Science fiction is the exploration of our practical imaginations. Its stories can be fantastic, uplifting, and horrifying but they need to remain grounded in a scientifically applied reality -- a reality we already understand or one that's clearly explained. Without these rules governing our experiences, our exploration becomes untethered from reality and sails off into obscurity, and no CGI velociraptor, animatronic android, or puppet-like killer shrew is going to save it. Or can it? If Dr. Ian Malcolm were a film historian, his cinematic chaos theory would predict that over time, lovingly crafted cinema, like life, breaks free, expands to new territories, and crashes through barriers, painfully, maybe even dangerously.
In their era, masterpieces like "The Thing" may have been a little too much for audiences. Some critics struggled to see the beauty present in John Carpenter's classic beyond the gore and creatures. Over time, though, a cinematically enlightened...
In their era, masterpieces like "The Thing" may have been a little too much for audiences. Some critics struggled to see the beauty present in John Carpenter's classic beyond the gore and creatures. Over time, though, a cinematically enlightened...
- 1/14/2023
- by Brendan Knapp
- Slash Film
Perhaps harder to believe than the fact that Stanley Kubrick's The Shining -- which turns 36 today -- wasn't universally beloved by critics in 1980 is the idea that it was nominated for two Razzies (Worst Director and Worst Actress, Shelley Duvall) following its release. First off: Shelley Duvall's Wendy Torrance may very well have been a misogynistic portrait (Stephen King once colorfully described the character as a "screaming dishrag"), but Duvall was nothing short of great in that role, a perfect reflection of the audience's mounting terror. It seems to me that there is also some misogyny at work in the widespread idea that Nicholson was brilliant and she was terrible, but that's another post. So just what did the critics say in 1980? While a number of reviewers enjoyed the film (People magazine's critic described it as a "near-miss auto accident: You don't know how scared you really were...
- 5/23/2016
- by Chris Eggertsen
- Hitfix
Lester Van Waters was sentenced to 80 years in prison on Monday for his involvement in the kidnapping and murder of Sherry Arnold. The mother of two disappeared early one cold January morning in 2012 while out jogging in the rural town of Sidney, Montana. Her body was found over two months later, buried in unattended farmland in Williston, North Dakota. Van Waters, 50, was arrested along with Michael Keith Spell shortly after Arnold vanished. According to court documents, both men were reportedly high on drugs when the attack happened. While Spell, 25, allegedly told authorities that Van Waters killed Arnold, a jailhouse informant...
- 12/17/2014
- by Tara Fowler, @waterfowlerta
- PEOPLE.com
Lester Van Waters was sentenced to 80 years in prison on Monday for his involvement in the kidnapping and murder of Sherry Arnold. The mother of two disappeared early one cold January morning in 2012 while out jogging in the rural town of Sidney, Montana. Her body was found over two months later, buried in unattended farmland in Williston, North Dakota. Van Waters, 50, was arrested along with Michael Keith Spell shortly after Arnold vanished. According to court documents, both men were reportedly high on drugs when the attack happened. While Spell, 25, allegedly told authorities that Van Waters killed Arnold, a jailhouse informant...
- 12/17/2014
- by Tara Fowler, @waterfowlerta
- PEOPLE.com
Finding Nemo encompasses a tremendous amount of positive imagery that makes up Disney and Pixar’s populous appeal. From learning how to trust family and friends, to overcoming biggest fears and obstacles, Finding Nemo understands how to tap into the audience’s heartstrings and neatly ties in a meaningful message for the viewer to take home. Yet with every good side, there is a dark presence that even Disney can’t back away from. Like many Disney films, from Bambi to Frozen, Finding Nemo deals with a story whose basis stems from a broken household struggling with a great deal of separation. Why does Disney cling onto threads of such despair and heartache? Perhaps it’s a factor many can relate to. Or perhaps it’s a working formula that sweetens the arc of a happy ending. Either way, separation is a tapped fountain of which Hollywood has dipped into time after time again.
