Hero 1992 Directed by Stephen Frears Welcome back to Movie Monday, where we continue the slow, occasionally painful march down my personal ranking of cinematic disappointments. We're at number 29 now, which means we're creeping up the list toward films that are, theoretically, slightly less bad than the ones below them. That's the deal with … Continue reading The Worst 29 – Hero
K – The Kinetic Earth
Welcome to the April A to Z Blogging Challenge! Every year, bloggers from around the world commit to posting every day in April (except Sundays), working through the alphabet one letter at a time. This year, I'm visiting twenty-six fictional alternate Earths — worlds that diverged from our own at some crucial moment and became … Continue reading K – The Kinetic Earth
Full Steam Ahead
The starter's pistol had not yet fired, and already Cobb Maddren was being laughed at. He stood on the observation deck of The Patched Pelican — his airship, his home, his inheritance — and watched the crowd below point and snicker. He couldn't blame them, really. Lined up along the launch rail at Valenport Aerodrome, … Continue reading Full Steam Ahead
Question of the Week #481
Welcome back to another Question of the Week here at The Confusing Middle! This week, Gregory Stock puts something in front of us that sounds, on its surface, like the easiest question in the world. Of course you'd say yes. Of course you would. What kind of person would even hesitate? And yet — the … Continue reading Question of the Week #481
J – The Judicial Earth
Welcome to the April A to Z Blogging Challenge! Every year, bloggers from around the world commit to posting every day in April (except Sundays), working through the alphabet one letter at a time. This year, I'm visiting twenty-six fictional alternate Earths — worlds that diverged from our own at some crucial moment and became … Continue reading J – The Judicial Earth
Vampires as Metaphors: The Deeper Themes in Buffy the Vampire Slayer
There's a version of Buffy the Vampire Slayer that exists on the surface — a campy, fun, mid-budget WB show about a teenage girl who punches monsters. That version is perfectly enjoyable on its own merits. The fight choreography is sometimes awkward, the prosthetics are occasionally laughable by modern standards, and the fashion choices are … Continue reading Vampires as Metaphors: The Deeper Themes in Buffy the Vampire Slayer
I – The Immortality Earth
Welcome to the April A to Z Blogging Challenge! Every year, bloggers from around the world commit to posting every day in April (except Sundays), working through the alphabet one letter at a time. This year, I'm visiting twenty-six fictional alternate Earths — worlds that diverged from our own at some crucial moment and became … Continue reading I – The Immortality Earth
Following the Yellow Brick Road: An Oz Series Retrospective
There is something almost unreasonably magical about the Land of Oz. I don't mean that in a throwaway, greeting-card kind of way. I mean it specifically and literally: the world that L. Frank Baum built across fourteen novels is so richly imagined, so internally consistent, and so overflowing with invention that it genuinely defies easy … Continue reading Following the Yellow Brick Road: An Oz Series Retrospective
H – The Hero Earth
Welcome to the April A to Z Blogging Challenge! Every year, bloggers from around the world commit to posting every day in April (except Sundays), working through the alphabet one letter at a time. This year, I'm visiting twenty-six fictional alternate Earths — worlds that diverged from our own at some crucial moment and became … Continue reading H – The Hero Earth
Biopics as Oscar Bait: Analyzing the Genre’s Success at Award Shows
Let me be upfront with you: I have a complicated relationship with biopics. On one hand, I genuinely love a well-crafted biographical film. When the right actor inhabits the right real-life figure and the whole thing just clicks, there's a kind of electricity to it that pure fiction can't always manufacture. You're not just watching … Continue reading Biopics as Oscar Bait: Analyzing the Genre’s Success at Award Shows
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