|John Moret| Ronin, noun, historical (in feudal Japan): a wandering samurai who had no lord or master.
On a wintry day in 2012, a friend and I met for our weekly movie and lunch meetup. It was his choice that week and he brought a new release from the Criterion Collection, Three Outlaw Continue reading
|Chelli Riddiough| What’s iconic about Shaft? The theme song. The beige turtleneck and brown pleather trench coat. The sideburns and afro. The $50-an-hour detective fee. The fact that detectives are called “dicks.” The terrible one-liners lauded as wisecracks. The unnecessary sexual Continue reading
|Penny Folger| Night of the Generals is a World War II film most people in this day and age have never heard of. It’s a joint production between the UK, France, and the United States. The story is unique in that it’s told from the German perspective, without demonizing them exactly: instead it… Continue reading
|Eli Holm| Suspended in anticipation, a man named Clerici sits awaiting his cue, a pawn of a larger game, too terrified to sleep, waiting to strike. He’s in a blank slate of ruin, without discernible emotion, putting on his mask of high-class clothing, tucking his gun, braving the winter air, ready.. Continue reading
|Chris Ryba-Tures| “To wear a mask is to literally put on a second face, a second identity—a theatrical identity removed from the everyday world.” –Lesley K. Ferris, Masks: Faces of Culture. Little soul, little wanderer, peeking out / from my body’s cover, host and lodger / which now change… Continue reading
|Matthew Tchepikova-Treon| Blaxploitation cinema and hip-hop developed in tandem throughout the 1970s. From Harlem to the Bronx, music technicians like Kool Herc, Grandmaster Flash, and others developed vinyl scratching and sampling techniques… Continue reading
|Jay Ditzer| Where would movies be without music? Even in the silent era, movie theaters had a pianist on hand to provide accompaniment. Since the advent of “talking pictures,” music of some sort—whether it be a full score or contemporary tracks either licensed or custom-written… Continue reading
|Yuval Klein| The Ruling Class portrays England as a shallow, decadent, and incorrigible institution hiding behind the facade of modernization. Oscillating between a traditional narrative and a musical, the theatrical film satirizes British aristocracy and Christianity in… Continue reading
|Liz Robau| King Henry is married to Queen Eleanor, with whom he had Richard, Geoffrey, and Johnny.
Richard, Geoffrey, or Johnny might soon be wed to Alais. Alais is the elder half-sister of French King Philip. King Philip is the son of dead King Louis. King Louis was married some… Continue reading
|Matthew Lambert| From the first moment we see King Henry, he’s dueling his youngest son, John, trying to toughen up the boy he wishes to become his successor one day. “Come at me,” the brash king shouts shortly before being upended. But he doesn’t stay down long… Continue reading
