Posts by Kerri Smith
Kerri Battles the AFI’s Top 100 – #95: The Last Picture Show
Until now, I’d come to regard The Last Picture Show as a mythical creature, sort of like Bigfoot or the Chupacabra. It’s always being hailed or referenced somewhere as though it changed cinema forever, but I’ve never actually met anyone who has seen it in real life. I’ve also never heard it described more specifically than,…
Read MoreKerri Battles the AFI’S Top 100: #96 – Do The Right Thing
This week wasn’t the first time I’d seen Do The Right Thing. As I’ve mentioned before, I have a film degree and this flick is something of a film school darling. I’d been forced to watch it on more than one occasion, each time with explicit instructions to take note of Lee’s use of color and…
Read MoreKerri Battles the AFI’s Top 100 – #97: Blade Runner
I feel the need to be open and honest here, right from the start. There are about 7 different versions of Blade Runner. I could have cheated and chosen the best version available (presumably, “The Final Cut,†which is essentially the director’s cut, but not the one labeled “The Director’s Cut” because, apparently, Ridley Scott had nothing…
Read MoreKerri Battles the AFI’s Top 100 – #98: Yankee Doodle Dandy
Prior to spending all my waking hours studying the titles on the AFI’s Top 100 list (because that’s all I do now, obviously), I had never even heard of Yankee Doodle Dandy. Now, I consider myself something of a film buff and people may have, from time to time, in passing, referred to me as…
Read MoreKerri Battles the AFI’s Top 100: #99 – Toy Story
I had mixed emotions about the placement of this film anywhere on the AFI’s list, to be honest. As much as I’ve enjoyed the film on previous viewings, it’s meant to be a kid’s cartoon … isn’t it? It was advertised as such and certainly aimed towards that demographic. Still, I’ve undertaken a daunting challenge and I…
Read MoreKerri Battles the AFI’s Top 100
Since the American Film Institute released their original and seminal “100 Years … 100 Movies” list in 1997, I’ve been meaning to work my way through the full list. It felt like a challenge any film buff worth her salt should be able to accomplish in no time. Ten years later, the AFI released an…
Read MoreListen, Fellas, I Don’t Get It Either – Dance Moms
The Abby Lee Dance Company is apparently the studio in the Pittsburgh area for all aspiring dancers to hone their craft and achieve the dream of dancing on Broadway or at a Disney park or Disney cruise or wherever else one might get paid to dance that doesn’t involve a pole, I guess. This also…
Read MoreListen, Fellas, I Don’t Get It Either – The Real Housewives Of….
In 2006, Bravo started airing The Real Housewives of Orange County, a sculpted reality series that follows a group of wealthy, ostensibly beautiful women who are all friends because of their shared interests in money, plastic surgery, and day-drinking on weekday afternoons, when they are least likely to be faced with the grotesque sight of…
Read MoreListen, Fellas, I Don’t Get It Either – Veronica Mars
In the mid-90s, wealthy film producers realized that creating a broadcast network whose sole purpose was to pander to the whims of teen girls would be a lucrative venture. These (most likely) men were both brilliant and careless, and so, The WB was created. The flaws in this plan began to present themselves roughly 3…
Read MoreListen, Fellas, I Don’t Get It Either – Grey’s Anatomy
LISTEN FELLAS… In which Kerri tackles (as a female writer) the kind of content that’s marketed only to females. I remember when the term “chick-flick” started cropping up. It started out as an epithet of sorts to be used solely towards tear jerkers about middle aged women and particularly terrible romantic comedies with plots…
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