“Kevin comes alive through Elmo” I was a Jim Henson kid growing up in the 80s. The Dark Crystal, Labyrinth, and “The Jim Henson Hour” were staples in my household and I even made my parents take me to see The Witches theatrically at eight. But where I enjoyed the stories and fantastical places his [...]

“In order for nonviolence to work, your opponent must have a conscience. The United States has none” In 1972 the United States broke ties with Sweden as their media equated the bombings of Hanoi to Nazism and shortly before that TV Guide’s editor wrote an exposé about the Anti-American sentiments the Scandinavian country was disseminating [...]

Written for BuffaBlog. “We’ve got a full-scale revolution going on” The mid to late 90s introduced both The Dandy Warhols and The Brian Jonestown Massacre—two buzzed bands touted to take the world by storm. Their pop culture reference-laden monikers united to form a two-headed rock and roll Renaissance beast of pure post-modern musicianship and set [...]

“It’s the humans I wanted to leave; not the project” If James Marsh‘s documentary Project Nim tells us anything it’s that you must lay out the objectives of scientific experiments concerning animals before heading blindly into them. Columbia University’s Herbert Terrace wanted to see if he could teach a chimpanzee how to communicate by integrating [...]

“Because its a happy film. It has a happy ending” With its genesis coming from an idea to commemorate YouTube’s fifth anniversary, the enlistment of producer Ridley Scott and director Kevin Macdonald saw the concept expand into one of a feature film telling the world its own story of July 24, 2010. Culled from 4,500 [...]

Written for BuffaBlog. “Whiskey, weed, and fine cocaine” It wasn’t until the end of 2006 or the beginning of 2007 that I finally discovered indie-folk act The Decemberists. Yes, I was very late to the game. Already with three albums under their belt, the newest—The Crane Wife—captivated me completely. It’s sprawling, ambitious progressive folk stylings [...]

“We’re a very serious heavy metal band—and we worship the devil” If you go into Inni thinking you’ll receive Heima Part 2, you either be sadly disappointed or extremely grateful because it is anything but. Rather than show us Sigur Rós’ atmospherically sumptuous music against the gorgeous expanse of their Icelandic homeland, director Vincent Moriset [...]

“I can’t wait to get me some of that sweet Hollywood ad money” At the end of the day, marketing works. It’s a concise line at the end of the film that perfectly encapsulates all we’ve seen. Whether artistic media utilizes the help subsidizing costs with product placement achieves or not, something will be advertised. [...]

“Human life was cheap, film was cheap—it was a great place to make a picture” As the most telling quote of Machete Maidens Unleashed! exclaims, “The stories are 10 times better than the actual films”. The anecdotes and memories of those involved in the Filipino exploitation genre of cinema are an amazing account of a [...]