Toward the Freedom of America: Casablanca 

|John Costello| Two-thirds of the way through Casablanca (1942), the action pauses in Rick’s Café Américain to dwell on three minor characters seated at one of the tables. Instead of another scene involving a pickpocket or a musical number advancing the story, the camera lingers on an elderly couple, the Leuchtags. Carl, a waiter… Continue reading

A (Former) Musical Hater Finally Hears The Sound of Music

|Chris Ryba-Tures| It’s taken me a long, long time to admit this to myself: hating stuff isn’t very cool. Hating something, especially when you make that hate part of your personality, a talking point at parties, a fulcrum to get a rise out of folks, is pretty tedious, exhausting, and boring, isn’t it? Continue reading

The Father, the Son, and the Holy Grail

|Lucas Hardwick| ***Only the penitent man will admit to and apologize for the spoilers ahead.*** The condition of the nine-year-old boy is a defining time for a kid, let alone an entire generation from that point forward. Teetering on the precipice of adolescence, still too young to be… Continue reading

History’s Greatest Puzzle Room in which the Prize is Punching Nazis: Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade

|Allison Vincent| When we first started dating, my wife worked at a puzzle room in St. Paul, MN. One of the many perks of such a venture is that I got to play-test rooms occasionally. One such room was heavily influenced by a certain wizarding world created by She-Who-Must-Not-… Continue reading

Indiana Jones and the Korean Barbecue Fried Chicken IPA

|Lucas Hardwick| The views expressed in the article regarding Doritos, flavored booze, and India Pale Ales do not reflect those of the (volunteer) staff of Trylon Cinema, Perisphere Blog, most of Portland, Austin, Louisville, Jeremy S. from Junior year 21st Century Class at Hopkins… Continue reading

The Great Dictator: What Else is There to Say?

|Brad Bellatti| For the better part of 15 years, the above image of Chaplin has bothered me. No matter how many times I watch this sequence, the finale of Charlie Chaplin’s The Great Dictator (1940) shakes me up. I’ve tried many times to find the right words to express this sentiment… Continue reading