Saw Mike Leigh’s new film Another Year last night. Like his previous film Happy-Go-Lucky, it’s a movie that kind of … sneaks up behind you and then clubs you over the head with insight. For me, Mike Leigh’s best films become a kind of shorthand for key bits of understanding about the crazymaking challenges of […]
Entries Tagged as 'Film'
The King’s Speech and The Writer’s Prayer
January 5th, 2011 · 4 Comments · Books, Culture, Film, Fringe, Journal, Neo-Futurists, Performance, Poetry, Theater, Writing
I saw The King’s Speech a few nights ago, and I think it’s the film most relevant to my own experience that I’ve seen in a very long time. The thing is, it’s not just a charming historical drama about royalty and speech therapy; it’s about people who allow their own anxieties and self-doubt to […]
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The Kids Are Hall Right
April 20th, 2008 · 3 Comments · Comedy, Culture, Film, Kids in the Hall, Performance
I’m pretty geeked about the current Kids in the Hall tour, and the fact that I actually have a ticket in hand for their May 29 show at the Chicago Theatre. I’ve never gotten to see them live before, because on their previous trips to Chicago I was always performing with the Neo-Futurists or something […]
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B-52’s Funplex Roundup
April 9th, 2008 · 2 Comments · Chicago, Culture, Film, LGBT, Music, New Wave, News, TV, Video
So the new B-52’s album Funplex has been out for a couple of weeks now and is getting hot-pink rave reviews everywhere. Of course all during the recent period when I was busy not blogging I was wanting to post all sorts of breathless updates and links about it. But the truth is Astralwerks seems […]
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The ABC’s of Early 80’s Mo-Romance
February 15th, 2008 · 3 Comments · Culture, Fiction, Film, LGBT, Lit, Music, New Wave, TV, Video
And now for something a little on the lighter side — and a nice follow-up to Valentine’s Day. ABC’s “All of My Heart” + Brideshead Revisited = high school drama club heaven, circa 1982. Possibly the best combination since peanut butter and chocolate … the British horror of peanut butter notwithstanding. (Note: This may not […]
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R.O.U.S.
December 18th, 2007 · 2 Comments · Books, Comedy, Fantasy, Film, Nature, News, Science
More breaking news from the world of fantasy science: A giant rodent five times the size of a common rat has been discovered in the mountainous jungles of New Guinea. The 1.4kg Mallomys giant rat is one of two species of mammal thought to be new to science documented on an expedition to an area […]
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Force of Hobbit
December 18th, 2007 · Comments Off on Force of Hobbit · Books, Culture, Fantasy, Film, News
Looks like the film version of The Hobbit is going to happen after all. And it’s going to be a two-parter (because they sell more popcorn like that, see). New Line and filmmaker Peter Jackson have resolved their differences over Jackson’s profit participation over the $3 billion-grossing “Lord of the Rings” trilogy, paving the way […]
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OMG STFU!
December 6th, 2007 · Comments Off on OMG STFU! · Culture, Film, LGBT, News
Andy at Towleroad thinks Jodie Foster just came out. Surely a sign of the end times. And here I haven’t even gotten over finding out that David Hyde Pierce is a mo. I mean, he just seemed so butch in Wet Hot American Summer.
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Roundup: Flight of the Humpback Edition
November 19th, 2007 · Comments Off on Roundup: Flight of the Humpback Edition · Apple, Blogs, Books, Climate Change, Comics, Culture, Feminism, Fiction, Film, History, HIV/AIDS, Human Rights, Journalism, LGBT, Lit, Macintosh, Media, Music, Nature, New Wave, Politics, Religion, Software, Tech, The Economy, Stupid, Torture
Markos from Daily Kos has a new gig writing opinion pieces for Newsweek, and he’s been in rare form with his first couple of efforts. From this week’s column: “In his first Inaugural Address, Ronald Reagan remarked that ‘government is not the solution to our problem; government is the problem.’ While the quip has provided […]
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Support the Writers Guild Strike
November 7th, 2007 · 2 Comments · Activism, Comedy, Culture, Film, Heroes, History, Labor, News, Science Fiction, TV, Video
Here’s a snappy little video explaining why. As Miss Laura notes, the writers have even tried relaxing their demand for that luxurious extra 4 cents per DVD. They said they’d be willing to settle for the measly 4 cents they’re already getting, if they can just please be paid for their work on Internet […]
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Roundup: Where All the Corn Cobs Are Edition
October 29th, 2007 · Comments Off on Roundup: Where All the Corn Cobs Are Edition · Advertising, Books, Climate Change, Comics, Culture, Death Penalty, Fantasy, Fiction, Film, Food, Health, Healthcare Crisis, HIV/AIDS, Human Rights, Internet, Labor, Law, LGBT, Music, Nature, New Wave, News, Organic Food, Pets, Politics, Roundup, Science, Tech
In order to keep these roundups fresh as a spring daisy, I usually discard any links I’ve been keeping around that are more than a week old. But since this is OcPot’s first roundup in more than six weeks, I’m extending the freshness window slightly to include a few things that were just too good […]
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Coming in November: The History of Chicago Punk on Film
October 26th, 2007 · 4 Comments · Chicago, Culture, Film, History, Illinois, Music, New Wave, Peoria, Video
My friend and colleague Chris Tillman and her husband Joe Losurdo, working under the name Regressive Films, have collaborated on a new documentary about the history of punk rock in Chicago. Titled You Weren’t There — A History Of Chicago Punk 1977-1984, the film will have its world premiere on Saturday, November 24 at the […]
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No Backsies
October 24th, 2007 · 5 Comments · Books, Culture, Education, Fantasy, Fiction, Film, Human Rights, LGBT, Lit, Media, Politics, Science Fiction
I haven’t weighed in on the whole gay Dumbledore thing, partly because everyone is already talking about it, and I usually view OcPot as a place to post about things that deserve more attention than they seem to be getting. But Minnesota Malcolm brought it up in the comments to this post last night, and […]
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