Up

Carl Fredricksen (Ed Asner) spent his youth idolizing the seasoned adventurer Charles Muntz (Christopher Plummer). Watching an old news reel in a theater, little Carl had his crash helmet and goggles at the ready to dream of traveling the world to see creatures from distant lands—namely Paradise Falls. He finds a kindred spirit [...]

Sita Sings the Blues

They worship me as One and as many, because they see that all is in me.
-Krishna, Bhagavad Gita 9:15
Since its authorship sometime 2,500 years ago, the Ramayana by Valmiki, one of two major Hindu epics, has been translated and adapted countless times. Having been born in India to Kashmiri parents, I am well [...]

Terminator Salvation

I wondered, having just left the theater, “What audience was this film engineered to please?” The giant, translucent grey shapes coming across the screen, revealing themselves to be letters, remind us of the original Terminator title sequence. The grainy cinematography and post-apocalyptic set design makes us think of Blade Runner and the various [...]

Star Trek

Intimate. That’s the first word that comes to my mind when I attempt to analyze J.J. Abrams’ take on the now forty-three year old space western. Much has been made about how and why his predecessors, Brannon Braga and Rick Berman, failed in the years lacking the late Gene Roddenberry’s guidance.
There is the [...]