Thursday, November 20, 2008

Down The Hatch

By Sam Buntz, Staff Columnist

There's no fun in motion pictures these days. Well, that's not exactly true -- movies now have a lot more depth than they had in the past. Compare "American Beauty" with some of the tacky musicals from the '40s and '50s (actually, by the same token, I guess you could compare "Stomp the Yard" with "Casablanca"). But I think that overall, movies have begun probing character more deeply than ever before. Yet at the same time, the ritual of going to the movies is in decline, as DVDs are increasingly released before films are out of the theater, and YouTube and Facebook present vapid but easily accessible sources of entertainment. What hope can there be for the humble filmgoer in this depraved age? More »

Stand Your Ground

By Jordan Osserman, Staff Columnist

Shortly after Barack Obama was elected president, his transition team created the web site Change.gov. Focused in part on appeasing disgruntled Republican voters, the site features a bland array of details on the incoming bureaucracy, a blog with posts like "Common Ground: Obama and McCain meet," and -- in a somewhat hyperbolic reminder of Obama's commitment to being a man of the people -- an online job application for potential Obama appointees. More »