Author: Chad Ossman
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Willfully Ignorant Design
A profoundly depressing statistic from today’s New York Times: “According to a CBS News poll last month, 51 percent of Americans reject the theory of evolution, saying that God created humans in their present form. And reflecting a longstanding sentiment, 38 percent of Americans believe that creationism should be taught instead of evolution, according to […]
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Shaun of the Dead
For most of it, I thought for sure Shaun of the Dead was a four-starrer, but it lost its way at some point. I’m not sure exactly of the transition point, but I felt that the tone had changed too drastically by the time the characters were trapped in the pub (in other words, I […]
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Poser of the Day I
Why does one say “sextuplets” or “sextuple”, but say “hexagon” instead of “sexagon”?
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Stayin’ Alive
Not as in getting funky, but as in not getting blown up on the subway. You know how every time there’s a terrorist attack, the media tricks some rescue worker or unfortunate bystander into using the phrase “body parts everywhere”, which they can then morbidly quote with relish? The next batch of human soup you […]
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Mirrormask
Mirrormask is an utterly gorgeous collaboration between Dave McKean and Neil Gaiman, who are so good together that I admit to a little disappointment on the occasions when they work apart. I especially recommend reading the screenplay; one of the few scripts I’ve ever read that stands on its own.
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I Heart Katamari
Best. Game. Ever. To give that statement a little context: I’m a novice gamer at best. I didn’t grow up with an Atari, so I’m a latecomer to all this beeping, flashing, vibrating analog joysticking stuff. A few years ago, I was engrossed in The Matrix films to a degree that seems silly now. But […]
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Spam Poem No. 2: “250 Ways to Thank You”
The second in a series of found poetry taken from spam subjects. I’m taking a different tack this time, avoiding the more absurdist lines that appear in No. 1 “Here we come!” (there’s plenty more of that waiting for No. 3) and aiming instead for a coherent narrative flow. 250 Ways to Thank You Don’t […]
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My Eyes Bleed
After an entire summer of no TV at all (Netflix, like Ben & Jerry’s, doesn’t count), I watched three hours in a row tonight and my eyes are still uncrossing. Everybody knows the old saw about television being the opiate of the masses (opium must flourish in vast wastelands). But when exactly did TV’s drug […]
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Sid & Nancy
And now to raise the gander of another friend. Sorry, Kevin, but I’m still not much of an Alex Cox fan. I can’t say that Sid & Nancy, his look into the lives of Sid Vicious and Nancy Spungen, spoke to me. But no doubt, Gary Oldman is superb (the degree to which he disappears […]
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11’09″01 – September 11
11’09″01 – September 11 is a portmanteau film comprised of shorts inspired by or in reaction to the September 11 attacks, made by directors from nearly every continent. At first, I thought for sure I would be giving this one more than three stars, but the quality of the short films takes a steep dive […]