Review: "Detroit" is a Great Film That Is As Uncomfortable As It Is Insightful

Scene from Detroit

When someone thinks of a war film, they think of the classical sense of a World War II scene in which two armies fight each other in gruesome fashion. It has the power to create powerful imagery and question the very nature of violence. However, there is another type of war film this summer that looks a little different: director Kathryn Bigelow's Detroit. Set in 1967, it follows a riot that took place in the city when overcrowding and police brutality slammed rudely against each other. It's a war not of countries, but of opposing views in American society. In some ways, it makes the events that follow more uncomfortable. It's also more powerful because, unlike something like Dunkirk, there is something about Detroit that still feels contemporary even 50 years after its story.

Theory Thursday: "Zero Dark Thirty" is the Best Movie About 9/11

Scene from Zero Dark Thirty

Welcome to a weekly column called Theory Thursdays, which will be released every Thursday and discuss my "controversial opinion" related to something relative to the week of release. Sometimes it will be birthdays while others is current events or a new film release. Whatever the case may be, this is a personal defense for why I disagree with the general opinion and hope to convince you of the same. While I don't expect you to be on my side, I do hope for a rational argument. After all, film is a subjective medium and this is merely just a theory that can be proven either way. 

Nothing But the Best: "The Hurt Locker" (2009)

Scene from The Hurt Locker

Welcome to the series Nothing But the Best in which I chronicle all of the Academy Award Best Picture winners as they celebrate their anniversaries. Instead of going in chronological order, this series will be presented on each film's anniversary and will feature personal opinions as well as facts regarding its legacy and behind the scenes information. The goal is to create an in depth essay for each film while looking not only how the medium progressed, but how the film is integral to pop culture. In some cases, it will be easy. Others not so much. Without further ado, let's start the show.

Review: "Zero Dark Thirty" is the Great War on Terror Epic We Deserve

Upon initial release, director Kathryn Bigelow's Zero Dark Thirty looked like a clear front runner for Best Picture. After winning big with the  New York Film Critics Awards, the film has dispersed a little. After a not-so-stellar performance at the Golden Globes, it has fallen behind titles such as director Ben Affleck's Argo, a film which many cannot help but compare vaguely. Maybe it was the violent subject matter of torture and endless disputes brought forth by former CIA agents criticizing the realism. Then again, what stopped director Quentin Tarantino's Django Unchained from losing steam for being a more hyper-violent (and frankly, a little shoddy) story? However, say what you will, but what Bigelow has produced is a masterpiece in the War on Terror genre of film making.