In Which There’s Sex For Dinner and Death for Breakfast Ah, James Bond, 007. A Franchise so titanic in its cultural legacy and influence that it is practically impossible to talk about, even in the discrete sections of individual movies. … Continue reading Post Millennial Malaise 08: Die Another Day
In Which Teen Horniness is Not a Crime How much should prescience be worth in a movie, is something successful because it can call shots, even if the story falls short in a meaningful manner? It’s a question that I … Continue reading Post Millennial Malaise 07: Southland Tales
In Which The Universe is a Blanket There is a story about David O. Russell, when he was making Three Kings, that I think is pertinent to today’s article. No it’s not the one where he’s punched by George Clooney on … Continue reading Post Millennial Malaise 06: I Heart Huckabees
In Which We Explore The Infinite Abyss This week I am going to propose a hypothesis. Let’s call it the quirk equation. A way to to quantify certain cinematic entries that use cutesy affectation, or twee-ness, to attain their goals. … Continue reading Post Millennial Malaise 05: Garden State
In Which This Review Presupposes When you talk about American film in the 90’s you have to talk about the indie boom. How studios like Miramax and directors like Tarantino, Linklater, and Kevin Smith radically shifted what was seen as … Continue reading Post Millennial Malaise 04: The Royal Tenenbaums
In Which, Oh My God, It’s Jason Bourne The Bourne Identity was never supposed to rock blockbuster filmmaking. In fact while in production it had the stench of disaster. Recent indie darlings, director Doug Liman and star Matt Damon, were out of … Continue reading Post Millennial Malaise 03: The Bourne Identity
In Which He Does Whatever a Spider Can The skyline for New York City is iconic. For the whole of the 20th century its buildings, towers, and architecture served as the platonic ideal of the modern metropolis. A place of … Continue reading Post Millennial Malaise 02: Spider-Man
In Which There’s Gold in Them Hills Ah the video game movie. A now nearly thirty year tradition of filmmakers clawing through the dark and trying to crack the nut of adapting one of media’s youngest siblings. In the pantheon … Continue reading Post-Millennial Malaise 01: Lara Croft – Tomb Raider
In Which the Sequel Arrives So we’ve made it to 2021. We’re officially living in the future baby. We’ve got a sea lab and Johnny Mnemonic is out their retrieving faxes through the internet, and the world’s still a mess. … Continue reading Post-Millennial Malaise: An Introduction
In Which an End is Just a Beginning What is the legend of Korra? The legacy of a show that has always toiled in the shadow of its predecessor. Marred by a difficult production, haphazard release, and near death by a thousand … Continue reading Re-Avatar State: “Day of the Colossus” & “The Last Stand”
Operation: Beifong While writing about a long form narrative, such as a TV show, it’s easy to get wound up in big ideas. Pontificate on characters, themes, and plots that have weaved in and out of the story over the … Continue reading Re-Avatar State: “Operation: Beifong” & “Kuvira’s Gambit”
In Which, Despite Everything, It’s Still You In my opening piece about The Legend of Korra I offered a singular thematic idea that I believed served as the overarching structure of the show, even through the tumult of itss production. That if … Continue reading Re-Avatar State: “Beyond the Wilds”
Reunion Korra’s never really had a full Team Avatar. Though the group comprised of Korra, Mako, Bolin, and Asami have undergirded much of the action of the show, their ability to stick together and work as a unit has been … Continue reading Re-Avatar State: “Reunion” & “Remembrances”
Enemy at the Gates I often wonder, in the many times I pick back up at different points in the franchise, why I kind of glide over Book 4 of Korra. Personally I find it to be a well executed season … Continue reading Re-Avatar State: “Enemy at the Gates” & “The Battle of Zaofu”
The Coronation Korra has had many teachers throughout her stint as the Avatar. From the bending masters at her compound, to Katara, to Tenzin, to Unalaq, and Suyin. Many powerful people have stepped in to assist our heroine in the … Continue reading Re-Avatar State: “The Coronation” & “The Calling”
After All These Years Have you noticed something. A through line, whether intentional or nor, hangs through every single premiere in Korra, one that isn’t really commented or remarked upon by the show. Yes each premiere in the series ends in the … Continue reading Re-Avatar State: “After All These Years” & “Korra Alone”
In Which There is Service and Sacrifice There is a point in every long running story where the true depths of the narrative unfurl, where ideas hinted at or pointed toward finally come into focus and the crux of the … Continue reading Re-Avatar State: “Venom of the Red Lotus”
The Ultimatum One of the reasons the death of the Earth Queen is such a huge moment for the franchise is that it finally, and truly, throws out the character safety net that has existed for the run of Avatar and most … Continue reading Re-Avatar State: “The Ultimatum” & “Enter The Void”
The Stakeout What does Zaheer want? A simple question that has been motivating both our heroes and villains, there’s been moments of chaos and calamity as our characters come into contact with the Red Lotus (thank God I can right … Continue reading Re-Avatar State: “The Stakeout” & “Long Live The Queen”
Original Airbenders What a week. After a short hiatus for processing the world in the past seven days I’m happy to so that I’m motivated and ready to wrap up the rest of the Legend of Korra. Indeed the timing is noticeably … Continue reading Re-Avatar State: “Original Airbenders” & “The Terror Within”
The Metal Clan As the title of the third season has so helpfully reminded us, one of the driving themes in The Legend of Korra is change. This is a show built on the inherent premise that it is different from … Continue reading Re-Avatar State: “The Metal Clan” & “Old Wounds”
