The Phantom
Ah, the mid-to-late 1990s. It was a new Golden Age for the cinema, and 1996 was a banner year: it brought us Barb Wire, Dragonheart, and the Billy Zane superhero film, The Phantom. I have a soft-spot for The Phantom. Which should not come as a surprise, since my film collection runs the gamut from … Read more
Penelope, still waiting
Hooked by P.D. James’ Death Comes to Pemberley on the idea of reading classics in a new light, I looked for more books where a favorite story of mine had been extended. I had already read a few novels from Darcy’s point of view and none hit the spot. Few authors are talented enough to … Read more
An old favorite in new hands
For me, the mark of a great book is that I don’t want it to end. When the number of pages in my right hand dwindles down to nothing and I just want one more page, one more line so I can stay in the book’s world, I know I’ve found a favorite. Sometimes the … Read more
Watching the book
This past summer summer my husband and I finally got around to painting our living room. The only way I was going to get any painting done was to distract myself with a massive amount of television. I started episode one of Game of Thrones, cracked open a can of paint and I was hooked. … Read more
Shakespeare with a difference
So as I pointed out last month, there are some great (and some not-so-great) films of Shakespeare’s plays. But sometimes you don’t feel like watching Shakespeare. Sometimes, you want to watch something a bit different. So, for those nights, here are some adaptations that offer Shakespeare with a twist, with a little bit of something … Read more
Shakespeare
A confession up front: this post comes close to violating The Idler’s mandate to focus on things we enjoy. In another part of my life, I am a Shakespeare scholar. I write about his plays in performance, I edit volumes about the topic, I used to teach the subject regularly. In other words, Shakespeare is … Read more
Books, brooms, and bad video games
I spent a number of years working in a bookstore in the early 00s, starting shortly after the release of Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban in 2000. For a character who has appeared in books, films, toys, stickers, a theme park, and who knows what else, it’s always amusing for me to remember … Read more
My clash at Demonhead
Scott Pilgrim: 23 years old. Rating: Awesome. When Scott Pilgrim and his precious little life migrated to our purple-mountained land from our neighbor to the north, I slept right through it. I was determined to make up for my lack of fandom once the movie gossip took flight. Michael Cera, you say? Mae Whitman of … Read more
Four rules for a successful superhero film
As Kevin Mattison pointed out a couple of weeks ago, it’s really tough to make a video game work as a movie, but we’ve been fortunate in the past several years to have some really great movies based on comic books. Based on a long personal history of comic book reading, and more than a … Read more
You can take the game out of the movie, but you can’t take the movie out of the game
There is a moment towards the tail end of Rockstar Games’ epic western Red Dead Redemption when, after a long campaign filled with violence, you are finally allowed to return home to your wife and child. As you ride across the plains the soundtrack swells. It feels triumphant, sentimental and incredibly cinematic. Red Dead is not alone. … Read more
