Film/Stage — Maelstrom

On the Parallels of Love and Oppression in Carol (2015) and Disobedience (2017)

Comparing both films brings to light thought-provoking conclusions about the varying levels of oppression, and the varying degrees of love.

The Dysfunction-Obsession-Fetish Trifecta in Secretary (2002) and The Piano Teacher (2001)

The films oscillate between the dual poles of Love and Death: they aren’t perfect films — if we only observe them through this limited scope.

On Violence and Retribution: How Death Proof Eerily Predicted Quentin Tarantino's Future

Whether or not it was conceived with disdain for feminism, Death Proof illustrates the downfall of a powerful asshole who didn’t see it coming.

Film/StageA. MartineJuly 12, 2018tarantino, death proof, misogyny, sexism, feminism, film, cinema, metoo, times up, kill bill, weinsteinComment

In Defense of Passion Over Talent, B Movies, and the So-Bad-It's-Good Work of Art

Bad films are more than background noise or forgettable insomnia buffers. I’ve come to genuinely cherish these films, as much as I enjoy my arthouse indies and my cinematic masterpieces.

Genre-fying Mental Illness [II]: the Disenfranchised, Disillusioned Lone Wolf

Pop culture is drawn to the seething, simmering man on the edge, whose underlying violence could turn outward, at any given moment.

Don’t @ Me: Rogue One Is the Best Star Wars Film Since the Original Trilogy

Rogue One operates on the logic that there are no winners, just casualties and unfair twists of fate: it is a true war film.

Mentorship, Infatuation and Statutory Rape: Navigating Forbidden Lines in Una and The Girl in the Book

Can films dealing with sexual assault afford to be nuanced and open to interpretation, when there are so many people looking for excuses and copouts?

On Sympathetic Men and Frigid Women: Relationship Dysfunction in Wes Anderson's Filmography

How come, despite the fact that they are supposed to be the focal point of his criticism, the men of Wes Anderson’s movies are somehow more sympathetic than the women who surround them?

Genre-fying Mental Illness [I]: the Beautiful-Damaged Girl

The inherent message [is] heard loud and clear: high art and high fashion can be made from the most harrowing, most heartbreaking moments ... with no one pausing to consider the baffling disrespect of it all.

Of Problematic Representations and the Dichotomy of Intentions versus Bias: Jazz in Chicago, the Musical

If Chicago is supposedly progressive, why is it that ultimately, it’s the rich white man, a crooked lawyer, who “wins”?

Morality Through the Ages: A Comparative Essay on the Little Mermaid and its Adaptation

This comparison is harder, however, much more interesting, when done between the Disney animations and their literary sources: the time frame is much larger, the mediums and the cultures they originate from are different.

Film/StageA. MartineJanuary 9, 2018mermaid, disney, andersen, little mermaid, fairy tale, adaptation, film, writing, cinema, book, danish, europe, cautionary tal, fableComment

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