Minimalist Moments: The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou

Sharks have never really had a great rep in cinematic history. Jaws established the popular stereotype of those big-jawed dudes as fear-inducing, violin-accompanied agents of dread and death. Sharknado probably didn’t help either. Nobody wants to think about a load of those guys attacking you in a weather cyclone, right? I guess there is a positive portrayal of ye olde shark in Shark Tale, but then again, that movie’s pretty shite. Shite Tale, right?

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Minimalist Moments: Step Brothers

It was only a few years ago that I found out that Catalina Wine Mixers were a real thing. And that they were a real thing thanks solely to Adam McKay’s Step Brothers, in which Will Ferrell’s Brennan delivers an unforgettable rendition of Andrea Bocells’ Por Ti Volare to a crowd of inspired onlookers. Onlookers who are so inspired that they have visions of John C. Reilly’s Dale as a centaur and Brennan as a randy lumberjack. Powerful stuff. It’s a serious event. According to the Catalina Island website, the upcoming one this year has live music, wine tastings from more than 18 wineries, a whiskey and spirits tasing as well as an exclusive wine pairing lunch. It’s kind of a big deal.

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Review: White Noise

After screening a film to his students, one character in White Noise jovially informs his audience that ‘There is a wonderful, brimming sense of innocence – and fun’. Unfortunately, Noah Baumbach’s latest feature doesn’t quite warrant the same glowing praises. Based on Don DeLillo’s celebrated novel of the same name, Baumbach regular Adam Driver plays Jack Gladney, a revered history teacher who witnesses his college take a turn for the worst as it experiences what a title card describes as an ‘Airborne Toxic Event’. Chaos ensues, and his family fall into increasing turmoil as apocalypse approaches.

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