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Articles in Culture and Criticism

The Hurt Locker
February 6, 2010 – 10:30 AM | 12 Comments
<I>The Hurt Locker</I>

A very good movie with very good acting, weakened a bit by the two sequences at the end — but only a bit, which is a testament to how well built the rest of the …

China’s Unnatural Disaster: The Tears of Sichuan Province
February 5, 2010 – 10:20 AM | 3 Comments

About what you’d expect, structurally, and the end feels a bit abrupt — although I suppose that, once the Chinese government decides it doesn’t care to deal with an issue, that’s that.
The first half is …

Oscars 2010 Death Race
February 5, 2010 – 8:53 AM | 42 Comments

Welcome to The Tomato Nation Oscars 2010 Death Race, in which I will attempt to see all the nominees before Oscar night.Yes: all of them.Best Live-Action Short, prepare to be boarded.
“But that’s crazy!Even Sarah wouldn’t …

TV Question Qorner: Goodbye Walkers, Hello Fleissmore
January 26, 2010 – 8:39 AM | 27 Comments
TV Question Qorner: Goodbye Walkers, Hello Fleissmore

Brothers & Sisters. Did y’all bail out on it weeks ago? Just wondering if I’m the last one out the door on B&S, which at very long last I have kicked to the curb. The …

Open: Meth and the Maidens
January 9, 2010 – 10:30 AM | 12 Comments
<I>Open</I>: Meth and the Maidens

— by Todd K
Often when an autobiography makes pre-release headlines for its “shocking revelations” (in the case of Open, the big ones were Andre Agassi’s early-1990s mullet wig, late-1990s meth use, and lifelong hatred of …

Sherlock Holmes: 221B-plus
January 4, 2010 – 8:54 AM | 46 Comments
<I>Sherlock Holmes</I>: 221B-plus

(On a not-unrelated note: Can we collectively resolve for 2010 to retire the term “steampunk”? Perhaps the term isn’t as irritating to those who didn’t already live through the style in its “NuRo” incarnation, but …

21 Jump Street: “Gotta Finish The Riff”
December 29, 2009 – 10:45 PM | 16 Comments
<I>21 Jump Street</I>: “Gotta Finish The Riff”

…Wait, it’s already the episode where Jenko gets killed? But he’s my favorite character! I ask you: who among us will honor his memory by cutting the rebop? Not this episode, which, although it contains …

“Did I act wrong? Am I a bad son?”
December 22, 2009 – 12:26 PM | 45 Comments
“Did I act wrong? Am I a bad son?”

I hesitate to wade into the Shellie Ross/Madison McGraw fray — in case you don’t know the story, you can get the background here — but my boy MB at OMG! Ponies! posted an exquisite, …

21 Jump Street: “The Worst Night of Your Life”
December 22, 2009 – 8:52 AM | 19 Comments
<I>21 Jump Street</I>: “The Worst Night of Your Life”

And now: A Very Explosive Episode of 21JS.
“Shut Up, Penhall” Count: 1
Catholic school. A nun patrols a hallway sternly, to the accompaniment of organ music. After she’s passed a Jesus statue, a door next to …

Cosmos
December 21, 2009 – 10:00 AM | 38 Comments
<I>Cosmos</I>

When the National Geographics came out that had the Voyager photos of Jupiter and Saturn in them, I visited them on their shelf in the den almost every day. I looked at them hundreds of …