The Working Man’s Artform: Reflections on The Movie Theater

“This is a working man’s art form. It’s not the opera. It’s not theater. It’s not going to a big concert. The idea was that anyone could go and see a movie… we have priced them out to where now it’s a deal.” – Quentin Tarantino

When I was a kid we lived in a small one bed room apartment shared by four people. My dad worked all day and only on the weekends could he really find time to spend with me and my brother. On the weekends he’s gather us together and we’d find time to do something together. The only caveat is we’d had to be able to afford it. Even in the late eighties that was a tough endeavor. So we’d go to the park, or the public pool, or free day at the Bronx Zoo. But quite often he’d snatch up me and my brother and we’d go to the movies together. It was the least expensive option that offered an immersive experience.

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The Importance of Christian in “Clueless”

It was 1995 and I’d seen “Clueless” five times by now. My dad had rented it from the video store for us and I’d seen it a lot over the course of a weekend, even though I didn’t care much for it. It’s a fine movie, but it never managed to click with me like “Heathers” or “Mean Girls” ever did. From these viewings, though, I did pick up a few things.

Number One: I definitely was going to be a good husband to Alicia Silverstone. I’d be supportive of her career, and even not be a geek around other celebrities.

Number Two: Christian is definitely not in to women.

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A24 Has A lot of Apologizing to Do to the Art Community

For many years now I’ve become a fan of A24 and have loved so much of their content. Have their titles all been winners? No, but their output of above level films that managed to mix mainstream sensibility with arthouse appeal as been amazing. For many years they’ve given us absolutely incredible films that have allowed filmmakers that normally wouldn’t be seen to final garner some respectable platforms. They’re not low budget or indie like Troma but they’ve allowed some unique artists to give us gems like “The Zone of Interest,” “The Whale,” “Bodies Bodies Bodies,” Ti West’s “X” movie series, “Midsommar,” “Skin” and so much more.

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On Depression and Westerns

Special guest Article by Leigh Evans KreuzThey say you never forget your first love.

I’m thirty-eight now and I’ve forgotten a big chunk of my life up until this point. Sometimes, if I’m especially #blessed, the right stimuli and the right amount of THC knock a few things loose. Being born before the turn of the century, I was a kid who, like my parents before me, was raised largely by television. Our story begins during the little slice of my life in which I was often sat behind the arm of a floral patterned sofa, staring in rapt attention at the rabbit-eared television; relic from the time when sets were advertised as being (holy smokes, Batman!) IN COLOR. I happened to be born into a culty Assembly of God church run by a guy who wore Jim Jones sunglasses without a single wit of irony and utilized information control in the guise of “keeping the children safe”.

That meant we weren’t allowed to just watch whatever we wanted because the stuff on TV would send demons through the screen or something. (For further reading and cringing so hard your back cracks read “Turmoil in the Toybox” by Phil Phillips). The selection of “Jesus approved” material was pretty slim for the child of “God and country” 1980s Reaganites.

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What If…? “X-Men: The Movie” Debuted in 1987?

Last week, Marvel unleashed the trailer for “X-Men ’97,” the sequel to the series from FOX Kids from the nineties that continues the saga of the 1990’s iteration of the X-Men.

It was a time when they were massively popular, one of the big moneymakers for Marvel, and were given a variety of excellent characters. The X-Men property has been around for decades, and around the nineties, Marvel began developing the ideal “X-Men” movie. It wasn’t until the year 2000 that we finally got the “X-Men” movie.

But I think “X-Men” would have also made a great eighties action film, so I went back and cast an “X-Men” movie if it were developed, and cast in 1987! What if…?

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Living Hardcore: “School of Rock” at 20

One of the reasons I’ve been such a rabid fan of Richard Linklater over the years is that he’s able to jump back and forth between excellent indie films, to accessible mainstream films. It’s amazing that the same man that gave us the cerebral existential masterpiece “Waking Life” is the same guy that gave us the rock and roll classic “School of Rock.” Linklater’s family comedy is not just a musical gem, but also one that manages to appeal to the genius of classic rock.

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Rest in Peace, Cartoon Network (1992-2023)

Back in the heyday of cable television, channels were all aimed toward a certain market and fan base. If you loved science fiction there was a channel for you. If you loved medical science, there was a channel or you. If you love romance movies, there was a channel. And surely enough there was the Cartoon Network. Cartoon Network offered up cartoons twenty four hours around the clock and in 1992 they guaranteed a complete line up of cartoons you couldn’t find anywhere. Their line up consisted mainly of Hanna Barbera since they were owned by Warner, so for pretty much anything non-Disney, Cartoon Network had.

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