Category Archives: Movies and film

A song about sunscreen from Baz Luhrmann and some thoughts on Leo DiCaprio

This “song” came on the radio when I was driving home from work the other day. Baz Luhrmann, of course, is the incredibly talented director of films like William Shakespeare’s Romeo + Juliet (1996), Moulin Rouge! (2001), The Great Gatsby … Continue reading

Posted in Movies and film, Popular culture | Tagged | 2 Comments

The Birds?

There’s a big flock of birds—of starlings, actually. And I guess they’re not called a “flock” of starlings but a “murmuration” of starlings, which I learned from my Twitter friend Keith Freeburn, a photographer in Wales, last time I wrote … Continue reading

Posted in Milwaukee, Movies and film, Nature | Tagged | 2 Comments

“When You’re Good to Mama” — Heard on a head-clearing coffee run to Starbucks

I have so much work to do! But as I finished one project and faced the daunting prospect of beginning the next one, I forced myself out of the door because I knew it would be good for me to … Continue reading

Posted in Creativity, Movies and film, Music, Popular culture | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

500 tabs and counting down

Does anyone else have a tab hoarding problem? I have a habit of opening tabs on both my computer and my phone and then just leaving them open for easy reference instead of bookmarking them, which requires extra work on … Continue reading

Posted in 500 tabs and counting down, Digital society, Life, Movies and film, Popular culture | Tagged , , , , | 2 Comments

“Hoosiers” – Evoking Nostalgia for America’s Midwestern Autumn

Hoosiers (1986) gets Midwestern autumn exactly right, both the beauty of the landscape and the nostalgic harkening to a wholesome, mythic era that has slipped into the past. I love this film’s quiet opening, from its first image of headlights … Continue reading

Posted in Life, Movies and film | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

A podcast series worth listening to

I stumbled across a page I’d bookmarked months ago and gave a listen. Really enjoyed it and thought I’d share here. The podcast series is by “Team Deakins,” aka legendary Academy Award winning cinematographer Roger Deakins and his wife, James … Continue reading

Posted in Creativity, Learning, Movies and film | Tagged , | Leave a comment

Why this year’s Best Picture award dooms the Oscars to irrelevance

The last film that students watch in my film and media studies course is whatever has won the Best Picture Oscar that year. I was a little nervous to see what won this year because some of the nominees were … Continue reading

Posted in Creativity, Higher education, Media studies, Movies and film, News, Popular culture, Television | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 10 Comments

Fifty Years of the Corleone Family Onscreen

Tonight is the Academy Awards broadcast. I saw somewhere that there’s going to be a reunion of The Godfather cast tonight, as this year is the 50th anniversary of that film’s release. Fifty years! What a masterpiece. And this movie … Continue reading

Posted in Media studies, Movies and film, Popular culture | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

A chance encounter with “Tubular Bells”

Heard this old song on the radio driving home today. It has literally been YEARS since I’ve heard it or even thought about it. The song, “Tubular Bells,” was released in 1973 and went on to be used as the … Continue reading

Posted in Creativity, History, Media studies, Movies and film, Music, Popular culture | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

One final allusion in O Brother, Where Art Thou?

I’ve never seen anyone comment on this before, but doesn’t the series of arches in the final moments of O Brother, Where Art Thou? remind you of the series of axe heads (the ring holes) that Odysseus (aka Ulysses, the … Continue reading

Posted in Movies and film, Popular culture | Tagged , , , | 3 Comments