I often run into coworkers on my lunch break. There aren’t a lot of restaurants to choose from around here, so it’s usually the Mexican place or the Chinese place or the Mexican place staffed entirely by Chinese people. And yes, I know they’re actually Chinese. I’m not just calling them Chinese because they look … Continue reading
It’s been a while since I posted here, but I just had to tell you about something that happened to be over the holidays. First of all, I shouldn’t have been surprised when the gentleman called me a faggot. I didn’t stare at him like that. I didn’t cock my hip and adopt that half-melted … Continue reading
It’s probably too strong to say I grew up hating Doctor Who. I’d only seen bits and pieces in the wee hours of the night on PBS. Not nearly enough to form an opinion other than “this looks cheap” or “plungers aren’t scary”. I’m no snob. Or, I should say, I wasn’t back then. Now … Continue reading
Forget Mark Millar’s take on Superman. “Epic” and “archetypal” are just synonyms for “flat” and “lifeless”. There’s no there there. Obviously the Coen Brothers are never going to make a Superman movie, so we can throw out Moriarty’s idea as well. As much as I’d love to see Frances McDormand as Lois and John Turturro … Continue reading
I live in the South. No, I’m not talking about the metropolitan South. This isn’t some suburban wasteland of grocery stores and strip malls and planned communities like Oaky Acres and Shady Divisions. This isn’t a stop on any pop country superstar tour, and the people here have no idea what the word “commute” even … Continue reading
I always thought M. Night Shyamalan just wasn’t a very good writer. Too many scenes in his movies come off stilted. His characters feel like robotic plot devices–like they’re all puppets. Symbols more than people. But it turns out that’s just what M. Night Shyamalan’s life is like. Speaking to Sci-Fi Wire about the personal … Continue reading
The recent announcement that Johnny Depp will be playing Tonto in a new Lone Ranger movie may have come as a surprise to many of you. It would make far more sense, you thought, if Depp were playing the titular hero himself, since a character of such timeless importance and broad cultural appeal as a … Continue reading
A while back, Devin issued a call for thoughtful discussion of The Dark Knight that didn’t take the form of a top ten list. Was he referencing the questions I asked myself while watching The Dark Knight? Who knows. But with Batman slowly backing out of the box office and making room for the post-Labor … Continue reading
Last week, I wrote of my harrowing journey through the bowels of the Downtown Atlanta Sheraton into the sweaty belly of the beast that is modern Star Trek fandom. I attended a Dragon*Con screening of a lavishly produced fan film, partly because it promised some hot gay action between Captain Kirk’s long-lost nephew and some … Continue reading
I ducked out of Dragon*Con a little early Monday morning so I could beat the hurricane back home to Louisiana. For those who don’t know, Dragon*Con is the largest gathering of something or other east of the Mississippi and south of the Mason-Dixon Line. It’s big—70,000 attendees is the number I heard, but that really … Continue reading