Friday, August 18, 2006

Some More History and Film

Haven't had the chance to see The Illusionist, but Dana Stevens at Slate gives it a good review. Giamatti, Sewell, Norton. That's enough for me. But most notably, for purposes of this blog:
The Illusionist also has considerable intellectual ambitions, though it tucks them discreetly up its sleeve. The film shows the competing strains of spiritualism and scientific rationalism that dominated late-19th-century thought, while the figure of the prince is an odd mix of modern ideas and imperial aspirations: He wants to overthrow his dictatorial father so he can rule more democratically.

I'm looking forward to seeing this. (So's the fiancee, but she's really excited about Snakes on a Plane.)

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

My only point was that Snakes offers more opportunities to swear ("Just went to see #&@#$ Snakes on a Plane!!"). Jeez.

Anonymous said...

Plus, you know, read our friend Deep on Snakes:
Samuel L. Jackson is portrayed as the heroic African American man (the phallogocentric "actor," whose agency is always-already scripted), who ostensibly represents the forces of the Airplane against the Snakes, but it's clear that his true sympathies are in fact with the Snakes.
http://www.lehigh.edu/~amsp/2006/08/pre-reading-of-snakes-on-plane.html