Kevin Ball At times, Jordan Peele’s Us reminds me of Donald Glover’s music video, “This is America.” Both implement blackness to put forth broad critiques of American society. Glover’s piece compares America’s fatalistic gun culture to its fetishism of and aversions to visualsonic blackness. Us, however, projects xenophobia in the U.S. onto its visually and sonically textured black surfaces, such as the bluish tint of black skin at night, the dark complexions of its lead actors, and the subterranean threat of the film’s doppelgangers, who live as “shadows” of the world above. What Glover and Peele share is an interest in the reflections of America on blackness—from the simultaneous rhythms o
As I mentioned previously, I am a lifelong Yankee fan. I bleed pinstripes, as it were. But in the 1980’s, it was hard to ignore the crosstown rival New York Mets. After a decade of futility, the Mets were looking up, thanks to free agent signings like Keith Hernandez and Gary Carter as well as the development of home-grown talent like Lenny Dykstra, Dwight “Doc” Gooden, and Darryl Strawberry. Strawberry, in particular, was quite the impressive baseball specimen. I can remember going to games at old Shea Stadium to see “Straw” put on awesome displays of power during batting practice that would dent the occasional car in the adjacent parking lot. Sadly, his battles with drug addiction derailed
I’ve been looking for poop for two days. On the first day, I couldn’t find any savanna, which is the only place where poop is found. Then, on the second day, I found some savanna but it was just grass and bunnies for a long time until I recognized the familiar sound of a herd of “beefalo” and the sound of flies who hover around the beefalo poop, which I am so happy to have found because it means I have a better chance to survive. The game is Don’t Starve, created in 2013 by Canadian indie developer Klei. It is part of the growing “survival game” genre. Most survival games are indies but elements of the genre have seeped into AAA games like Red Dead Redemption 2 and Fallout 76. However, those
A few years ago, I got my academic wife to consider focusing her cinematic studies on a new project: baseball movies. Hard to believe but neither of us could find any significant or noteworthy academic work about baseball and its cinematic representations. There is such a rich tapestry for anyone to tackle from baseball’s mythic quality (The Natural) to its celebration of underdogs (The Bad News Bears) to its examination of race (The Bingo Long Travelling All-Stars and Motor Kings), gender (A League of Their Own), and youth (Rookie of the Year). Alas, the project petered out but for almost a year I had a chance to discover films that I had never heard of and that are worthy of being added to
Available on PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC. Released March 8, 2019. Devil May Cry V (2019) is the latest numbered installment in Capcom’s long-running series. It follows three demon hunters’ (Dante, Nero, and V) attempts to bring down a new threat: the faceless Urizen. DMCV is another hit for Capcom, following acclaimed titles like Monster Hunter World (2018) and Resident Evil 2 Remake (2019). In a landscape of open-world, cinematic games and monetized multiplayer thirst-traps, DMCV favors linear levels, exuberant spectacle, snappy mechanics, and infectious replay value. It’s all about over-the-top action, with the level designs acting as the coloring book to DMCV’s many weaponized crayons
Title: Captain Marvel Genre: Action/Superhero/Sci-Fi Stars: Brie Larson, Samuel L. Jackson, Jude Law, Annette Bening, Ben Mendelsohn, Lashana Lynch Directors: Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck Bias: I love the current comics incarnation of Captain Marvel, but Brie Larson will always be Envy Adams to me. Grade: B In A Nutshell: While battling the shape-shifting Skrulls, a powerful Kree warrior crash lands on Earth and discovers that she may have a connection to the planet that she doesn't remember. The Critique: As with seemingly every superhero film these days, it's almost impossible to talk about it without having to address the entire genre, multiple movie studios, where it fits in its respective
Is it possible to fall in love with a movie? Yes, there are movies that we love, the kind of films that speak to us in a certain undeniable way. I’m sure that we all have fallen in love with our fair share of performers/on-screen personas, be it Molly Ringwald in Sixteen Candles or Bruce Willis in Die Hard from my own experience, but to fall in love with an entire movie? I would say yes. And much like actual love, falling in love with a film may defy reason. It’s been my experience that these films that we that fall in love with tend to be off the beaten path, far-fetched, grossly ignored by others or all of the above. When I was 15, I fell in love with Stealing Home. Here’s a film that is s
Title: Gook (2017) Genre: Drama/Comedy Director: Justin Chon Bias: As an Asian-American I’m a sucker for some good representation in American films. Grade: B+ In A Nutshell: Set during the spring of 1992 in South Central Los Angeles, Justin Chon's Gook follows the stories of Korean-American Brothers Eli and Daniel. They own and operate their deceased fathers shoe store along with the help from an 11-year-old named Kamilla. All this while racial tensions rise as the Rodney King riots intensify in the background. The Critique: Have you seen Spike lee’s Do the Right Thing? Well take that memory and hold on to it for a sec and close your eyes. (Don’t do that, please keep reading) Now imagine tha
There is no more exciting time for a baseball fan, like me, than March with another Spring Training. Being that I am a lifelong Yankee fan, I definitely have a lot to be excited about this year – but I digress. Also being a film fan, the cinema has brought us a rich history of classic baseball films. From Bull Durham to Field of Dreams to Major League to The Bad News Bears to Eight Men Out there is no shortage of superior flicks about the American Pastime – though based on the MLB Network’s scheduling you wouldn’t think so. I will spend the next four weeks highlighting underrated baseball movies you may have missed and that the MLB Network would be wise to acquire the rights to – unless they
