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Joe Blevins

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The Unsung (Intentional) Comedy of Edward Davis Wood, Jr.

Aug 15th, 2019 Joe Blevins

Tim Burton's 1994 biopic Ed Wood introduces its title character during his days operating on the fringes of the Los Angeles theater scene in the late 1940s. As the film opens, Ed's directing a performance of his own World War II-themed play, The Casual Company, at an obscure little playhouse with a...

<i>Open Water</i>: A Bleak Philosophy Lesson Disguised As a Dumb Shark Movie

Movies

Open Water: A Bleak Philosophy Lesson Disguised As a Dumb Shark Movie

Jul 25th, 2019 Joe Blevins

I don't always remember specific experiences I had watching movies in the theater, but I distinctly remember seeing Open Water at a multiplex in the suburbs of Chicago in August 2004. Shot on digital video on a budget of only $120,000 and featuring no recognizable actors, the movie had nevertheless...

<i>The Jungle Book</i>: A Perfect Soundtrack to Any Drug Addiction

Movies

The Jungle Book: A Perfect Soundtrack to Any Drug Addiction

Mar 12th, 2019 Joe Blevins

It was one of Walt Disney’s great disappointments that Fantasia (1940) under-performed during its original release, and when it did find an audience, in the 1960s, it probably wasn’t the one Walt would have imagined: people on drugs. Critic Danny Peary documented this strange phenomenon in...

Movies

Rapunzels and Riding Hoods: The Sexually Aggressive Women of John Waters

Jan 14th, 2019 Joe Blevins

For most viewers, cult director John Waters' movies are synonymous with transvestism, “bad taste” humor, and toxic American kitsch. But the Baltimore auteur has explored various political, sociological, and psychological themes in his movies over the course of his half-century career (his first...