Badassss and Hip-Hop Leadership
2004-07-27
Quotes from Mario Van Peebles on his film and from Dr. Martin Kilson on hip hop leadership.
Farenheit 9/11
2004-06-28
Michael Moore’s “Farenheit 9/11” was rather brilliant. Although it dragged in some parts, it impressed because of the way that Moore managed to present cinematically a potentially boring, text-centered issue. Most of what Moore shows comes from documents in the public domain for some time. He weaves these together in a dramatic blitz of information with his signature humor. Much in the film was old material, but it was touching and hilarious. We’ve all forgotten the pre-9/11 W., the man who golfed more than he presided. The most hysterical scene showed W.’s immediate reaction to 9/11. Moore also slowed down every facial expression we hadRead More →
The Matrix Reloaded
2003-05-25
I got to see the Matrix Reloaded twice already in the theater. Although the film was flawed, when the final movie in the trilogy comes out, a lot of people will re-examine Reloaded and be blown away. In the first Matrix, I caught the whole the story early on, and most of my ruminations were about philosophical issues, social theory, hyperreal, yadda. It was pure brain candy. I have seen Reloaded twice now, and I still can’t figure out the plot. I have re-watched The Matrix recently, and in retrospect there are several additional cool things. For example, the Oracle tells Neo something to theRead More →
The Quiet American – Miramax Orientalism
2003-03-11
The Quiet American. deserves the high rating from Rotten Tomatoes. The movie was good: it was disturbing, haunting, and difficult to watch. The movie effortlessly metonymizes Vietnam with the woman character, Phuong, who is the object of both Michael Caine’s and Brenden Fraser’s attention. The best review is from Kamera.com in the UK. They like the film because it pushes us away from the tired “Miramax orientalism.” Excellent phrase! Nobody seems to be talking about what it means to turn Vietnam into a mistress or prostitute in that movie. That’s probably due to our “me so horny, me love you long time” consciousness. Given ourRead More →
Slavoj Zizek on The Matrix
2003-02-07
It is nonetheless easy to understand the intellectual attraction of The Matrix: is it not that The Matrix is one of the films which function as a kind of Rorschach test setting in motion the universalized process of recognition, like the proverbial painting of God which seems always to stare directly at you, from wherever you look at it – practically every orientation seems to recognize itself in it?
– Slavoj Zizek in CTHEORY
Zizek says so much more. It’s all about the “Big Other,” but this quote is my favorite part.
