John Otteni

I made a mockumentary about hunting vampires

Criterion Month Day 6: The Red Shoes

The Red Shoes (1948)

Watching The Red Shoes was like going to school. Like the kind of the film, I’d watch in a class, taking notes, looking for symbolism. This isn’t a film you watch with one hand thrust into a bucket of popcorn and the other a bag of pork rinds—George H.W. Bush’s favorite snack! This is a film you watch with focus, stroking your chin, noticing the small details within the big picture.

Don’t get me wrong, there’s nothing wrong with an academic film going experience. Quite the contrary. The Red Shoes shows a remarkable progression in both art and storytelling. This is a British film from the ‘40s in full color with articulately choreographed dance sequences, powerful music, edited with the precision of yes… an archer. This is The Red Shoes.

Continue reading →

Criterion Month Day 2: The Rules of the Game

The Rules of the Game (1939)

Is it intimidating to write about one of the most critically acclaimed movies of all time after seeing it for the first time? Nah. How many great film critics and historians have already delved into the deepest regions of Jean Renoir’s 1939 classic The Rules of the Game? A lot. So I don’t need to say anything at all. I could easily have read a review by Vincent Canby or Pauline Kael, took their opinions on the film (shared by many) and wrote a review that would be nothing but paragraph after paragraph of agreeing with them. You’d know if I read a Roger Ebert review if I brought up how good the film looks on Laserdisc. But I think I have something unique in my low stakes take on this 20th Century darling. Unique in that I just thought it was good. Not great. Just pretty good. Come at me all you film critic zombies.

Continue reading →

Criterion Month Day 1: The Freshman

The Freshman (1925)

Welcome to Criterion Month! If you are coming into this blog and theme month cold let me give you a quick refresher. For the next thirty-one days, Sean, Colin, and myself will review 31 films in the prestigious Criterion Collection. This is to coincide with Barnes and Noble’s 50% off Criterion sale that happens every July. As a former B&N employee, I can tell you this is a big deal within the film nerd community. Choosing to discuss our selections in chronological order, I present you with this year’s oldest film, the 1925 silent comedy classic The Freshman. Ready, set, FOOTBALL!

Continue reading →

R.I.P. Harlan Ellison

Harlan Ellison died this week and it’s a drag. Harlan Ellison was a mad genius. We hear the word “Genius” thrown around a lot when great artists and entertainers die but I want to emphasize the “mad” part for Ellison. Harlan Ellison was one of the most gifted speculative fiction writers of the 20th century. He was also batshit insane. This was a guy who mailed bricks and dead gophers to editors that pissed him off. A guy who belittled fans that asked him dumb questions and a guy who would sue at the drop of a hat.

Continue reading →

Rokk Talk Ep. 15: Cover Me

You can’t judge an album by its cover. But you can judge an album cover by its album cover. This episode, John and Colin count down some of their favorite rock album covers ever while posing the question of how well an album cover can stand on its own. As well as whether a great album cover requires an abundance of warrior dudes on it to be truly great. Also, on the flipside, they take a brief tour through some of the worst album covers by a few of their favorite artists. Continue reading →

Rokk Talk Ep. 14: I’m the Greatest

To quote former Presidential candidate Herman Cain “I wanna be the very best. Like no one ever was. …” And only the best–or greatest in this case–have what it takes to release a greatest hits album.

This week, Colin and John discuss greatest hits albums. Are they a good way to introduce burgeoning music fans to new artists? Or are they bullshit. Listen and find out.

Click “Continue Reading” to see Colin and John’s Yesterday/Today album recommendations. Rokk on, listeners.

Continue reading →

T3: John’s Top 10 Favorite Posts

Continuing our site’s 10th-anniversary extravaganza, I bring you my Top Ten favorite John Posts. It wasn’t easy going through ten years of reviews, which is why I stopped looking after I found ten I at least liked. Whether or not any of the following posts were actually good is debatable. All I know is they are posts I liked at the time and am not too embarrassed by today. Without further ado…

Continue reading →