Author Archives: Curtis M. Parvin
“Norma Rae” (1979): A Feminist Voice Roars over the Sound of Machines
Last month’s 87th Academy Awards was filled with memorable moments. One of those that stood out to me was an acceptance speech given by Boyhood (2014) actress Patricia Arquette. In the film, she plays a strong independent mother of two who goes through a series of peaks and valleys with different men. Arquette obviously viewed the […]
Police vs. The Projects: Looking Back at “La Haine” (1995)
Movies are the most powerful empathy machine in all the arts. When I go to a great movie I can live somebody else’s life for a while. I can walk in somebody else’s shoes. I can see what it feels like to be a member of a different gender, a different race, a different economic […]
Are Social Classes on the Right Track? : A review of “Snowpiercer” (2013)
“Revolt is the right of the people.” –John Locke The action-packed and thought-provoking Snowpiercer (2013) has just been added to Netflix. If you haven’t seen this dystopian science fiction thriller — based on the French graphic novel, Le Transperceneige by Jacques Lob and Jean-Marc Rochette from 1982 — you are missing out on a film […]
Washing Filthy Lucre with “The Wolf of Wall Street ” (Film Review)
The Wolf of Wall Street (2013) is one of the most energetic movies I’ve seen in years…and it’s about people who work in office buildings. Of course, that’s where the characters make their money, but the real story is about how they choose to spend it. The memoir of stock broker Jordan Belfort provides the […]
Cold Hearts in D.C., “Captain America: The Winter Soldier” (2014) Movie Review
Let’s be honest, sequels always make me very skeptical. I saw “Captain America: The First Avenger” in a theater in 2011 and don’t remember much about it. That usually does not bode well for a follow-up. When I heard about “Captain America: The Winter Soldier”, I mostly assumed it was a formulaic and predictable rehash […]
