HEATH LEDGER (4 APRIL 1979 - 22 JANUARY 2008)
Saturday, January 22, 2011
R.I.P. Heath
HEATH LEDGER (4 APRIL 1979 - 22 JANUARY 2008)
Friday, January 21, 2011
The New Catwoman
Warner Bros. announced on Jan. 19 that Anne Hathaway would officially be the latest starlet to portray Catwoman in Chris Nolan's upcoming film The Dark Knight Rises. The character has had a grand tradition within Batman media, Anne Hathaway being the sixth woman to play the femme fatale in a live-action role. Before her came Julie Newmar, Eartha Kitt, Lee Meriwether, Michelle Pfeiffer, and Halle Berry -- not counting the character's various animated incarnations. But the two big questions here: Can Hathaway pull it off? and is it a good idea to have Catwoman in the third film at all? To both, my answer is yes.Thursday, January 20, 2011
Buffy Turns 30
Not to detract from our discussions of RRNR, but today is a very special day. Buffy Anne Summers turns 30 today! This is not the anniversary of the airing of the show (which is March 10) but the actual birthday of the actual character within the Buffyverse. Happy B-day Buff!
Tuesday, January 18, 2011
Rudolph Discussion #3: Alchemy
In order to understand the alchemical imagery inherent in the television special Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, one must first understand alchemy itself and the way that it expresses itself in works of art, specifically in literature and film. The goal of alchemy is to achieve the production of the Philosopher’s Stone: an artifact that produced the Elixir of Life and also could transmute base metals (such as lead) into pure gold. In alchemy, the path to the production of the Stone was a sequence of metallurgical/symbolic/spiritual stages known as the Magnum Opus (English: the Great Work). The Work is separated into three convenient stages – nigredo (the blackening), albedo (the whitening), and rubedo (the reddening). In the rubedo, the Stone is produced.
Monday, January 17, 2011
Rudolph Discussion #2: King Moonracer
In my annual watching of RRNR, one of the parts that always confused me – that never actually seemed to belong – was the Island of Misfit Toys adventure shared by Rudolph, Hermey, and Yukon. They reach the island on an ice float, where they are met by Charlie in the Box and a whole cadre of other “misfit toys.” So why is there an entire island of discarded toys? And why are they lorded over by a flying lion named King Moonracer?
Sunday, January 16, 2011
Rudolph Discussion #1: The Rudolph Triptych
No, its not Robert Ludlum’s new Christmas-themed novel. It is a Christmas tradition in my family to sit down at some point during the Christmas season and watch all of the Christmas specials from my childhood. Classics such as How the Grinch Stole Christmas, It’s a Wonderful Life, and A Christmas Story all have their special places in my heart, but no movie stays with me like Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer. From Hermey the Misfit Elf to the Island of Misfit Toys, the movie is perfect. However, it wasn’t until I had read John Granger’s The Deathly Hallows Lectures that I realized the esoteric, alchemical imagery hidden within the story of the reindeer-savior of Christmas.
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