Casablanca on the Big Screen
In June, The Michigan Theater (in Ann Arbor, MI) kicked off its 2010 Summer Classic Film Series with John Huston’s The Treasure of the Sierra Madre, and it ends next week with Fritz Lang’s newly restored Metropolis, which will feature a live organ accompaniment of the 1927 original score. …
Why I Use Tweetdeck (and You Should Too)
Disclaimer: I’m writing this post primarily with my film students in mind, but I would argue the same for non-students.
From what I can tell, most of my film students — who are required to use Twitter this semester — are turning to the Web to tweet. Since this is where …
Teaching 200 Students How to Tweet: The Challenges
For three semesters I have attempted to incorporate Twitter into the college classroom, even once relying on the service to arrange a win-a-free-textbook contest for my Film Noir students. But overall, these attempts have failed miserably as the majority of college students — at this point in time anyway — …
Everybody Loves Raymond and Seinfeld
Regular followers of Unmuzzled Thoughts have heard me blabbing that one day I’m going to publish an essay explaining why those who loved the sitcom Seinfeld should theoretically also love the sitcom Everybody Loves Raymond. Well, that day has come. I finally gathered my thoughts, supported them with evidence (sifting …
The Thrill of the Long Shot
Over the weekend, The Film Dr. tagged me in a blog meme begun by Stephen Russell-Gebbett who blogs over at (the interestingly titled) Checking on My Sausages and MovieMan0283 who blogs at The Dancing Image. According to the guys, the person tagged is to submit a gallery of images that …
About three years ago on a special edition of Hardball (MSNBC), Tom Brokaw claimed this of Jon Stewart and the writers of The Daily Show:
“There are more facts and more truths told in the first eight minutes of The Daily Show than most political news conferences in Washington.”
More recently (July …
Almost every theatrical release I’ve seen in the past month has been prefaced with the same two movie trailers: the apocalyptic, CGI-riddled 2012; and the grim, melodramatic Precious: Based on the Novel Push by Sapphire. Unlike the previews for Shutter Island and Pirate Radio, which have also been circulating widely, …
Most of the national nightly news programs now end with a positive segment. For instance, CBS has “The American Spirit,” ABC “Person of the Week,” and NBC “Making a Difference.” They do this, I’m guessing, to soften the blow of the 20 minutes of horrendous headlines that they have just …
A recent headline on The Huffington Post intrigues me: ADAM LAMBERT GOES HETERO, TONGUES GIRL FOR DETAILS. The text beneath the title draws me in even more: “Lambert is on the cover of Details, and inside he impersonates a heterosexual in an awkward photo shoot.”
Okay, let’s get this straight (no …
As one would expect with Chris Rock at the helm, much of Good Hair (2009), the comedian’s documentary on the ins and outs of African American hair, is funny, lighthearted, and entertaining. However, several sequences of the film are troubling and, dare I say, heartbreaking.
Case in point: one scene reveals …
Andy Denhart, a contributor to MSNBC.com, recently reprimanded Fox’s new drama/comedy Glee, warning that while the show is “fantastic” and maintains a solid fan base, it increasingly lacks “emotional and rich moments” and refuses to develop its stereotypical characters. (For a similar reading, see Amanda Ann Klein’s “Is Glee Racist/Heterosexist/Ableist?”)
Like …
