Tag: Films

Various and Sundry

GIFs Out of Balance

By Bjorn Munson | by Bjorn Munson

Earlier this week, I mentioned doing the sort of my biennial favorite films list. My favorite film for a few years back in the pre-Internet era (well, pre-Netscape Navigator for sticklers) was the experimental, non-narrative film Koyaanisqatsi. Technically a documentary, I suppose, but really more of a visual essay. It uses a variety of slow-motion, time-lapse, and regular speed, but breathtaking, cinematography resulting in a film unlike anything I had seen before. It may also…

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Rants Raves Various and Sundry

Patton Oswalt: Galactic Cinema Scoundrel

By Bjorn Munson | by Bjorn Munson

I’m going to save some of my posts for Banned Books Week for, well, the week itself, but I mention it here in order to spur you on to make a reading selection, possibly from the website, possibly from visiting your friendly local library. Instead, we have Patton Oswalt rating his top 5 and bottom 5 films with the zeal and wit you have likely come to expect. Now, knowing that Oswalt is a total…

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Various and Sundry

Film Genre Popularity Over the Decades

By Bjorn Munson | by Bjorn Munson

Bo McCready has done every cinephile a solid by taking film genre data (as tagged on IMDb) and creating this visualization via Tableau. Now, considering that this is over 100 years’ worth of films… and thousands and thousands of films, this is quite interesting. However, if you look at the visualization above, you’ll see a given genre waxing and waning in relation to its maximum percentage of the overall number of films released that year…

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Rants Various and Sundry

Da Vinci: Code for “Meh”

By Bjorn Munson | by Bjorn Munson

I had another post slated for today, but, I figured I’d be a bit more timely, considering the video above came out this past Sunday. John Oliver can lambaste and rant with the best of them, and his snark regarding the pop culture phenomenon of The Da Vinci Code speaks to me. Why? Because I was convinced by a number of very energetic people to go forth and read now –right now– The Da Vinci…

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Raves Various and Sundry

The Little Prince: Worth a Watch (or Rewatch)

By Bjorn Munson | by Bjorn Munson

This is one of my rare time-sensitive posts, so bottom-line up front: if you want to watch The Little Prince on Netflix — and my premise is you should — it’s leaving on May 4th, so do it now! Those of you who have read last year’s installment of my Favorite Films list already know I hold this film in high esteem, but I believe the 2015 film version of The Little Prince is one…

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Various and Sundry

Wait! That Wasn’t the Last Starfighter After All

By Bjorn Munson | by Bjorn Munson

I’m pretty sure every film-loving kid grows up watches a series of thoroughly-enjoyable-yet-not-mind-blowing movies from their era that may not make all the “classics” lists, but age okay and hold onto that “that was solidly entertaining” air. Some of this premise comes from watching many a film that my dad enjoyed growing up. And of course he treated us to the unequivocal classics of cinema both foreign and domestic, but he also made time to…

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Various and Sundry

“Every [film] has to come to an end, sometime.”

By Bjorn Munson | by Bjorn Munson

I think L. Frank Baum (the source of the amended quotation above) would understand. Like books, songs, and many other an enjoyable thing: all things come to an end. Thanks to one of my siblings, I have a glorious poster of assorted iconic film endings hanging in my house. Who doesn’t love a really solid ending to a film? Whether it’s funny, poignant, thought-provoking, or applause-inducing, a satisfying ending is what so often makes a…

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Various and Sundry

Friday Movie Night: Cult Edition

By Bjorn Munson | by Bjorn Munson

What with my biennial Favorite Films sort, I have a soft spot for many an internet film list, especially when it’s clearly crafted with passion (as opposed to, say, the need to fill electronic print space on deadline). So I was totally down with this list from the gang over at The Ringer detailing the top 50 cult films of all time. Now, I would venture that the appear of cult films is often why…

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