You Pull One Thread, And Everyone Unravels: Session 9

Published on September 29th, 2010 in: DVD, Halloween, Horror, Movie Reviews, Movies |

By Maureen

Don’t call it a haunted house movie.

Session 9 is a movie from 2001 about a four-man Hazmat team assigned to remove asbestos from the now-defunct (but very real) Danvers State Asylum in Danvers, MA.

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Rufus Wainwright At Celebrate Brooklyn!

Published on July 30th, 2010 in: Concert Reviews, LGBTQ, Music |

By Maureen

I hadn’t even realized that I had expectations about Rufus Wainwright’s show for the Celebrate Brooklyn! series until I saw it. I guess was expecting some old classic songs, a few new ones, and an opening act by Loudon Wainwright III. What I got, however, was an entirely different experience altogether.
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From Page To Screen: Shutter Island

Published on March 30th, 2010 in: Books, Current Faves, Movie Reviews, Movies, Reviews |

By Maureen

When I saw the trailer for Shutter Island, I was instantly intrigued. My first celebrity crush, Leonardo DiCaprio, delving into my current career field, mental health? Seemed too good to be true.
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A Call to Cover Arms: Sexism At Halloween

Published on September 29th, 2009 in: Feminism, Halloween, Horror, Issues, Over the Gadfly's Nest |

By Maureen

Sometimes I feel like the only person on Earth who still remembers that it’s kind of chilly in New York in late October. I think Miranda Hobbes said it best in Sex and the City: The Movie when she declared while shopping for a Halloween costume, “There’s only two options for women: witch, and sexy kitten.” I am even tempted to see Miranda’s point and raise her to a bet that the witch costume she saw was not any old witch, but a “sexy” witch.
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The Decline of Disney

Published on July 30th, 2009 in: Cartoons, DVD, Issues, Movies, Over the Gadfly's Nest, Retrovirus |

By Maureen

They don’t make ’em like they used to: the nature of Walt Disney productions has changed. In the mid-1990s, the success of Toy Story brought the new (and previously untapped) market of computer animation into the picture. Disney’s computer-animated films have become very popular, and there are some quality movies affiliated with Disney. Recently, both WALL-E and Up have received critical and financial success. As Disney has begun to adapt their technology and marketing to the computer age, the overall tenor of their animated films has monopolized the genre.
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Not Your Mother’s Biopic: Gus Van Sant’s Milk

Published on January 30th, 2009 in: Issues, LGBTQ, Movie Reviews, Movies, Retrovirus, Reviews |

By Maureen

“My name is Harvey Milk, and I am here to recruit you.” At many of his public appearances, the late politician uttered these words. They’re also my words, because I am also here to recruit you . . . to see the film version of Milk’s life, directed by Gus Van Sant.
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The Junk Food Junkie’s Guide to The Best and Worst Halloween Candy

Published on September 29th, 2008 in: Candy, Halloween, Issues |

By Maureen

“Trick or Treat,” my ass.

Everyone knows Halloween is all about the “treat” part, the free candy. It’s the one day a year where people of all ages can stuff their faces full of all kinds of junk food goodness under the single condition of dressing up and repeating this iconic phrase. Every neighborhood has their hot spots and their spots to avoid. There’s always a dentist somewhere giving out mini-toothbrushes, which makes kids groan. Every person has his or her own personal candy preferences, but like all holidays that involve overindulging in food, Halloween has some staples that are irrefutable.

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