If you didn’t catch True Grit over the holiday season, you may be wondering how it compares to the original. And while you’re at it, you may rediscover a whole genre of film, once one of the most popular in the United States.

Westerns and their rugged landscapes are great vehicles for exploring the thin veil of civilization that covers up violence and they turn on the problems of how (and when) we act. If this list seems a little old, it is. It came from a course I had in college, updated and revised a little since then. Absent are Tombstone, 3:10 to Yuma, and The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada, which I either haven’t seen or can’t remember where they would fit on this list. But here goes, with thanks to John Simons, an English Professor who did a great John Wayne imitation. (more…)

An alumnus from Virginia Tech’s College of Science is making a name for himself while appearing on the game show “Jeopardy!” this week.Roger Craig, from Newark, Del., a 1999 graduate with a double major in biological sciences and biochemistry, broke the one-day total earnings record previously held by Ken Jennings. Jennings eventually went on to earn a spot in the show’s record books by appearing on 74 episodes and winning more than $3 million in 2004. Jennings’ highest one-day total was $75,000. Craig won $77,000 on Tuesday night, giving him a combined two-day total of $114,000.

Radford University alumnus Justin Oliver was awarded the Best Documentary award and finished second in the Audience Choice category at this year’s Highlander Film Festival for his short film on mountaintop removal:

You can check out the other entries on the Highlander Film Festival’s YouTube channel.

The fifth annual French and Francophone film festival, organized by Virginia Tech’s Department of Foreign Languages and Literatures, begins this weekend and will be the featured matinee offering at The Lyric theatre in downtown Blacksburg on Saturdays throughout February. The films are free and open to the public. The films are in the original language version with English subtitles.

The film series is sponsored by the Cercle Francophone in the Department of Foreign Languages and Literatures in the College of Liberal Arts and Human Sciences at Virginia Tech. The Tournées Festival was made possible with the support of the Cultural Services of the French Embassy and the French Ministry of Culture (CNC).

Jan. 30 at 3 p.m. — The Girl from Monaco / La Fille de Monaco
Directed by Anne Fontaine
On the exuberant backdrop of the French Riviera, an ambitious and racy woman overturns the life of a rigid attorney. Fontaine takes the audience from comedy to tragedy in this disturbing film.
2008. Drama. 95 min. Rated R.

Feb. 6 at 3 p.m. – The Secret of the Grain / La Graine et le Mulet
Directed by Abdellatif Kechiche
In the Southern French city of Sète, an immigrant dockworker and divorced father struggles with a sense of failure until he decides to pursue his dream of opening a floating couscous restaurant. An engrossing family drama with elements of social commentary.
2007. Drama. 151 min. Not rated.

Feb. 13 at 3 p.m. – The Beaches of Agnes / Les Plages d’Agnès
Directed by Agnès Varda
Acclaimed French filmmaker Varda revisits the loves and places that fashioned her heart and art in a unique and enchanting autobiographical documentary.
2009. Art film. 110 min. Not rated.

Feb. 20 at 2 p.m. – Being Jewish in France / Comme une Juif en France
Directed by Yves Jeuland
Combining rare archival documents and footage in a sweeping visual feat, this film traces the history of the Jewish population in France – the first country to grant Jews citizenship.
2007. Documentary. 185 min. Not rated.

Feb. 27 at 3 p.m. – Azur and Asmar / Azur et Asmar
Created and Directed by Michel Ocelot.
In a medieval Maghreb wonderland, blue-eyed Azur and dark-eyed Asmar grow up as brothers. Years later they become rivals in a quest for the Djinn-fairy, which only one of them may conquer. In French and Arabic.
2007. Animation. 84 minutes. Rated PG.

One of the most significant demonstrations of pretension and pomposity is to assemble a Top 10 List of some kind and attempt to peddle it as gospel. An even greater display of self-importance is to amass a Top 10 List that cites the presumed “best” of an entire decade. So with that, I snootily submit to you my 10 Best Movies of the ’00s. (more…)

Warning: Some of the embedded video clips are graphic and could be frightening or offensive to some viewers. Watch at your own risk.

Given my lifelong passions for horror and romance, I’ve found myself smitten with a number of characters from horror films over the years. Some of these crushes result from the admiration of courage and perseverance; others are purely superficial. I tend to be more attracted to characters than their aesthetics, although I must confess to finding it difficult to pay attention to the mise-en-scène in Alien when Sigourney Weaver strips down to her undergarments. (I’m only a man.)

To celebrate those standout genre sirens that have so deviously pulled at my heartstrings, I offer the following tributes. (more…)