Jake Schindler
Daniel Nettheim Hunts for awards; shoots self in foot
The Tasmanian “Tiger” took its name from a big cat and resembled a dog, but it was, in fact, neither. Thylacine, as it is properly called, belonged to the marsupial group, that quirky family of (mainly) Aussie creatures that defies classification—the hipsters of the mammalian world. On YouTube, you can still watch the last thylacine pace around its tiny enclosure, then stand on its hind legs—almost kangaroo-like—pawing at its cage. Since the animal went extinct in 1936, repeated “sightings” in the Tasmanian wilderness have created a persistent mythology around the peculiar creature.
By Jake Schindler April 12, 2012
Hey, Discovery Channel! Pick a better animal, dammit
When I heard the Voice was publishing a shark-themed issue, I felt a sense of dread usually reserved for those dismal seven days of August programming on the Discovery Channel. I despise sharks, and I despise Shark Week. I’m not trying to be an obnoxious contrarian (if I were, I’d write about how and why I never read the Harry Potter books), and I’m not above enjoying even the most exploitative of animal-themed cable shows (which is surely Animal Planet’s Too Cute). But sharks just plain bore me, and they’re close to the bottom of my list of animals that deserve a week of programming. I don’t want sharks shoved down my throat any longer, unless they’re in the form of delicious shark fin soup.
By Jake Schindler March 29, 2012
Neeson’s on Team Jacob
The odd phenomenon of Liam Neeson as an action franchise star doesn’t quite make sense, but it is undeniably fun to watch. He assailed his victims with both brawn and brogue in 2008’s Taken, and continues this rampage in his latest flick, The Grey. Directed by Joe Carnahan (The A-Team), The Grey is a survival thriller that builds steadily before ultimately falling flat, proving there are limits to the novelty of Neeson as a bona fide ass kicker.
By Jake Schindler January 26, 2012
Tinkered and tailored to perfection
Though Intro to International Relations professors may paint the Cold War as a nostalgic period of simple bipolarity, in Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, the period’s politics were anything but straightforward. The Cold War of British novelist and retired spy John le Carré is dizzyingly complex, and offers no reassurances of the West’s moral superiority. Swedish director Tomas Alfredson is the latest to take on le Carré’s work, adapting his novel Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy into a film with a star-studded cast led by Gary Oldman. Thankfully, Alfredson abandons none of the book’s complexity in this stylish, throwback spy flick.
By Jake Schindler December 1, 2011
50/50 balances heartbreak with humor
If you caught a TV commercial for 50/50, you’d be forgiven for expecting standard Judd Apatow-esque fare with a macabre plot twist—spinal cancer—providing new and interesting ways for Seth Rogen and company to get laid and/or high. The marketing is a bit of a misrepresentation of the movie’s tone, but it’s not exactly A Walk To Remember, either. Toeing the line between these two emotional extremes is a sincere story about two funny guys confronting a serious disease.
By Jake Schindler September 29, 2011
Not afraid of the Dark
When screenwriter Guillermo del Toro and director Troy Nixey began work on Don’t Be Afraid of the Dark, they set out to make a PG-13 picture. After all, the film is a remake of a 1973 TV movie that, despite its lack of gore, made quite an impression on a young del Toro. The MPAA had other ideas, and ended up giving the film an R rating, because they found it “pervasively scary.” One might consider this a ringing endorsement of the summer’s latest horror venture, but the MPAA was, as expected, terribly wrong. Nixey’s directorial debut is undone by the simple fact that its CGI monsters belong in a comedy, not a supposed fright-fest.
By Jake Schindler August 26, 2011