- 3/2/2014
- by Christopher Clemente
- SoundOnSight
Los Angeles — Blake Edwards, the director and writer known for clever dialogue, poignance and occasional belly-laugh sight gags in "Breakfast at Tiffany's," "10" and the "Pink Panther" farces, is dead at age 88.
Edwards died from complications of pneumonia late Wednesday at St. John's Health Center in Santa Monica, said publicist Gene Schwam. Blake's wife, Julie Andrews, and other family members were at his side. He had been hospitalized for about two weeks.
Edwards had knee problems, had undergone unsuccessful procedures and was "pretty much confined to a wheelchair for the last year-and-a-half or two," Schwam said. That may have contributed to his condition, he added.
At the time of his death, Edwards was working on two Broadway musicals, one based on the "Pink Panther" movies. The other, "Big Rosemary," was to be an original comedy set during Prohibition, Schwam said.
"His heart was as big as his talent. He was an...
Edwards died from complications of pneumonia late Wednesday at St. John's Health Center in Santa Monica, said publicist Gene Schwam. Blake's wife, Julie Andrews, and other family members were at his side. He had been hospitalized for about two weeks.
Edwards had knee problems, had undergone unsuccessful procedures and was "pretty much confined to a wheelchair for the last year-and-a-half or two," Schwam said. That may have contributed to his condition, he added.
At the time of his death, Edwards was working on two Broadway musicals, one based on the "Pink Panther" movies. The other, "Big Rosemary," was to be an original comedy set during Prohibition, Schwam said.
"His heart was as big as his talent. He was an...
- 12/16/2010
- by AP
- Huffington Post
Michael Jackson has sold over nine million records worldwide since his death three weeks ago. The legendary King of Pop has dominated album charts across the globe, topping countdowns in France, Germany, Australia and Britain. "The customer response to Michael Jackson's death has been staggering and unprecedented," Amazon spokesman Andrew Herdener said. "We took more orders for Jackson CDs and MP3s in the first 24 hours after his death than we did in the previous 11 years of the Amazon music store." Gary Arnold, senior entertainment officer for Us music retailer Best Buy, added: "We're seeing a real outpouring from (more)...
- 7/16/2009
- by By David Balls
- Digital Spy
Since his death, the King of Pop has dominated charts in Europe and Australia, as well as the U.S.
By Gil Kaufman
Photo: Robyn Beck/ Afp/ Getty Images
In life, Michael Jackson struggled for decades to reach the record-smashing sales he achieved with 1983's landmark Thriller album. But since his unexpected passing on June 25 at the age of 50, the self-proclaimed King of Pop has once again become the most dominant musical figure on the planet.
Jackson's albums and compilations have locked down the top 10 on the Top Pop Catalog Albums chart in the United States for the past three weeks, selling more than 2.3 million albums since the singer's death, including 1.1 million over the past seven days. At a time when most contemporary stars struggle to notch sales of more than 2 or 3 million, the numbers are impressive, but they're even better when sales across the globe are factored in. According to the Los Angeles Times,...
By Gil Kaufman
Photo: Robyn Beck/ Afp/ Getty Images
In life, Michael Jackson struggled for decades to reach the record-smashing sales he achieved with 1983's landmark Thriller album. But since his unexpected passing on June 25 at the age of 50, the self-proclaimed King of Pop has once again become the most dominant musical figure on the planet.
Jackson's albums and compilations have locked down the top 10 on the Top Pop Catalog Albums chart in the United States for the past three weeks, selling more than 2.3 million albums since the singer's death, including 1.1 million over the past seven days. At a time when most contemporary stars struggle to notch sales of more than 2 or 3 million, the numbers are impressive, but they're even better when sales across the globe are factored in. According to the Los Angeles Times,...
- 7/16/2009
- MTV Music News
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