The animated sitcom series Family Guy, which began broadcasting on American television channels in 1999, has always courted controversy. The perceived crude humor and lack of inhibitions in the characters of the show have offended the conservative sections of American society. At times unfavorably compared to The Simpsons, an animated family comedy which preceded it,…
Tag: Film
Four Top Experimental Filmmakers from the UK and America
Daniel Robin is a contemporary filmmaker who is given to experimentation. Often, his films blur the line between fact and fiction. A classic example is the film My Olympic Summer, which won the Best Short award at Sundance Festival in 2008. In the film, Robin attempts to simulate truth in such as way that “audiences…
Why do people make Experimental Films?
Experimental filmmakers are a brave breed of creative artists who swim against the popular tide and style. People make experimental films for a variety of reasons. But one core motivation is the faith they have in their directorial ideas. Needless to say, many experimental films don’t see the light of day in terms of commerce….
Film Review: The Station Agent
There are clear markers that set aside The Station Agent from mainstream American movies. The limited budget, the austere production style and the modest profiles of the cast actors all identify the film as belonging to the ‘independent’ genre. The off-beat story line and its central theme is also distant to conventional plots and themes. …
Film review: Blow (2001) by Ted Demme
Blow (2001) is a biographical motion picture about the notorious American cocaine smuggler George Jung. The movie is an adaptation from the book Blow: How a Small Town Boy Made $100 Million with the Medellin Cocaine Cartel and Lost It All authored by Bruce Porter in 1993. The writing team of David McKenna and Nick…
Film Review: The Story of G.I. Joe (1945)
The film The Story of G.I. Joe is an American war film starring Burgess Meredith and Robert Mitchum. The film was directed by William Wellman and is portrayed as a tribute to infantrymen of American military that operated during the Second World War, G.I. Joe being a typical characterization of the class of soldiers. The…
Contrarian themes in the film Paths of Glory (1957)
The film Paths of Glory (1957) is of the few mainstream Hollywood movies of the century to espouse a contrarian theme. While many films of the period talked of issues and the drama surrounding war, Paths of Glory went a step further and made an emphatic statement about the nature and contradictions of war. The…
Missing (1982): Film Review
Missing is a classic American Drama film, released in the year 1982. The film is directed by Costa Gavras and it stars Jack Lemmon, Sissy Spacek and Melanie Mayron in lead roles, ably supported by John Shea and Charles Cioffi. The film is produced by Edward Lewis and Mildred Lewis; its script is handled by…
My Antonia: Film Review
My Antonia, a film produced by Victoria Riskin and David Rintels, was released in 1995. It stars Neil Patrick Harris in the lead role. The cinematography and music are handled by Robert Primes and Lori Slomka respectively. Based on a classic literary novel of the same name by Willa Cather, the screenplay is adapted by…
The slacker genre and post-modern condition in the films Before Sunrise and Before Sunset
Those movies categorized under the Slacker genre break away from conventional Hollywood style in many respects. The very term ‘Slacker’ is taken after a Richard Linklater movie of the same name released in 1991. Made as an experimental project, the film became a cult classic and impressed the critics as well. It is not often…