Category: Culture watch
Birdman (or The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)
by Ted Giese Ego front and centre Set against a Broadway adaptation of Raymond Carver’s “What We Talk About When We Talk About Love,” Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance) is the story of a fading Hollywood actor, Riggan Thomson, fighting to remain (or…
American Sniper: Of Sheep, Wolves, and Sheepdogs
by Ted Giese “There are three types of people in this world: sheep, wolves, and sheepdogs.” In Clint Eastwood’s film American Sniper the central character, Chris Kyle, is a Texan who grew up wanting to live the life of a “cowboy,” content to chase the…
Be careful in the woods
by Ted Giese Rob Marshal’s new adaptation of the Tony award winning musical Into The Woods is Disney’s most recent foray into live-action film musicals. As in the original, Marshal’s Into the Woods finds its story centred on folk tale characters made popular by the…
The Hobbit: Prepare for battle before viewing
by Ted Giese Peter Jackson’s The Hobbit: The Battle of The Five Armies concludes his film adaption of J.R.R Tolkien’s novel The Hobbit—or at least begins its conclusion, since an extended edition will come out in about a year. These releases contain scenes with new…
Exodus: Wrestling with God and Scripture
by Ted Giese Darren Aronofsky’s Noah (2013) was an opinionated film chock full of dark cryptic extra-biblical mysticism and environmentalist concerns often feeling like propaganda for something. Ridley Scott’s Exodus: Gods and Kings, on the whole, is a much different film. His “sword and sandal”…
Word and mind-games in The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 1
by Ted Giese Francis Lawrence’s Mockingjay: Part 1 is the third movie in the film franchise based on the popular young adults book series Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins. Picking up after the events of the second film, Catching Fire, Katniss Everdeen finds herself under…