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 …
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. …
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 …
Over the weekend, I put the final touches on my course syllabi. I have three this semester: Introduction to Film, Introduction to Film DL (distance learning), and Critical Approaches to Cinema. One part of syllabus-creating that I actually look forward to is figuring out which films my students will watch …
Last weekend I returned to the movie theatre for the first time since the summer blockbuster season began. The film that beckoned me back as well as stirred me from my Six Feet Under stupor — I’m foolishly watching the entire depressing series in 2 months — was Solitary Man …
This week, my Introduction to Film students and I are considering scars (and wounds) in Hollywood film and what they mean for the characters who bear them. As you might imagine, the marks figure differently on men and women. For example, many Hollywood films, classic and contemporary, …
A few weeks ago, I came across a blog post from The Guardian entitled “The Film That Changed My Life.” In it, filmmaker Brett Ratner (X-Men, Rush Hour) recounts the ways that Martin Scorsese’s Raging Bull (1980) inspired his career path. At only 10 years old, the future director had …
