Catch a free, online screening of King Hu’s classic wuxia film, Raining in the Mountain, via the University of Wisconsin Cinematheque! Then listen to a conversation about the film with film critic David Bordwell on their new Cinematalk podcast available here. “In a Ming Dynasty monastery, competing bands […]
“Florida, seen through Crowley’s eyes, is a migratory stopover for the most elite burglars and safe teams. If you rob banks because they’re where the money is, you rob Florida because it’s where the jewels are. The retirees are covered in them, the newlyweds fawn over them in […]
Behold, “The Many Heists of Catwoman!” “Catwoman made her first appearance in 1940 in Batman #1, the same issue as the Joker. Over the years, she’s toned down her wanton criminal acts and taken to a more peaceful path, but we cannot forget that this is the woman […]
It’s that time again. The UV, both A and B, is high. The pollen’s flying. The sun is shining. And everywhere the summer lists are in bloom. So I have a list of comics that might go well with that public radio-recommended salad or be just the thing […]
My town has basically one landmark, you know the kind of thing people passing through take pictures of. It’s a water tower. An incredibly phallic water tower. It’s like a classical Hindu lingam. Actually, it’s more than a phallic symbol–it looks like a penis. And at Christmas, the […]
Last month, I wrote about British (and a little pre-People’s Republic Chinese) censorship of Hong Kong movies and the ways that wuxia and kung fu movies in particular got around British control of political speech. And now, with wuxia and kung fu movies seemingly all nationalistic, dissent has […]