Critics Corner
Disney films and the cult of individualism
FELICITY MORAN CRITICS CORNER COLUMNIST Who doesn’t love to relax and have fun with their favorite Disney film from childhood? As a firm lover of “Beauty and the Beast” and “Tangled,” I enjoy the feel-good fuzzies from these classics anytime. Still, I detect a frustrating trend in Disney films, especially modern ones, of celebrating individual identity ad nauseam. Think of […]
Critics Corner Column: ‘The Mandalorian’ and the need for fatherly love
FELICITY MORAN CRITIC’S CORNER COLUMNIST As I’m sure many other Disney+ subscribers did this semester, I took time over Christmas break to watch the new Star Wars show, “The Mandalorian.” By the time I got around to watching it, I’d been seeing Baby Yoda memes for weeks, but I have to confess I didn’t think much about what […]
Critic’s Corner: Things Jesus (and ‘Peter Pan’) never said: ‘Never grow up!’
SARAH KADERBEK CRITIC’S CORNER COLUMNIST “Never grow up!” blazoned on sweatshirts, posters and coffee mugs — and the folks wonder why our generation can’t “adult” today. Let me be clear: There is a value in remaining childlike and in laughing at and commiserating over the difficulties of “adulting.” Even more importantly, I am completely in […]
‘Inconceivable!’: The stupidity of Buttercup
SARAH KADERBEK CRITIC’S CORNER COLUMNIST I recently encountered a rare joy: showing a friend “The Princess Bride” for her first time and experiencing her first reactions, mostly “What?!” *laughter*; “Is EVERY quote from this movie?”; “Buttercup is stupid.” To all three: “Yes.” So many fantastic characters and then … Buttercup. She is so much a damsel in distress […]
Critic’s Corner: ‘A Quiet Place,’ a reflection on gender, a moral for modern times
SARAH KADERBEK CRITIC’S CORNER COLUMNIST Over a year ago, I got a text from my roommate which went something like, “So, would you watch a movie with me that has nothing trashy in it but is really scary?” I was skeptical. I am notoriously picky about movies, and one of my many rules is no horror films. […]
Critic’s Corner: What’s so great about ‘Gatsby’?
SARAH KADERBEK CRITIC’S CORNER COLUMNIST Every other classic ever might be old and boring, but everyone loves “The Great Gatsby.” Except me. I admit that Fitzgerald’s writing style is incredible, vivid and yet easy to read. But “Gatsby” is supposedly the great American novel, and if it is, there must be greatness in its content as […]
Critic’s Corner: ‘I hate English’
SARAH KADERBEK CRITIC’S CORNER COLUMNIST So they say. Or they don’t say, but I can read it in their eyes. Others try to be nice about it: “You’re an English major? Wow, I could never do that…” Even my history-major roommate delights in raising my blood pressure by waxing eloquent about how the objective, factual nature of history is so superior to the subjective fluff […]
Critic’s Corner: Lessons from ‘Tangled’: Do you have a dream?
MAGGIE PAWSEY CRITIC’S CORNER COLUMNIST The other day, one of my close friends asked me out of the blue, “Do you have a dream?” Of course, my first instinct was to look dramatically into the distance and say, “I … had a dream … once.” Disney’s “Tangled” has heavily influenced my associations with the word […]
Critic’s Corner: ‘Les Miserables’: The gaze of love
MAGGIE PAWSEY CRITIC’S CORNER COLUMNIST Have you ever been hyper-aware of the gaze of another person? Maybe you’ve realized someone is staring at you from across the room and it makes you squirm. Or have you ever made prolonged eye contact with a friend and felt like that person could stare into your soul? It’s […]
Critic’s Corner: Shakespearean tips for tragic relationships
MAGGIE PAWSEY CRITIC’S CORNER COLUMNIST (To be read in your best English accent) ‘Twas but a fortnight past, I was honored to have witnessed a certain video from Servants of the Savior — perhaps you, too, had the pleasure of seeing it? ‘Twas entitled “Romeo and Juliet go to Sadies,” and if you have a […]