Documentary Review
Since 1987, the cable network A&E has run the popular “Biography” series, exploring the history of American companies and personalities. One such documentary chronicles the improbable rise of Ben and Jerry’s ice cream business, from its humble beginnings to its eventual financial success. The director first takes us to the childhood of Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield, eventual...
In spite of the hefty amount of pressure intrinsically involved in the concluding of an international phenomenon so vast in its appeal and so iconic in its cultural stature as J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter series, the saga’s final installment, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2, released this summer on July 15, 2011, had to be good.
It was,...
It’s springtime, a time for Easter, Spring Break, the NBA and NHL playoffs, the NFL draft, and the beginning of the end of the school year. Unfortunately, spring also means a weak season for movies. As of April 28, four of the top five films at the box office had “rotten” ratings on the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes,...
There are few things that American society appreciates more than finality. We love to record the final letter of the final word, dot the period, and definitively close the book on an issue. As an inherently task-oriented society, we rejoice in the opportunity to check a long-standing item off our to-do list and focus our energies on the next...
In 1906, young socialist Upton Sinclair rose from obscurity with the novel The Jungle, his expose of American meat packing. Sinclair’s version of the “Great American Novel” shocked the world with its gut-wrenching description of unsafe, unsanitary, and generally sickening practices of the meat packing industry (e.g., rat droppings and diseased meat jammed into sausage grinders, disgusting floor filth and...
Two weeks ago, the American sports world held its biggest event of the year, the one and only Super Bowl; now, it’s time to shift our focus to the American entertainment world, as they get ready to hold their biggest event of the year: the Oscars.
This Sunday, February 27th, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences will be...
The wait is finally over. For now. Part one of the final movie of the most popular children’s books this decade has been released and is a box office smash hit. The much anticipated release of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1 brings with it much praise as well as fair amounts of criticism. On the whole, the...
Toy Story 3
Toy Story 3 was probably the most anticipated animated feature of the summer, and even with Pixar’s stunning reputation and track record, it stands out as Pixar’s crowning achievement.
Sequels of successful franchises have often failed to live up to the standard set by the original; with a very weak plot line and a lengthy run time, the...
