"It was a really hopeful time, and things were going up instead of going down. You got the feeling that you could do anything. The future was bright. Little did we know we were laying the groundwork then for a disastrous future. All the problems were there, but it was somehow glossed over. And then…Read more The Straight Story: On the Passage of Time and David Lynch’s Cautious, Small-scale Optimism
America
On the Insatiable American Dreamers of Pain and Gain
In Michael Bay's Pain and Gain a nightmarish, sun-baked idea of the American Dream emerges, marred by crime, violence and madness. However, despite what many have said, Bay's film is not so much a moral critique of a specific lifestyle or belief system. Instead, it conveys a more intriguing truth. The American Dream is ultimately a…Read more On the Insatiable American Dreamers of Pain and Gain
Film Review: Save the Tiger (1973)
Early on in John G. Avildsen‘s 1973 feature Save the Tiger, Phil Greene (played by the great Jack Gilford) laments to the main character, despondent businessman Harry Stoner (the inimitable Jack Lemmon), that “they” (the film industry) haven’t made a “…good movie in 30 years.” This casual disparagement of an industry comes across almost as…Read more Film Review: Save the Tiger (1973)
In Defense of Detroit or How I Learned to Stop Listening and Enjoy the City
During the waning days of summer, as the perennial war-mongering began, I decided to take a vacation. I didn't hop on a plane, hellbent on sipping a daiquiri (although I love them) in Cabo. I didn't stuff myself full of chimichangas at an all-inclusive resort in Mazatlan. No, I wanted something more relaxing, more luxurious.…Read more In Defense of Detroit or How I Learned to Stop Listening and Enjoy the City
Adam Mohrbacher 