Archive For The “Short Takes” Category

Master of Hommage

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Ready Player One’s moral is that it’s okay to play games as long as you take time out for the real world and real people. It’s one hell of a ride, but I couldn’t help noticing that the male protagonist, Wade, got over the death of his aunt lickety-split and got right back to the…

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All That Homage: La La Land

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Damien Chazelle’s La La Land doesn’t really take place in the city of Los Angeles. The story is set in the mythic Hollywood of cinephiles and hopeless romantics. Emma Stone and Ryan Gosling are likeable and give the impression that anyone can sing and dance, but the real star of the movie is the city.  …

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Squiggle! Squiggle! Splat! Splat!

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The Citizen Kane structure worked for me. As did the cast of Vincent Van Gogh characters brought to life by Dorota Kobiela and Hugh Welchman in Loving Vincent. The establishing shots, locations recognizable to any Van Gogh fan, were perfect, but when scenes were played out, I sometimes wished the actors weren’t so obscured by brush strokes. There…

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