Tom Hanks may have gotten snubbed this year by the Academy, which failed to nominate him for his exceptional work in Captain Phillips, but he remains one of our most celebrated dramatic actors. Many of his younger fans, however, might not realize that before he turned to serious roles, he was just a goofy comic…
On the surface, The Butler might seem like an awfully conservative film. It certainly takes the form of one of those safe historical epics that Hollywood loves to put out around Oscar time – its rush through eighty years of history is a little reminiscent of the reactionary Forrest Gump. But as a movie that…
I had a piece in The Atlantic this afternoon on Big and the other body-swap movies (Vice Versa, 18 Again!, Like Father, Like Son) of the late ’80s. Here is an excerpt: The dominant, lasting image in all these films is that of a grown man acting like a child. In Big, Vice Versa, and Like Father, Like Son, the…
Earlier this week, Fox announced that 24 will return next summer with a 12 episode run entitled 24: Live Another Day. Little is known about the show’s return, except that Kiefer Sutherland will be back, of course, as Jack Bauer. The storyline is still under wraps. But the timing of this announcement is interesting, as…
So she will? Or won’t she? Last week, I outlined why an Ashley Judd for Senate campaign makes sense. In summary, she has great name recognition; her celebrity assigns her the aura of leadership; it is a great time for female candidates seeking higher office; and her friends in Hollywood will help her raise a…
When I told my friends I was going to see Top Gun during its brief 3D theatrical re-release (which ends this week), nobody was particularly impressed. When I mentioned that I had never seen it before, their eyes widened, and each put forth some variation of the same question: “How is that possible?” The film…
An early scene in The Last Stand finds three of its characters firing a giant handgun at a huge slab of beef. It’s an apt snapshot of a movie that fetishizes the use of firearms and places little value on human life. At this time when pundits and policymakers are considering the impact of movie…
This morning The Atlantic published an article of mine as part of their online content. The subject is one of grave importance to every concerned citizen of this nation: the potential political careers of Ben Affleck and Matt Damon. I had a great time analyzing their political statements and, more importantly, the subtextual political elements…
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