The term gleaners started as a word for people who went into fields after harvests and picked what the main harvesters did not get. They were usually poor, something they have in common with modern gleaners who in addition to gleaning modern fields, also glean for items such as old TVs, chairs, and fridges that we throw out. Its fairly common knowledge that everyday industrialized society throws out perfectly usable items and perfectly edible food despite the fact that millions…

There has always been a disdain for authority in the films of Stanley Kubrick, whether it be technology, government, or society's general view. However, a constant subject of criticism was the military, and the institution of war, that would appear in three of his greatest films, including what I would consider his best, Dr. Strangelove. However, a close second would have to be Paths of Glory, Kubrick's World War I courtroom drama about the futility of dealing with a cold,…

It's hard to believe the commonly retold story about Casablanca, that it was treated as just another Hollywood film, although when you think about it, it has all the makings of a 1940s blockbuster rather than a high art film. Directed by studio director Michael Curtiz, and starring a bevy of stars in an overtly pro-ally plot, Casablanca definitely had the formula to be just another romance film. However, the stars must have aligned just right, as every element of…

Anyone who knows me, knows that horror is not one of my favorite genres. I've generally found horror movies to be too aimlessly grotesque, compensating blood and guts for any substance. However, Silence of the Lambs is a completely different animal. Sure there is blood and guts, but that is not where the horror really is. The horror is in the psychological game between young and old, men and women, the law and lawless. The duality of the film will…