7 years ago
In the Mood for Love 6
On Hypermasculinity: The Objectification of Men in “Magic Mike XXL”
In 1973, British film theorist Laura Mulvey described the “active/passive hetero sexual division of labor,” declaring that men “cannot bear the burden of sexual objectification.” You heard it: They simply cannot bear it. Pleasure of display is warranted in art...
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The Single Cinephile’s Guide to Anti-Valentine’s Day Films
To give you a sense of how I feel about Valentine’s Day, I’ll share two short stories. First, a couple years ago, I had a “platonic” Valentine, for whom I prepared Hershey kisses by removing the paper tags in each and replaced them with various lyrics from Elt...
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Cine-Math: 5 Film Equations
Let it be known that I exist purely to subvert all of the Asian stereotypes: I quit karate, I can't speak a lick of Chinese, a quit violin, and, much to the chagrin of others', I can't do math for the life of me. So, what have I left other than the movies? Cin...
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10 Memorable Closing Shots
There is a particular art to a final shot. Every shot in a film is important -- it’s one that didn’t end up on the cutting room floor, so it is inherently significant, though perhaps not extraordinary. Any one of these shots can be truly dazzling in any number...
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The Penny-Pinching Cinephile (11/21/13–11/27/13)
Welcome to The Penny-Pinching Cinephile, a weekly spotlight of the best free flicks on the web. ‘Cuz sometimes you gotta eat.
1.) The Last Picture Show
Based on the novel by Larry McMurtry, Peter Bogdanovich's 1971 film is one of the crowning achievement...
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The Second Criterion: ‘In the Mood for Love’
It’s difficult to write about In the Mood for Love in terms of theme because much of the film is concerned with ephemeral, almost inexpressible feelings. Still, the characters’ quest for understanding and the relationship that forms out of that creates an inte...
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