Confessions of a Conservative Atheist
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To some of the film’s detractors, casting a black woman as Helen of Troy, a transgender man as Sinon, and updating the story to reflect some aspects of modern values is an assault on the foundations of all they hold dear, but Teddy Roosevelt might disagree. Teddy Roosevelt spent much of his life advancing the… Continue reading Teddy Roosevelt, The Odyssey, and the reality that Western civilization is stronger and more inclusive than defenders seem to believe
On Sunday night, I did what I almost never do: Shut off the TV midway through an episode of a show, declared it completely dead to me, and began cursing vociferously. Afterwards, I considered the battle still raging over The Odyssey. On Sunday night, I did what I almost never do: Shut off the TV midway… Continue reading The Odyssey, The Pitt, and a reminder that woke can be much worse than casting
Whether you choose to see it or not see it, whether you love it or hate it, or feel something in between, The Odyssey remains a movie, a few hours of entertainment that has absolutely no real impact on your life even should it go on to make a trillion dollars. Long before the rise… Continue reading Nolan’s The Odyssey and the fact that we have way, way too much time on our hands
Perhaps, low expectations will leave me pleasantly surprised while high expectations will have the inverse effect for others, or perhaps we all simply have far too much time on our hands to bicker about a movie as though it were deeply important to our lives. Rarely, does a film generate controversy three months before its… Continue reading Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey, the great cultural battles of our time, and the real problems with the film
In truth, the Japanese were the aggressors, responsible for millions of deaths and uncounted war crimes. They aspired to be the very colonialist, imperial power that progressives claim to loathe, but the ironclad rules of intersectionality make them the victim when the United States is involved. Earlier this month, the Oscar winning film Oppenheimer premiered… Continue reading Oppenheimer and the “whitewashing” of the Japanese in World War II
Oppenheimer broke no laws, was not investigated for any crime or formally charged with one, and yet he was subject to every type of surveillance imaginable at the time. The output of this effort ran to thousands of pages and the contents were frequently used to issue false statements as part of coordinated smear campaign… Continue reading Oppenheimer and the FBI’s long history of both spying and lying to destroy political dissidents
An otherwise fine movie suffers from an almost schizophrenia in attempt to devour itself, as if the goal was to put the breakdown of the atom that powers nuclear fission on screen rather than the even more incredible narratives that surrounded it. Oppenheimer, which recently won best drama, best director, best drama, and best original… Continue reading Oppenheimer, Christopher Nolan, the kitchen sink, and reality being more amazing than fiction
James Cameron substitutes plot points for story and character, and visual detail for worldbuilding, failing to achieve his narrative goals or deliver on the underlying promise. Sadly, this trend is not unique to him and is a plague on Hollywood in general. The best I can say about Avatar: The Way of Water is there… Continue reading Avatar: The Way of Water, Frank Herbert’s classic Dune, and why Hollywood needs more storytellers, less technical wizardry
I cannot be the only one increasingly tired with critics hailing recycled ideas packaged in slick ways as modern masterpieces, nor do I think anyone should be impressed that a movie made by a small army at a cost of at least a hundred million dollars looks good. Unless you are a recent arrival from… Continue reading “Barbenheimer,” Fritz Lang’s Metropolis, and the dearth of original ideas
Confessions of a Conservative Atheist 