Monthly Archives: September 2011

The Dude goes to Istanbul

Posted on September 28, 2011 by Dan Hassler-Forest

I’m off to Constantinople for the next few days to give a paper on the two film adaptations of Charles Portis’s novel True Grit, the first of which somehow made the novel seem less literary, while the more recent Coen … Continue reading →

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Breaking News: Greed is Still Good

Posted on September 27, 2011 by Dan Hassler-Forest

When Gordon Gekko proclaimed his “Greed is Good” mantra in the 1987 film Wall Street, the character portrayed so memorably by Michael Douglas was supposed to be the villain in a straightforward morality play on the evils of out-of-control capitalism. But … Continue reading →

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“Breaking Bad” at the Top of its Game

Posted on September 26, 2011 by Dan Hassler-Forest

Following its peerless third season, AMC’s phenomenal Breaking Bad seemed like it had painted itself into a corner it might not find its way out of so easily. From week to week, each episode seemed to be playing a devoted game … Continue reading →

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“Why a Cape? Who wears a Cape?”

Posted on September 17, 2011 by Dan Hassler-Forest

I realize I’m late to the party that is NBC’s much-derided superhero TV series The Cape, which ran briefly earlier this year, but which saw its first season cut short following poor reviews and abysmal ratings. Because it first appeared … Continue reading →

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Alternate Universe Movie Posters

Posted on September 16, 2011 by Dan Hassler-Forest

I came across this truly mind-boggling collection of alternate-universe movie posters Via BoingBoing.net, many of which feature unlikely but bizarrely compelling imaginary cinematic incarnations of familiar superhero characters. My favorite? Mario Bava’s The Batman of Gotham City, with Christopher Walken as … Continue reading →

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Unintentionally Funny Comics

Posted on September 14, 2011 by Dan Hassler-Forest

After a long, hard day of preparing lectures for tomorrow, a page full of unintentionally funny comics is just what the doctor ordered…

Posted in Comics, Superhero stuff | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

The Dark Knight: Why So Confusing?

Posted on September 12, 2011 by Dan Hassler-Forest

Over at PressPlay, the great Jim Emerson took the time to analyze in detail the famously spectacular -and notoriously bewildering- big action scene in The Dark Knight that shows with great precision what is wrong with Christopher Nolan as an action … Continue reading →

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Upcoming lecture events

Posted on September 12, 2011 by Dan Hassler-Forest

Since the start of the new semester last week, I’ve been a little too busy for substantial updates to the blog of late, but I’ll pass on the news at least that I have two lectures on superheroes coming up … Continue reading →

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Contagion in the 21st Century

Posted on September 12, 2011 by Dan Hassler-Forest

Contagion is the dominant horror of the 21st century, an era marked by epidemics of terror, war, and economic crisis. Just as atomic anxiety infused Cold War-era pop culture, fear of contagion dominates recent pop culture in the form of … Continue reading →

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