In 2002, The euro was introduced; Queen Elizabeth II celebrated fifty years on the throne; The 2002 Winter Olympics were held in Salt Lake City; East Timor gained independence; John Allen Muhammad and Lee Boyd Malvo killed seventeen people in the DC sniper attacks; The SARS epidemic began; The Department of Homeland Security was created;… Continue reading Welcome to the world, Department of Homeland Security: A look back at 2002
Tag: Tom Cruise
Everything that follows is older than Willow Smith: A look back at 1999
In 1999: The euro was established; US President Bill Clinton was acquitted in impeachment proceedings; Nunavut became Canada’s third territory; Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold killed 12 students and one teacher at Columbine High School; Napster debuted; The US Women’s team defeated China to win the Women’s World Cup; Kiribati, Nauru, and Tonga joined the… Continue reading Everything that follows is older than Willow Smith: A look back at 1999
Gleaning miracles from the edges of the future
The Gleaners and I: Two Years Later (2002) Varda’s follow-up to her seminal film is too self-aggrandizing. Instead of revisiting the people or places she met in the first movie, she reads congratulatory postcards from viewers. This pretentious film almost cheapens the power of the original. Edge of Tomorrow (2014) When he questions the orders… Continue reading Gleaning miracles from the edges of the future
Ranking Stanley Kubrick
13) Killer’s Kiss (1955) One night, unlucky boxer Davey hears screams coming from the home of his attractive neighbor Gloria. Having long admired her from a distance, Davey convinces Gloria to run away from her abusive gangster boss, Vincent, but their escape is complicated when mobsters kill Davey’s manager and blame him for the crime.… Continue reading Ranking Stanley Kubrick
Best of the 1990s
Dreams (1990) Nearing the end of his life, legendary director Akira Kurosawa reflects on his childhood and finds inspiration for several beautiful vignettes. After a child stumbles upon a fox wedding during a sunshower, his furious mother demands he apologize. Their surviving commander orders the ghosts of Japanese soldiers returning from the second World War… Continue reading Best of the 1990s
Like alpha papa, like son
Collateral (2004) Vincent (Tom Cruise) offers Los Angeles cab driver Max Durocher (Jamie Foxx) $600 to drive him around for the entire night, but soon, Max realizes Vincent is an assassin and is using him to shuttle between his five targets for the evening. For the rest of the movie, Vincent attempts to complete his… Continue reading Like alpha papa, like son