Infographic: The Character Roles of Bill Murray
Here's a closer look at the varying demeanors of Murray's characters and how they've evolved throughout the course of his career. read more
Comic Book & Graphic Novel Round-Up (6/6/12)
Each week, Paste reviews the most intriguing comic books, graphic novels, graphic memoirs and other illustrated books.... read more
Ciné Files: Grease Through the Ages
For this special guest edition of Ciné Files, three of Paste’s intrepid interns went to see the Grease sing-a-long. What follows is three separate essays, exploring the movie, pop-culture, and the dominant ethos of our age: Nostalgia.... read more
Ciné Files: So Bad It's Good? So Bad, It's Street Fighter Sublime
There’s a certain kind of movie that may well be the best social lubricant known to modern society (outside of a tall, stiff drink); the so-bad-it’s-good kind. My fellow editor, Rachael Maddux, has made the case that Troll 2 stands as the tallest pillar of this underappreciated (sub)genre. And Troll 2 is surely a worthy contender for that crown; so is Starship Troopers, Total Recall, Reefer Madness, and a whole host of others. But for my money, there’s one flick that stands head and shoulders above these: The 1994 Street Fighter movie.... read more
Ciné Files: Fear and Loathing in Lawndale
If there’s one thing the television show Daria is famous for, it’s the theme music—the opening section of the song “You’re Standing on My Neck” by the all-female alternative group (in the mid-90s sense of “alternative”) Splendora. That was about the extent of Splendora’s fame. Maybe it’s because they were one-hit wonders, or maybe because, like so many other bands who produce awesome theme songs, they were eclipsed by what they helped create.... read more
Ciné Files: The Empire Strikes Back, Strikes Back
The Empire Strikes Back, now three decades old, was probably my least favorite of the original-trilogy Star Wars movies when I was a kid... read more
Ciné Files: Dr. Strangelove's Real-Life Doomsday Machine
Like so many people who enjoy watching (and overanalyzing) movies, it was inevitable that I would fall in love with the films of Stanley Kubrick. It started with 2001: A Space Odyssey, and it wasn’t long before I discovered my favorite movie of all time, and one that I think is a strong contender for Greatest Film of All-Time: Kubrick’s 1964 black comedy masterpiece, Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb.... read more
Ciné Files: Dawn of My Dread
Zombies are my number-one existential fear. That sounds preposterous, I know—the idea of an apocalyptic uprising of ravenous, flesh-hungry undead is more than a little silly, and scientifically implausible besides. But the fear is still there, ever-persistent, lurking on the outskirts of my subconscious and rudely brought to the forefront of my mind every time I hear the wail of police sirens, or see a helicopter buzzing overhead, or hear the latest breathless proclamation on the nightly news about how civilization is near the breaking point, for reals this time. This all began with one movie: zombie auteur George Romero’s... read more
Film Friday: Favorites of 2009
When Chris Anderson used the phrase “long tail” in Wired, he was referring to the way information is gradually detaching from the physical world. Music no longer needs shelf space in stores, and books and movies will surely follow. For businesses who sell physical objects, it’s been helpful to have consumers who cluster around a few big titles. That way they know how many disks to make, how many books to print. But a world where shelf space doesn’t matter looks pretty different. There may still be big hits, but the demand for more obscure items from deep in the... read more
Film Friday: Comparing Ritchie's Sherlock Holmes to Conan Doyle's Stories
I don’t think I’ve ever been spotted defending a Guy Ritchie movie, and I’m not yet convinced that I’ll defend his latest. It’s premature to say, since I haven’t yet seen it. But I’m eager to defend its subject, the characters of Sherlock Holmes and Dr. John Watson, not from Ritchie but from those who think the filmmaker is taking vast liberties. Maybe he is—we’ll see—but not everything in the trailer that’s causing some people to roll their eyes is a whole-cloth invention.... read more
Film Friday: Your Favorite Movie Was Snubbed
The schoolyard taunt of the digital age is “you lost all credibility when….” It’s heard following every ten-best list and every set of award nominees. I mention it now because we’re entering what the trade journals have taken to calling award season. Like butternut squash, these awards ripen at the onset of winter, and this year I’m detaching my home from the grid and running it solely from a loss-of-credibility turbine mounted on my roof. Don’t worry about me; I’ll be toasty all season long.... read more
Film Friday: Slice Garlic with Razor Blades
Over the decades, Hollywood has sharply curtailed smoking in movies. And although they may not have had a huge effect, debates about the supposed dangers of sex and violence in film pop up from time to time, usually with the goal of protecting children from unsavory influences. The unstated part of that argument is that we adults are largely immune from the allure of vices on the big screen. Especially critics. Especially politicians. Especially parents.... read more
Film Friday: Claire Denis' 35 Shots of Rum and White Material
A quiet movie called 35 Shots of Rum is traveling around the country, a film of uncommon grace, and I mention this because I’d like to see it again myself whenever I have the chance. I’m waiting for it to come to my town; maybe you’re doing the same. World-class filmmaker Claire Denis made the movie last year, and anyone who’s been keeping score knows that I’m one of her unabashed fans. Name the date, and I’ll be there.... read more
