Damion Damaske

September 22, 2011

Mario as Michelangelo: Video Games as Art

By Damion Damaske

It takes a long time for a new form of art to be accepted as a “true” form of art, whatever that means. Generally when people think of art they think of paintings, literature or sculptures, but art is so much more. F...

September 15, 2011

The Worst Movie in Existence. Period.

By Damion Damaske

A lot of people talk about the worst movie ever without knowing what they’re talking about. To them “the worst movie ever” is simply a long movie filmed in black-and- white, declaring every movie pre-1960s worthy o...

June 2, 2011

Cash Rules Everything Around Me: An Exploration of the Complex Relationship Between Popular Film and Commercialization

By Damion Damaske

  What is art? How do you define art? Is it only classical and traditional forms of expression, such as painting, sculpture and music? Or does it encompass a larger spectrum? Can a toilet bowl be art? Or pissing on ...

May 12, 2011

‘Thor’: Superhero Template 101A

By Damion Damaske

It’s no secret that I love superheroes—or at least, it isn’t now. I have gone to every midnight showing for every superhero film since X-Men (yes, including Ghost Rider and…ugh…Elektra). That means I was compel...

April 25, 2011

Atlas Shrugged With a ‘What Were They Thinking?’ Look on His Face

By Damion Damaske

Many films need a hook to get you to see them, and reasons to keep your interest once you’re there. The producers of Atlas Shrugged: Part I forgot that idiom. This is not a movie. This is an anti-movie. It is the antit...

March 3, 2011

“Drive Angry 3D” Needs More Action

By Damion Damaske

Whether or not you’ll enjoy the film “Drive Angry” is based entirely on how many times you roll your eyes while reading the synopsis.

March 3, 2011

3 Worst Superhero Movies

By Damion Damaske

Now, I’m going to admit upfront that I love superhero movies. But that love is being tested.

February 17, 2011

The 3 Worst Romantic Comedies Ever

By Damion Damaske

Ah, Valentine's Day. A day for your girlfriend to force you to buy her shit because otherwise you don't "love her enough.”

November 18, 2010

“The Social Network”: Better Than Hitler

By Damion Damaske

The plot synopsis is one that, if it weren’t for the overly positive reviews, I would avoid like a plague of AIDS. A movie about Facebook?

November 18, 2010

“Scott Pilgrim vs. The World”

By Damion Damaske

“An epic of epic epicness.” That’s the surreally accurate tagline for this great comic book adventure. I really don’t need to explain more than that, but I’m going to anyway — so here it goes.

October 28, 2010

Ridley Scott’s “Alien

By Damion Damaske

“Alien” is pretty much your standard haunted house flick — transported into space. And that makes it a thousand times more awesome. I mean, it’s about a monster that’s on the loose in a small, enclosed space, t...

October 28, 2010

William Friedkin’s “The Exorcist

By Damion Damaske

This choice seems like a cliché, I know. But this film, about a little girl who gets possessed by the devil, is the perfect horror film. You see, when horror deals with the supernatural, it only really works if the whol...

October 14, 2010

“No Ordinary Family”

By Damion Damaske

The superhero is so ingrained in our public consciousness that any variation on it has about as much potential for originality as a sorority tank top.

October 14, 2010

“The Event”

By Damion Damaske

NBC has touted “The Event” for a long time. Like “Lost,” it relied on mystery and obtuseness for attention, with ads that touted the tagline "What is ‘The Event’?," to entice would-be viewers.