Jim Carrey in The Truman Show Themester intern Imari Walker looks at how The Truman Show wrestles with ideas of authenticity and reality. Spoilers ahead for the film! Released in 1998, Peter Weir’s The Truman Show follows the life of Truman Burbank on Seahaven Island, a seemingly perfect little town. The only catch: everyone is an actor,… Read more »
Tag: comedy films
Sirens, Spitfires, and the Sinful Delights of Pre-Code Cinema
In this primer for this fall’s Sirens and Spitfires: Liberated Ladies of Pre-Code Cinema series, co-curator Michaela Owens explains why you shouldn’t sleep on this fierce line-up. What does pre-Code mean? To keep it brief, in the 1920s, Hollywood had so many scandals that, to avoid repercussions from political and religious groups, the major movie… Read more »
The Beauty (and the Buffoonery) of the Lonely Island
How does Michaela Owens love the Lonely Island? Let her count the ways in this ode to the sublime silliness of Andy Samberg, Jorma Taccone, and Akiva Shaffer’s comedy trio. The Lonely Island is not a comedy group I should like. Their jokes can push the boundaries of vulgarity and good taste, with gags that… Read more »
The Big Lebowski’s Subversive Use of Film Noir Tropes
Jesse Pasternack reveals how the Coen Brothers turn noir elements on their head with visual gags, a rambling voiceover narration, and the iconic, carefree protagonist at the center of it all. There are few types of films which have as many distinctive characteristics as film noir. Just hearing or reading those words — “film noir”… Read more »
Monthly Movie Round-Up: June 2023
Every month, Establishing Shot brings you a selection of films from our group of regular bloggers. Even though these films aren’t currently being screened at the IU Cinema, this series reflects the varied programming that can be found at the Cinema and demonstrates the eclectic tastes of the bloggers. Each contributor has picked one film that they… Read more »
Bringing Up Baby at 85: Love in the Connecticut Wilderness
It is an inescapable fact that we don’t deserve Katharine Hepburn and Cary Grant. Separately, together, it doesn’t matter. They were just too beautiful, too miraculous, too good. By the time I laid eyes on their second collaboration, Bringing Up Baby, in high school, I was already head over heels for Kate and Cary, but… Read more »