Damn Fine TV/Film
In the previous article I wrote about Sorry for Your Loss, I mentioned how powerful a decision it was on behalf of series creator Kit Steinkellner to withhold the cause of Matt's death. I cited that the reason he died wasn't as important as seeing what his life meant to the people closest to him. …
Continue reading "Sorry for Your Loss: Depression and Perspective"
Thinking of you. Sending you love. Deepest condolences. Sorry for your loss. These exchanged between well-meaning people to those experiencing a loss come flooding in immediately after a death. The further removed from the date of the death, the less commiseration one receives until they stop completely and you're reminded that the only person that …
During the mid-1940s, a cinematic movement was making an impression throughout the entire world. This week, 25YL stops in Italy to take a look at Italian neorealism and one of the seminal films from that movement, Bicycle Thieves. Italian neorealism explores existential responsibility, the duty to one's family, and the difficulties of interpersonal relationships. Characterized …
Continue reading "Where in the World is 25 Years Later? Italy: Bicycle Thieves"
Any day that I get to write about Herschell Gordon Lewis, I consider a good day. I'm a big fan of the director that has more than earned the title "Godfather of Gore." How does this work? How do I love the guy who said: "I see filmmaking as a business and pity anyone who …
Continue reading "How Herschell Gordon Lewis Changed Horror Forever with Blood Feast"
Days before his 86th birthday, legendary director Alejandro Jodorowsky along with Satori Films took to Kickstarter to fund the auteur's next film. Poesía sin fin (Endless Poetry) illuminates -- through the autobiographical lens of the director himself -- his early life when he dedicated himself to poetry and never looked back. The story takes place …
Continue reading "Where in the World is 25 Years Later? Chile: Endless Poetry"
Whether you know Garry Shandling from his standup comedy, his brilliant masterpiece in deconstruction, It's Garry Shandling's Show, his groundbreaking examination of ego and interpersonal relationships, The Larry Sanders Show, or even if you don't know of Garry Shandling at all, the documentary detailing the life and rise of the comic is essential viewing for the human …
Continue reading "The Zen Diaries of Garry Shandling: Searching for Truth through Comedy"
The second stop on the "Where in the World is 25 Years Later?" journey takes us to Sweden to explore one of my favorite films by the titan of cinema Ingmar Bergman. Bergman is well-known for classics including The Seventh Seal, Persona, and Wild Strawberries, and far less known for his 1969 film, The Rite. Initially …
Continue reading "Where in the World is 25 Years Later? Sweden: The Rite"
The air of silent death has overshadowed the latter half of the Mad Men series. Through all of their personal and professional changes, each character has grown more cognizant of the importance of their lives. The final two seasons of the series show decisions being made solely to satisfy the needs of the future rather …
It is a fascinating paradox that a non-negotiable aspect of human life, if we are lucky, is that each of us will age, yet that fact is almost universally ignored in the movies we consume. Our hair will grey, our skin will lose elasticity, our bones will weaken, and each of these physical changes is …
Continue reading "Our Souls at Night: A Netflix Original Film"
The second and third seasons of Mad Men illustrated in great detail how the characters in the series were confined by either their gender, sexual orientation, or place in the world. Their confinement dictated their position in their homes, their companies, and often, within themselves. Mad Men pulled audiences into the stifling 1960's, an era …
Continue reading "Mad Men Part 3: Breaking the Chains of Expectation"