The Secret World of Arietty – A Brief Review

I have not read The Borrowers books so I don’t know what sort of fidelity this movie keeps with the source material aside from keeping Arietty’s name. It displays great fidelity and continuity with the aesthetics and vision of Studio Ghibli, however. Afterwards, I remarked to my friends with whom I saw the film that [...]

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“Home” to Pakistan – Poem Reprint – Haiku Laziness and Out of Africa

One of the advantages of having had a blog for going on 8 years and switching platforms and even emphases from time to time, is that one can emulate the scribe that Jesus describes in Matthew 13:52 and bring out ‘new treasures as well as the old,’ only in this case that order is inverted [...]

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The Shields of Lothlorien

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Everlasting Moments…Oh my!

Having heard this movie review on NPR this lunchtime, I am very excited to see this film (here is the Youtube version of the trailer). Aside from the fact that I shoot digital and so no longer experience any of the travail and joys and anticipation of the development process, the visuals in the film, [...]

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Slumdog Actors Update

Having written this blog post, it is only fair that I mention that the two child actors seem to be getting more useful compensation, even as they head off to the Oscars to make Hollywood celebrities feel better about themselves. I am not sure if Slumdog should win best picture, even though it seems likely [...]

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Reviews of Slumdog Millionaire Where it Matters Most

In my review of the movie I did not exactly predict that the reception of Slumdog Millionaire in India would be mixed and problematic, though I had wondered since writing it what the reception in India, indeed, would be. This article from the BBC informs me that the movie is only just opening in India, [...]

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The Dassler Effect, A Retrospective

Well, this new version of The Dassler Effect has had a more promising start than I could have imagined. And yet its previous incarnation was no slouch either (it still shows up first on Google). Because it was around for longer, it has far more more photos on it than the current blog and there [...]

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A Review of “Slumdog Millionaire”

A new issue of catapult, “Duck, Duck, Goose,” about “our attempts and failures, intentional or otherwise, to fit in” is out. In it, I have a review of a film currently showing in cinemas which is set in India and….well, I will just let the review do the talking. Here is the website for the [...]

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Ah, the MPDG!

Ah, the MPDG, also known as Manic Pixie Dream Girl, is featured in this fascinating NPR story. She is defined variously as: “That bubbly, shallow cinematic creature that exists solely in the fevered imaginations of sensitive writer-directors to teach broodingly soulful young men to embrace life and its infinite mysteries and adventures.” And as a [...]

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