Frankenstein and a tale of two Hollywoods

In 1994, Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein almost ruined Kenneth Branagh’s career while this year’s equivalent of a remake from Guillermo Del Toro received almost universal praise despite making almost the same movie substantially worse. In 1994, Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein almost ruined Kenneth Branagh’s career.  Though opinions of the film have generally improved in the more than… Continue reading Frankenstein and a tale of two Hollywoods

Alfred Hitchcock’s Rope and the invention of the modern movie

When you consider that the 1948 cult-classic was one of the master director’s lesser known and less heralded works, his achievement in cinema – which I would suggest amounts to nothing less than the invention of modern cinema, from its plot and characters to how it is filmed and edited  – is all the more… Continue reading Alfred Hitchcock’s Rope and the invention of the modern movie

Unpopular opinion: Hollywood’s exploitation of the gay community is demeaning, demented, and borderline disgusting

AMC’s Interview with the Vampire and the “gay romcom” Bros substitute cheap shock value for real storytelling, reducing the homosexual community to demeaning caricatures in the service of what The New Yorker describes as a “radical vision of life outside of heteronormative strictures.”  It’s exploitation plain and simple, call it “gaysploitation,” for the masses.  We’ve… Continue reading Unpopular opinion: Hollywood’s exploitation of the gay community is demeaning, demented, and borderline disgusting