Tag Archives: Film

FILM / ‘Harry Brown’ : Shallow Pastiche Mirrors the News

Posted on May 30, 2010 by Thorne Dreyer

Michael Caine in Harry Brown.What is Harry Brown trying to tell us? It thrills and titillates without any socially redeeming value. It blames the kids on the streets for the drug war and ignores the manufacturing of violence happening in … Continue reading →

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Sorcerer’s Apprentice : Tipping Points and Paradigm Shifts

Posted on May 16, 2010 by Thorne Dreyer

Conducting the planets:Tipping points and paradigm shifts By Marc Estrin / The Rag Blog / May 16, 2010 We’ve all become tutored in the past years about “tipping points”: the warming of the ocean releasing more CO2 into the atmosphere, … Continue reading →

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FILM / Peter Watkins’ ‘La Commune’ : A Conceptual Tour de Force

Posted on March 29, 2010 by Thorne Dreyer

PETER WATKINS’ LA COMMUNE By Marc Estrin / The Rag Blog / March 29, 2010 The Paris Commune, that is — a citizens’ revolt against a royalist government, the organizing of that revolt, and the crushing of it by government … Continue reading →

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Jonah Raskin : Marijuana Made Simple

Posted on March 29, 2010 by Thorne Dreyer

Poster for the movie Homegrown, based on a story by Jonah Raskin.A primer:Marijuana made simple By Jonah Raskin / The Rag Blog / March 29, 2010 Author, activist, educator, former Yippie, and marijuana aficionado Jonah Raskin will be Thorne Dreyer’s … Continue reading →

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Farrah’s Story : How Could the Academy Forget Her?

Posted on March 11, 2010 by Thorne Dreyer

Survivors remember…How could the Academy forget Farrah? By Jody Schoger / The Rag Blog / March 11, 2010 American icon and Emmy-award winning actress Farah Fawcett was notably absent in the traditional memorial included each year as part of the … Continue reading →

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FILM / David McReynolds : ‘Never Cry Wolf’

Posted on February 10, 2010 by Thorne Dreyer

Profoundly mystic:Carroll Bellard’s Never Cry Wolf By David McReynolds / The Rag Blog / February 10, 2010 We each have our own habits, and one of mine is tracking down films that had been well received in their time, but … Continue reading →

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Rabbi Arthur Waskow on ‘Avatar’ : Celebrating the Tree of Life

Posted on January 15, 2010 by Thorne Dreyer

Avatar and Tu B’Shvat:Celebrating the Great Tree of Life Avatar is extraordinary. Not only for the superficial but powerful technology… but most of all for its spiritually-rooted progressive politics. By Rabbi Arthur Waskow / The Rag Blog / January 15, … Continue reading →

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Vicky Starr of ‘Union Maids’ : Working Class Hero

Posted on January 13, 2010 by Thorne Dreyer

Stills from Union Maids. Images from escholarship.org. Vicky Starr (Stella Nowicki) is on right.Vicky Starr dies at 93:Socialist, labor organizer, feminist, film starBy Harry Targ / The Rag Blog / January 13, 2010 I read recently that Vicky Starr died … Continue reading →

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Avatar : Contradictions of Cameron’s Animation Masterpiece

Posted on December 28, 2009 by Thorne Dreyer

The contradictions of capital-intensive history:James Cameron’s animation masterpiece The stunning experience of nature, culture, and politics does achieve an important spiritual reversal of the Cowboys and Indians plot. By Greg Moses / The Rag Blog / December 28, 2009 “I’ll … Continue reading →

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FILM / Cheap Thrills? ‘Avatar’ Kicks Butt

Posted on December 24, 2009 by Thorne Dreyer

Avatar is shallow, predictableAnd totally awesome! By Pollyanna O’Possum / The Rag Blog / December 24, 2009 Avatar, the new, multi-million dollar James Cameron’s 3-D sci-fi flick, opened to mixed reviews on Dec. 18, with some criticizing the film’s length … Continue reading →

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James Howard Kunstler : A Blue Christmas with Avatar and Tiger

Posted on December 21, 2009 by Thorne Dreyer

Blue Christmas What is most amazing about Mr. Cameron’s holiday blockbuster is the explicit message that America is a society that deserves to be punished (and humiliated!) by others who manage their own relations with reality better than we do. … Continue reading →

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Turk Pipkin : A Simple Truth… or Two

Posted on November 30, 2009 by Thorne Dreyer

Turk Pipkin with students at Mahiga Primary School in Kenya.One Peace at a Time:A simple truth… or two By Turk Pipkin / The Rag Blog / November 30, 2009 With the problems of the world appearing more challenging with each … Continue reading →

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