Tag: cantdrawstraightlines.ca
CAN YOU HEAR ME NOW?
SETI AND THE DANGERS OF MAGICAL THINKING An Essay, May 19, 2020 *** “The universe is a pretty big place. If it’s just us, seems like an awful waste of space.” ― Carl Sagan, Contact *** Scientists at the University of Nottingham have recently speculated […] Read More
Post Mortem: ‘AD ASTRA’
Dark Portrayals of White Male Angst (An essay by John Burke, Sept 30, 2019) *** Months ago I bought into the media blitz for the newest science fiction blockbuster starring Brad Pitt called Ad Astra (wr. Ethan Gross and James Gray/dir. James Gray). Not since the 2016 release of Arrival (wr. Eric Heisserer/dir. Denis Villeneuve) […] Read More
ONCE UPON A TIME IN … WTF?
(An essay by John Burke, August 21, 2019) *** No one would be surprised to learn that Hollywood films have a problematic relationship with violence. Such violence is so ubiquitous it hardly bears mentioning any more. Of late, there has been an emerging trend in cinematic violence that seems to be both deliberate and disturbing. […] Read More
Post Mortem: ‘FIRST MAN’
First Man and the Distorted Shape of Heroism An Essay. October 30, 2018 *** A very wise film producer once told me that ‘competence is inherently un-cinematic.’ To competently do your job without fanfare is a quality that cannot be filmed in a compelling way because, in film, the need for drama overrules all other […] Read More