This essay has some plot details and some swears in it. Proceed accordingly, my friends. ~~~ “I don’t know what I should have done. I never had to save the world before.” ~ Rita Farr Somewhere in west central Ohio, Black drag diva Maura Lee Karupt (Alan Mingo, […]
In the world of underappreciated Indian films, Youtube spelunking often leads to treasures. Years ago, while looking for cabaret songs by one of my favorite 1970s and 80s stars (Rekha, seen frequently on The Gutter), I happened across a number from Chehre Pe Chehra, an adaptation of…. Dr. […]
There are many challenges to the suspension of one’s disbelief in the disreputable arts: wonky digital art; rubber suits; foolish decisions; uncertain physics; unlikely biology. But it has seemed improbable that Timothy Dalton’s hotness should ever be an obstacle to the suspension of disbelief. Still, it has happened. […]
A Disney-backed production with a big budget and competent cast and crew does not really qualify for a spot in the cultural gutter. But even in 2020, despite its global audiences and massive output, Indian cinema rarely figures in international discussions of popular culture, let alone “cinema” and […]
Watch a Kabuki interpretation of Kylo Ren’s story, “Rennosuke and the Three Light Sabers” right here. Rennosuke stars famed Kabuki actor Ichikawa Ebizo XI as Rennosuke / Kylo Ren. (Ichikawa has also performed in films and you might remember him from Hara-Kiri: Death of a Samurai (2011), Over […]
Hey, it’s Winnie-the-Pooh, but he’s in Russian in these three Soviet era animated stories by Fyodor Khitruk and Boris Zakhoder! (Thanks, Ed!)