Alan Moore’s Voice of the Fire
Jul30

Alan Moore’s Voice of the Fire

Anticipating Jerusalem: Alan Moore’s Voice of the Fire   Alan Moore is a phenomenon. Although I don’t read him as religiously as I once did, the man himself – and his astonishing talent with words! – has fascinated me since I first ‘discovered’ him at the helm of the re-imagining of Swamp Thing in the 80s. I also admire him for the manner in which he has maneuvered himself into a position where he can afford to live just as he pleases...

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H.P. Lovecraft: Against the World, Against Life
Jul30

H.P. Lovecraft: Against the World, Against Life

H.P. Lovecraft: Against the World, Against Life   ‘Of course, life has no meaning.  But neither does death.  And this is another thing that curdles the blood when one discovers Lovecraft’s universe.  The deaths of his heroes have no meaning.  Death brings no appeasement.  It in no way allows the story to conclude.  Implacably, HPL destroys his characters, evoking only the dismemberment of marionettes.’ Or: ‘At the intersections of...

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Jason Bourne  (2016)
Jul30

Jason Bourne (2016)

Private Rights, Public Safety: Jason Bourne (2016)     The shadow of Edward Snowden lies over Jason Bourne.  In fact, the ex-CIA computer wiz and whistle blower is specifically referenced twice by Christopher Rouse and director and co-writer Paul Greengrass in the latter’s third helming of the now five-film franchise.  And his shadowy presence is appropriate in a film that throws out one of today’s more serious questions:  how...

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Star Trek : Beyond (2016)
Jul23

Star Trek : Beyond (2016)

It’s ‘Trek’, Jim… Just Not Quite As We Know It: Star Trek Beyond   It’s almost three years into the Enterprise’s five-year mission to boldly go — and Captain James T.  Kirk (Chris Pine) is having one of those existential crises that I get when I look in the shaving mirror every morning. What’s it all about?  Is it worth going on?  Why do I put myself through this? Well, it’s not quite the same because he’s in charge of a...

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Gore Vidal’s Screening History
Jul18

Gore Vidal’s Screening History

Writing on Air: Gore Vidal’s Screening History   “As I now move, graciously, I hope, towards the door marked Exit, it occurs to me that the only thing I ever really liked to do was go to the movies.  Naturally, Sex and Art always took precedence over the cinema.  Unfortunately, neither ever proved to be as dependable as the filtering of present light through that moving strip of celluloid which projects past images and voices onto a...

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