http://www.theculturalgutter.com/ This site is updated Thursday at noon with a new article about an artistic pursuit generally considered to be beneath consideration. James Schellenberg probes science-fiction, Carol Borden draws out the best in comics, Chris Szego dallies with romance, and each month we feature a Guest Star writer on a gutter subject on their choosing. While the writers have considerable enthusiasm for their subjects, they don't let it numb their critical faculties. Tossing away the shield of journalistic objectivity and refusing the shovel of fannish boosterism, they write in the hopes of starting honest and intelligent discussions about these oft-enjoyed but rarely examined artforms. en-us 2010-02-08T11:33:38-05:00 http://www.theculturalgutter.com/notes/a_social_theory_of_burn_notice.html Grant McCracken posits an "enmeshed male" theory of Burn Notice and a few of the other entertaining shows on the USA Network.... Notes James Schellenberg 2010-02-08T11:33:38-05:00 http://www.theculturalgutter.com/notes/wars_etc.html "A pretty harrowing movie, realistic in an emotional way that most war movies don't catch" - Joe Haldeman, on The Hurt Locker.... Notes James Schellenberg 2010-02-08T11:27:46-05:00 http://www.theculturalgutter.com/notes/great_videogame_or_greatest_videogame.html System Shock, a great videogame from 1994, gets a mod to make it easier to play for modern videogamers (with lots of tips in the comments on how to get the game running).... Notes James Schellenberg 2010-02-08T11:21:57-05:00 http://www.theculturalgutter.com/notes/black_panther_animated_series.html Marvel's animating my childhood with their upcoming Black Panther series for BET. (No, I wasn't T'Challa, the King of Wakanda. I just loved Black Panther). Animated Superheroes has the theme song as well as screen shots of characters and the... Notes Carol Borden 2010-02-07T14:48:21-05:00 http://www.theculturalgutter.com/comics/the_casefile_of_sherlock_holmes_and_karl_kolchak_reporter.html Comics Carol Borden 2010-02-04T13:20:45-05:00 http://www.theculturalgutter.com/notes/passive-aggressive_man.html Passive-Aggressive Man, a superhero powered by his self-hatred over his inability to confront assholes.... Notes Carol Borden 2010-02-03T02:12:11-05:00 http://www.theculturalgutter.com/notes/a_hk_poster_a_day.html Colin at Kung Fu Fridays is posting a Hong Kong movie poster/day. Wild Search (starring Chow Yun-Fat and Cherie Chung Cho-Hung) is gorgeous. ... Notes Carol Borden 2010-02-02T18:05:56-05:00 http://www.theculturalgutter.com/notes/monks_with_guns.html There are no bulletproof monks in Nak Prok/Shadow of the Naga. In fact there are some remarkably violent novices who've hidden stolen money in a monastery and have to get it out again. Wise Kwai has the trailer and a... Notes Carol Borden 2010-02-01T16:49:53-05:00 http://www.theculturalgutter.com/notes/chinese_ghost_story_the_animation.html "Nothing is easy when a man loves a ghost woman." Not even for animated men in Tsui Harks Chinese Ghost Story: The Animation. (Keith's piece also has a pretty thorough retrospective of Tsui Hark's career).... Notes Carol Borden 2010-01-31T14:11:20-05:00 http://www.theculturalgutter.com/notes/i_can_see_forever.html It's like the 1980s are a black hole and the event horizon reaches forever: The A-Team, The Karate Kid, A Nightmare on Elm Street, Tron, Ghostbusters, Conan The Barbarian, Red Dawn, Short Circuit and Wall Street.... Notes Carol Borden 2010-01-30T15:02:59-05:00 http://www.theculturalgutter.com/notes/smiting_the_wicked_in_the_book_of_eli.html In the Hughes Brothers' fourth film, The Book of Eli, Nick Pinkerton writes, "Our hero is mostly an Old Testament smiter of the wicked, finally—unless I forget when Christ said, 'You lay that hand on me again and you will... Notes Carol Borden 2010-01-29T01:31:47-05:00 http://www.theculturalgutter.com/sciencefiction/a_straight_line_from_neuromancer_to_spook_country.html Your first book is a classic that essentially creates the modern era, or at least that's what people are saying. What do you do for an encore? In the case of William Gibson, you can just follow the same interests... Science-Fiction James Schellenberg 2010-01-28T12:04:58-05:00 http://www.theculturalgutter.com/notes/rip_zelda_rubinstein.html Actress Zelda Rubinstein has died after being taken off life support in L.A. last month. Most Gutter readers probably know her best as the psychic in Poltergeist, but she also starred in movies like Anguish, Sixteen Candles and Southland Tales.... Notes Carol Borden 2010-01-28T03:18:55-05:00 http://www.theculturalgutter.com/notes/investigating_lois.html Kelly Thompson never much liked reporters or Lois Lane, now she's giving Lois a second chance with a review of Mindy Newell's Lois Lane miniseries. (The discussion in the comments is excellent, too).... Notes Carol Borden 2010-01-26T14:40:26-05:00 http://www.theculturalgutter.com/notes/lego_mmo.html LEGO still clicking with their new "LEGO Universe" MMO game. The trailer's here. Meanwhile, Unreality tries to understand the appeal. ... Notes Carol Borden 2010-01-25T15:46:05-05:00