It begins and ends with the titular castle. Throughout “Howl’s Moving Castle,” the lumbering steampunk behemoth undergoes many physical changes, whether it be the shedding of its bulky exterior or the polishing of its teeming interiorities. And though it can’t talk or cast spells the same way its occupants do, the castle remains vital to the story, acting as...
“It don't take long to kill things. Not like it does to grow.” These are the words that Homer Bannon (Melvyn Douglas) utters after he witnesses a brutal execution of his hard-earned livestock in the 1963 film “Hud.” Life is slow on his Texan ranch, with work and casual leisure being all the surrounding town and its inhabitants have...
Throughout the history of cinema, a selective canon of “classics” has slowly been curated through the opinions of film lovers and critics alike. Western works such as Orson Welles’ “Citizen Kane,” Alfred Hitchcock’s “Vertigo” and Stanley Kubrick’s “2001: A Space Odyssey” have cemented their positions among the greatest pieces of art ever created. However, Yasujirō Ozu’s “Tokyo Story” is...
In 1989, Taiwanese auteur Hou Hsiao-Hsien told the story of a family in the small coastal town of Jiufen. Without context, the film appears to be surrounded by an impenetrable veil of mysticism. However, those familiar with the island’s history will understand the significance within the specific release date of “A City of Sadness.” To unlock the importance of...
Louisa May Alcott’s “Little Women” displays, through a modern lens, the various forms of fluid feminine expression, which we have coined “the femininity spectrum.” The femininity spectrum is a term used to identify and characterize the different forms of female gender expression. Femininity, like most forms of gender expression, can be executed in various formats and degrees, ranging from...
Nov. 21 marks the 14th anniversary of a movie that started a global franchise and caused a cultural shift in how we perceive vampires. The movie “Twilight,” however angsty and problematic it may be, was a monumental occasion that created several pop culture references still used today. The first installment of the four movie franchise, based on the novels...
The iconic legacy of this horror film has lasted for years to come, and still continues as a reminiscent film in modern media.
The modern film industry has a habit of running interesting concepts dry, specifically through the production of reboots and never-ending franchises. The original works that pave the way for these series are often forgotten and overlooked by...
Perhaps Christmas is the season when you prefer cozying up with your loved ones more and watching a feel-good classic holiday movie. At Halloween, you want to be out at a party or trick-or-treating for candy; not at home watching movies as a Halloween activity. But Halloween is not without its own collection of bizarre, schlocky and silly cult...
Sunrise to sunset, from Hawthorne to Boyle Heights, Los Angeles houses a mosaic of culturally ethnic residents whose hopes and dreams are centered on the revered city skyline. The burning sun beams scorching the backs of the community’s hustlers and humble hard-workers bears no comparison to the late-afternoon city set ablaze.
In "April 29th, 1992" (1996) the subversive guitarist on...
To fans of the horror genre and Robert Kirkman’s “The Walking Dead” comic series, Halloween was a very special day to look forward to back in 2010, as the highly-anticipated “The Walking Dead” TV show’s pilot episode premiered on AMC on Halloween night that year.
The pilot episode introduced arguably the most well-known and popular character of the series’ protagonists,...