[audio:http://www.blueinkalchemy.com/uploads/bunraku.mp3] Bunraku is a preposterous title for a film, and also slightly pretentious. It refers not to a character or a location, but rather a type of Japanese shadow play, a theatrical production using puppets that tells broad stories based on archetype and fable. It’d be like naming Flash Gordon “Raygun Gothic Adventure with Queen.”… Continue reading IT CAME FROM NETFLIX! Bunraku
Category: Netflix
IT CAME FROM NETFLIX! Dirty Harry
[audio:http://www.blueinkalchemy.com/uploads/dirty_harry.mp3] In an ideal world, police officers are sworn to serve the public trust, protect the innocent and uphold the law. Even in our fiction, even when they’re no longer fully human, we’d like to think that there’s some sort of compassionate protection between those of us abiding by the law and those driven to… Continue reading IT CAME FROM NETFLIX! Dirty Harry
IT CAME FROM NETFLIX! Fear & Loathing in Las Vegas
[audio:http://www.blueinkalchemy.com/uploads/fear_and_loathing.mp3] The American Dream. We’ve all heard of it. Politicians love to talk about it. People come from distant shores seeking it. All sorts of products promise to give it to you for three easy payments of $99.95 plus shipping and handling. But what is it, really? Has anyone really achieved it? And where do… Continue reading IT CAME FROM NETFLIX! Fear & Loathing in Las Vegas
IT CAME FROM NETFLIX! The Avengers
[audio:http://www.blueinkalchemy.com/uploads/avengers_98.mp3] When Marvel Comics set out to create an uber-film bringing together Iron Man, Thor, Captain America and the Hulk (and SHOULD include the Wasp or Ms Marvel at the very least), there was something standing in their way. It was not the worried, furtive glances of fanboys or the daunting task of condensing decades… Continue reading IT CAME FROM NETFLIX! The Avengers
IT CAME FROM NETFLIX! Scarface
[audio:http://www.blueinkalchemy.com/uploads/scarface.mp3] Tragedies are touchpoints in the course of human history. They’re also cautionary tales, whispering warnings of downfalls to come. From Aeschylus to Shakespeare, it’s a tradition with thousands of years worth of wisdom to teach us through the abrupt ends of others’ lives, especially those who choose to pursue their goals through illegitimate means.… Continue reading IT CAME FROM NETFLIX! Scarface
IT CAME FROM NETFLIX! In The Mouth of Madness
[No audio this week; RIP old headset. 🙁 ] There are classics of the horror genre, speaking in terms of movies, that are all about the creatures: Bela Legosi’s Dracula, Boris Karloff as Frankenstein’s monster, Lon Chaney’s Wolfman and so on. Some horror stories move away from such “creature features” and opt for a more… Continue reading IT CAME FROM NETFLIX! In The Mouth of Madness
IT CAME FROM NETFLIX! The Last Samurai
[No audio this week; RIP old headset. 🙁 ] I had originally planned this for no other reason than the sake of novelty. I am, after all, not the only small-time Internet movie critic consistently cranking out reviews for the benefits of whomever takes the time to read my words. I have a Canadian counterpart… Continue reading IT CAME FROM NETFLIX! The Last Samurai
IT CAME FROM NETFLIX! La Femme Nikita
[No audio this week; RIP old headset. 🙁 ] In 1990, American film audiences were clearly craving action films like Die Hard and Lethal Weapon over the ultra-macho likes of First Blood, Commando and the works of Charlie Bronson and Chuck Norris. Even in the groundbreaking days that set new standards for such entertainment, women… Continue reading IT CAME FROM NETFLIX! La Femme Nikita
IT CAME FROM NETFLIX! Gangster No. 1
[audio:http://www.blueinkalchemy.com/uploads/gangster_no_1.mp3] ‘Crime drama’ is a pretty broad spectrum for stories. Some are from the perspective of those on the people’s side of the law, following detectives and prosecutors in their pursuit of justice. Others give us the point of view of the individual criminal, from the ones trying to rise above a life of crime… Continue reading IT CAME FROM NETFLIX! Gangster No. 1
IT CAME FROM NETFLIX! Oldboy
[audio:http://www.blueinkalchemy.com/uploads/oldboy.mp3] There’s an old French proverb that tells us “Revenge is a dish best served cold.” Can you just leave it out in the open, though? No, of course not, it will rot and small animals will make off with it if that were the case. Such urges are bottled up, kept deep inside, for… Continue reading IT CAME FROM NETFLIX! Oldboy
