Word: schlock
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...kitschy paintings on black velvet, paint-by-numbers, or latch-hook rugs accepted. “Any of the aforementioned may be compelling,” reads the introductory wall text, “but are probably better suited for the Museum of Questionable Taste, the International Schlock Collection, or the National Treasury of Dubious Home Decoration.” Above all, submissions must be sincere attempts to make an artistic statement, not just spoofs competing for the “worst in show” award...
Such a generalization, however, would be misleading. Though “The Road”—adapted from the Pulitzer-Prize winning novel by Cormac McCarthy—fits comfortably into a dark and atmospheric genre of post-disaster film that has recently included such uninspired schlock as “I Am Legend,” it is also quite unlike the films that have preceded it, including Mortensen and Hillcoat’s previous efforts. Eschewing narrative conventions, at least to the extent that big-budget Oscar bait can afford...
...with no crew around, only hidden cameras and surprise explosions. But a couple of things go wrong, and the stars, plus rapper-actor Chino (Brandon T. Jackson) and tyro talent Kevin Sandusky (Jay Baruchel), wander into a real war with actual bad guys and live ammunition. Art meets life; schlock faces imminent death...
...rethinking and transcending of a schlock source, The Dark Knight is up there with David Cronenberg's 1986 version of The Fly. It turns pulp into dark poetry. Just as that movie found metaphors of cancer, AIDS and death in the story of a man devolving into an insect, so this one plumbs the nature of identity. Who are we? Has Bruce lost himself in the myth of the hero? Is his Batman persona a mission or an affliction? Can crusading Dent live down the nickname (Two-Face) some rancorous cops have pinned on him? Only the Joker seems unconflicted...
...decrying Dion's selection as the most egregious example to date of the institution confusing fame with substance. "Has she saved the planet? Found a cure for AIDS? Legalized adoption for gay parents?" asked the weekly magazine Marianne. "Not at all, she represents success." Pinning the decoration on schlock goddess Dion, warned daily France Soir, risked "transforming it into a chocolate medal...