Pop Cult

The "I f***ing love science!" crowd gets short shrift around here, but one of their favorite boutique mantras may have some truth behind it. Time does indeed seem like it must be subjective sometimes. Case in point: It's now been ten years since the consumer revolts of the 2010s promised…
August 7, 202311 Comments
Underworld

Underworld: Underwrought

Underworld, released in 2003, offers audiences a heady mix of preternatural action and stunning visuals.  The use of practical effects and the stylish cinematography add verisimilitude to the narrative, making the ancient war between vampires and werewolves seem plausible. And the Gothic cityscape of the film's unnamed location becomes almost…
August 1, 20231 Comment
strong female character

Decoding the Amazon

Author J. Ishiro Finney decodes the Strong Female Character™ trope in his new book Boobs of Steel: Decoding the Amazon. Lara Croft... Power Girl... Tifa Lockhart... They're three of the most loved and loathed characters in all pop-culture. Since the late 1990s all three have also been favorite targets for…
July 31, 20233 Comments
Real Heat

Real Heat

The life of a film buff is fraught with heartache these days, but every once in a while, you come across a story that makes it worthwhile. Prime example: The legendary conversation between Hanna and McCauley in Heat was taken word-for-word from real life! H/t Twitter user EvilTomHanks Here's the…
July 28, 20231 Comment
participant

No Participation Trophies

If you spent any length of time on social media this weekend, you couldn't escape seeing culture warrior Conservatives backsliding into the Pop Cult slop funnel en masse. Many of the same people who lamented the outrage marketing that turned Captain Marvel from a near-flop to a billion-dollar hit fell…
July 25, 20237 Comments
Scott Pilgrim Subculture

Subcultural Experiences

Commenter Hermetic Seal writes: As someone who started college in the mid-2000s, a big part of my experience was how all of my communal activities, and the entertainment I was into, moved from shared cultural experiences, to subcultural ones. I think a lot of that emerged naturally, or subconsciously, in…
July 20, 20233 Comments
The Tangled Web of Tony Pellicano

The Tangled Web of Tony Pellicano

Hollywood has its own intrigues that rival international espionage, as this writer learned while pulling a thread left in yesterday's comments by author JD Cowan. [Director John] McTiernan’s career is fascinating. Everything he did was fantastic until the 2000s hit and he got entangled with the feds after his producers…
July 12, 20231 Comment