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All that Jazz (1979)
All that work. All that glitter. All that pain. All that love. All that crazy rhythm. All that jazz.
Filmmaker(s): Bob Fosse

Joe Gideon is at the top of the heap, one of the most successful directors and choreographers in musical theater. But he can feel his world slowly collapsing around him - his obsession with work has almost destroyed his personal life, and only his bottles of pills keep him going.

Your Death Having just watched an energetic, colourful film on the overlap between life and death, I had to revisit this one from my past. It was one of my early experiences in folded narrative: • a film about a man written and directed by that very...


Published February 14, 2023
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All Quiet on the Western Front (1930)
They left for war as boys never to return as men.
Filmmaker(s): Lewis Milestone

When a group of idealistic young men join the German Army during World War I, they are assigned to the Western Front, where their patriotism is destroyed by the harsh realities of combat.

The March These things fascinate me: films that are about something but are presented in a way that contradicts that something. Often it is a film whose message is to strive for the extraordinary, but the film itself is strictly formulaic. Here we have something much more...


Published February 14, 2023
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Alien Versus Predator (2004)
Whoever wins...we lose.
Filmmaker(s): Paul W. S. Anderson

When scientists discover something in the Arctic that appears to be a buried Pyramid, they send a research team out to investigate. Little do they know that they are about to step into a hunting ground where Aliens are grown as sport for the Predator race.

Pyramidal I’ve made a study of what differentiates the main Alien films, constituting a concise film school. Now this here is a different beast. It is a simple essay, not an ordinary long form film. You might like it because of the very idea, or the...


Published February 14, 2023
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Acid Dreams (2003)
Filmmaker(s): Michael Ninn

Frank Black is a researcher for the government tasked with keeping tabs on its citizens. A secret mind control program, pharmaceutically enhanced citizens, black ops, government brothels and a race to own our minds.

Spaced Out For background on another film, I had to pick a Michael Ninn film. I picked two that sounded interesting. The Ninn approach to porn is from the 70s. He has ideas that are really movie ideas. Then he does them with relatively high production values....


Published February 12, 2023
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About Schmidt (2002)
Schmidt Happens.
Filmmaker(s): Alexander Payne

A recently retired man embarks on a journey to his estranged daughter's wedding, only to discover more about himself and life than he ever expected.

Which Film? Brando invented the modern acting technique of giving you two films: the one in which the characters exist, and another in which the actors exist. Nicholson has developed that into something rather clever. The basic job is the same, to inhabit a character and...


Published February 12, 2023
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The Octonauts (2010-2021)
Filmmaker(s): Wilson Yip

The Octonauts is a British children's television series, produced by Silvergate Media for the BBC channel Cbeebies. The series is animated in Ireland by Brown Bag Films but uses British voice actors. The TV series is based on American-Canadian children's books written by Vicki Wong and Michael C. Murphy of Meomi Design Inc. The Octonauts follows an underwater exploring crew made up of stylized anthropomorphic animals, a team of eight adventurers who live in an undersea base, the Octopod, from where they go on undersea adventures with the help of a fleet of aquatic vehicles. The subject matter is reminiscent of Star Trek and Thunderbirds blended with Jacques Cousteau. Although it is science fiction as regards its technology, the exotic creatures and locations that the crew encounter are real marine animals in their natural habitats.

The Swimming of Being Saying something interesting about children’s programming requires a critical shift, acknowledging that we are not the primary consumer. Actually, for much of this media, I think parents are that target audience. Sesame Street cannot possibly be as educational as advertised, but great...


Published February 12, 2023
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Sherlock Holmes in the 22nd Century (1999-2001)
Filmmaker(s): Edward Zwick

Sherlock Holmes in the 22nd Century is an animated television series, in which Sherlock Holmes is brought back to life in the 22nd century. The series is a co–production by DiC and Scottish Television and was nominated for a Daytime Emmy for Special Class Animated Program.

Plot Mines For the sake of completeness of my Holmes project, I watched a couple episodes of this. The fancy is that Holmes is placed 200 years in his future. The future setting allows the animators to use all sorts of visual shorthand for sets...


Published February 12, 2023
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The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes (1939)
The struggle of super-minds in the crime of the century!
Filmmaker(s): Alfred L. Werker

Having once again avoided criminal conviction, Professor Moriarity develops a murderous plan to “finish off” his last major nemesis, Sherlock Holmes, by making him fail to prevent the perfect crime. Does it involve a family curse, the crown jewels of England, or something else…

illogical The invention of the logical detective in Sherlock Holmes was profoundly important, directly leading to the great invention of noir, the descendants of which dominate our viewing vocabulary. The notion that people were deeply logical and that a human mind was capable of mastering this...


Published February 12, 2023
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The Abominable Snowman (1957)
See It With Someone Brave! -- A Timeless Terror to Freeze You to Your Seats!
Filmmaker(s): Val Guest

A kindly English botanist and a gruff American promoter lead an expedition to the Himalayas in search of the legendary Yeti.

High Praise Before Hammer became possessed by demons from the grave, they experimented with other supernatural horror. This is a particularly good one for the period, employing lots of location shots in the mountains. Those mountains provide two key elements of the story: isolation and Tibetan mystics....


Published February 12, 2023
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