http://illogicaljoker.gather.com Recent Articles on Gather by Aaron R. en-us Copyright Gather Inc 2009 Thu, 07 Jan 2010 17:16:31 GMT 2010-01-07T17:16:31Z en-us Copyright Gather Inc 2009 http://www.gather.com/images/header/logo_gather.gif http://www.gather.com/ http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474976958671 As a writer, I always get a personal thrill from watching another author put down the pen and paper for a moment to get behind (or in front of) the camera. There's no passing the buck at this point, . . . Sat, 14 Apr 2007 17:59:02 GMT http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474976958671 Aaron R. 2007-04-14T17:59:02Z http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474976954020 Grindhouse isn't just a double-feature from two of the smartest, most enjoyable filmmakers of today, it's an experience, a deliberate package of hackneyed dialog and exploitative gore that's . . . Tue, 10 Apr 2007 01:30:12 GMT http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474976954020 Aaron R. 2007-04-10T01:30:12Z http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474976947278 For this competition to work, we need judges!  We're looking for anyone and everybody, so come on down and join TELL ME WHAT TO WATCH, the monthly competition where you nominate films to fit the . . . Sun, 01 Apr 2007 06:37:21 GMT http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474976947278 Aaron R. 2007-04-01T06:37:21Z http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474976941931     Is there a worse thing than countryman killing countryman? Yes: brother killing brother. Ken Loach's The Wind That Shakes the Barley, a period piece about the creation of the IRA, . . . Mon, 26 Mar 2007 06:30:42 GMT http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474976941931 Aaron R. 2007-03-26T06:30:42Z http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474976939943 On the book jacket, Dave Eggers calls Daniel Handler "an American Nabokov," Michael Chabon calls him a "literary conjurer," and Daniel Handler calls himself "an internationally . . . Fri, 23 Mar 2007 23:16:48 GMT http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474976939943 Aaron R. 2007-03-23T23:16:48Z http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474976938787 When I joined Gather, it wasn't so much to be a correspondent as it was to connect with other people out there who had the same passions as I did for theater, film, television, books . . . well, the . . . Thu, 22 Mar 2007 17:38:29 GMT http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474976938787 Aaron R. 2007-03-22T17:38:29Z http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474976936313 Monster flicks are, by nature, improbable. But at least the dexterous, tail-snapping mutant amphibian of Korean horror film The Host is the only thing that's improbable. Joon-ho Bong directs with a . . . Tue, 20 Mar 2007 04:01:58 GMT http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474976936313 Aaron R. 2007-03-20T04:01:58Z http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474976934776 My my my, how trailers lie.  I had the fortune of covering the 2006 Tribeca Film Festival, and saw an early release of Lonely Hearts there.  It's not a bad film (and you can read more here), . . . Sun, 18 Mar 2007 06:02:11 GMT http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474976934776 Aaron R. 2007-03-18T06:02:11Z http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474976932595 The Book of Lost Things is a decent book, but it's also misleading, disappointing, and not something I'd recommend. The premise is promising: a twelve-year-old boy flees the troubles of his English . . . Thu, 15 Mar 2007 18:28:14 GMT http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474976932595 Aaron R. 2007-03-15T18:28:14Z http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474976929901 There are already plenty of reviews posted here in favor of 300, Zack Snyder's highly stylized adaptation of an already highly stylized graphic novel by Frank Miller about the Spartan defense of Thermopylae.  . . . Mon, 12 Mar 2007 22:17:17 GMT http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474976929901 Aaron R. 2007-03-12T22:17:17Z http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474976924165 I thought I'd introduce a new addition to my regular INDEPENDENT THOUGHT column, a bi-weekly mockery of the most shameless fluff out on the market right now: movie trailers.  We see so many of . . . Mon, 05 Mar 2007 17:56:04 GMT http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474976924165 Aaron R. 2007-03-05T17:56:04Z http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474976923685 In the age of Cops, it's perhaps not as necessary to make fun of the police as it once was with Police Squad!, but if there's going to be a film about bumbling procedurals, I'm glad it's . . . Sun, 04 Mar 2007 23:42:10 GMT http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474976923685 Aaron R. 2007-03-04T23:42:10Z http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474976921149 The Terror isn't historical fiction -- unless you believe in giant demons summoned by Esquimaux shamans -- but with such believably accurate, painstaking depictions and details, Dan Simmons's latest . . . Thu, 01 Mar 2007 17:35:54 GMT http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474976921149 Aaron R. 2007-03-01T17:35:54Z http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474976914013 Roughly every two years, Pedro Almodovar rolls out another quirky but classical film about families in distress. What's astonishing is not that his films are all excellent—only in America is . . . Mon, 19 Feb 2007 22:49:31 GMT http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474976914013 Aaron R. 2007-02-19T22:49:31Z http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474976909134 The Last King of Scotland may be remembered as a political film for the ease in which it portrays the circular violence of Uganda, or it may be remembered as a period piece, blending culture with the grainy . . . Tue, 13 Feb 2007 00:45:11 GMT http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474976909134 Aaron R. 2007-02-13T00:45:11Z http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474976899360 As I sit in the theater, yawning through another lopsidedly terse moment of The Messengers, I find myself saying, “Well, what else do you expect from the writer who proudly brought us Jason X?” . . . Wed, 07 Feb 2007 03:21:32 GMT http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474976899360 Aaron R. 2007-02-07T03:21:32Z http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474976903075 The story of the What (as told by the elders of Marial Bai, recounted by Valentino Achak Deng, and now fictionalized in What is the What by Dave Eggers) is a morality tale, a test of man's capacity . . . Mon, 05 Feb 2007 04:48:32 GMT http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474976903075 Aaron R. 2007-02-05T04:48:32Z http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474976899680 I guess angry families of America ran out of steam when it came to a small low-budget film called Hound Dog that had suggestive themes of child rape paired with the adorable go-to-kid Dakota Fanning.  . . . Wed, 31 Jan 2007 18:22:18 GMT http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474976899680 Aaron R. 2007-01-31T18:22:18Z http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474976899372 Seraphim Falls is a tried and true Western; unfortunately, that just means it's like all the others before it. HBO's Deadwood managed to revitalize the genre by keeping the camera on those emotionally . . . Wed, 31 Jan 2007 05:37:31 GMT http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474976899372 Aaron R. 2007-01-31T05:37:31Z http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474976885536 Europe Central.  Infinite Jest.  Midnight's Children.  I'm talking big, meaty, serious books. House of Leaves.  Jitterbug Perfume.  I'm talking crazy, alternative, . . . Mon, 15 Jan 2007 08:13:03 GMT http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474976885536 Aaron R. 2007-01-15T08:13:03Z http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474976872764 Jason Taylor, the stammering, bullied, average protagonist of Black Swan Green, may only be thirteen years old, and he may think the world (or at least this titular Worcestershire village) revolves around . . . Sat, 30 Dec 2006 08:08:08 GMT http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474976872764 Aaron R. 2006-12-30T08:08:08Z http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474976872763 How did a 1985 German gothic horror novel gain attention enough to warrant a film?  That story, one which would reveal how German auteur Tom Twyker (of Run Lola Run) got involved, would be more interesting . . . Sat, 30 Dec 2006 08:02:48 GMT http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474976872763 Aaron R. 2006-12-30T08:02:48Z