Every year it’s harder to tell the next generation borrowing money for college is a good idea. Tuitions are on the rise — imagine them ever going down! — and student loans linger longer and longer. However, one tremendous benefit of college remains: being surrounded by peers who share the sensitivities to the overwhelming and […]
The Miniplex
Posted inArts + Scene
A Big, Hairy Deal
Reviews BEAUTY AND THE BEAST. The centralization of American popular cinema continues, with Disney squarely in the rich middle of it: Lucasfilm, Pixar and Marvel Studios all live within the shadow of the Magic Kingdom. This means seemingly every mainstream movie without an R rating is likely to have had the Mouse’s big padded hands […]
Posted inArts + Scene
Creatures Great and Small
Reviews KEDI. As I age, I see the argument of “cat people” versus “dog people” as an ever more specious one. People will continue to use it to lever their own personal prejudices, of course; such is humanity. But the underlying notion of the innate superiority of one species of furry four-legged thing over another […]
Posted inArts + Scene
Battle Scars
Reviews LOGAN. I’ll keep the preamble brief because, if memory serves, I wind up saying essentially the same thing every time a new Marvel movie comes out. As time wears on, and the scale of the Marvel cinematic universe (as well as that of the movies within it) grows ever more (forgive me) cartoonish, I […]
Posted inArts + Scene
Sinister Elements
Reviews GET OUT. My (relatively) recent enthusiasm for modern independent horror movies seemed to be on a precipitous slide toward its nadir of late. It was a startling thing to discover, years ago, that directors like James Wan (whom I had written off as part of the cynical torture-porn boom) and producers like Jason Blum […]
Posted inMusic
The Youngest
As an independant musician (i.e. poor) I’m always rooting for the underdog. The unknown songwriter struggling to afford coffee in the morning. The musician who has fully let down their parents. The goals of fame and stardom are for narcissists who spend more on haircuts than gear or practicing. The tangible goals for independent musicians […]
Posted inArts + Scene
Lightning Round
Reviews OSCAR ANIMATED SHORTS. Aliens, seabirds, alcoholics and the headless can be seen among the eight animated short films nominated for this year’s Oscars, films that range from delightful to disturbing. The program opens with Borrowed Time, a beautifully animated 3-D movie by two Pixar animators about a suicidal sheriff with a painful past, and […]