Change Your Image
farthngdr
Reviews
Roadfood (2021)
They Come to America
When Misha Collins introduces himself to his various friendly neighborhood guides at the beginning of each episode of Roadfood, you realize that he's our stand-in for the next half hour as we vicariously listen, eat, ponder, and expand ourselves--not at the waistline, but in our hearts and minds--just where we need it, in this era of suspicion, political vitriol, and fearful retreat to the nearest corner of safety. Collins' affable manner and openness to trying any and all fare presented to him, whether animal, vegetable, or vittle, makes us want to join in and try new things too. No one's here to harm you. All are welcome in the neighborhood. Collins models this open-hearted approach to every culture, sensibility, and taste on offer, and we realize: This is what makes people great. This is the open road attitude lauded by Kerouac and celebrated by anyone who ever stuck out a thumb on an unknown highway, jumped a freight train, or, as Twain so aptly put it, "lit out for the territories." This is the old America--the one that Collins reminds us is still here, if we want it. So sit back, check your preconceptions at the door, vicariously tuck in to that strange-looking sandwich, listen to the mealtime conversation, and let Collins remind you why we come to America.
Thriller (1960)
The best of Thriller equals the best of The Twilight Zone
This TV series, of which I never knew until MeTV started broadcasting episodes, is a sheer delight. As a lifetime fan of The Twilight Zone, a series where I have seen almost all the episodes multiple times, discovering Thriller is like getting a brand new version of TZ, with a whopping 60-plus episodes. Having said that, just like TZ, not every episode of Thriller is a winner. But patience is rewarded. The most chilling stories, like La Strega, are so striking and memorable because of good storytelling, acting, and beautiful black and white cinematography. Even middling episodes can pack a punch. For TZ fans who wish there were still more installments to enjoy that they have never seen before, Thriller is a real pleasure and a valuable find. Get the DVD box set and be transported back to the Golden Age of horror television.
Sinister (2012)
"Sinister" is a masterful study of dread.
Don't be fooled by comments from random viewers who say this movie isn't scary. It works its way into your head and, aided by Ethan Hawke's intense and convincing performance, it will follow you into your nightmares. It's not surprising in fact that the screenwriter based the story on a nightmare he had after watching "The Ring," itself one of the most disturbing horror films ever made. The central conceit of "Sinister"--that physical images, whether drawn, painted, photographed, or filmed, can have a life of their own--is ripe material for our media-saturated society. The idea that merely seeing an image will cause the viewer to be possessed by it is the stuff from which every child's nightmares is born. Hawke's character is obsessed by the horrifying images he sees on the 8mm films, but like us, he cannot look away from them. Like the girl who climbs out of the well and into your living room in "The Ring," "Sinister" insists on the power of the photographed or filmed image to come to life in the mind of the observer; because we are watching along with Hawke, we are "infected," as is he. "What has been seen cannot be unseen," as the wise saying goes; images live on in the memory, at the very least. And one of the film's most brilliant features is the masterful score, which at times brings to mind the repetitive industrial clacking of machines in motion--relentless and unstoppable--whether it be the sound of typewriter keys, the rotation of reels in a projector, or the maddening rhythmic thrumming of your beating heart on a sleepless night.