Few writer-directors today have a pop-culture touch like Joss Whedon, so it’s thrilling to see the helmer of “The Avengers” twist an icon like Pinocchio into Frankenstein’s monster for the superhero team’s sequel. However, it’s not entirely unexpected: The themes…
Penny Dreadful: Horror with a Literary Past
Black- and blue-tinged images unfurl to the low bass of a violin. A rosary. Drops of blood. Tarot cards. A scorpion curling its tail. A scalpel slicing into a cadaver. An insect flailing against a spider’s web. Showtime’s new series…
Ambition, anxiety and sci-fi disasters
Science, literature, and film give life to our dreams but never without consequence, it seems. Every invention, formula, or vision — even with benevolent intentions — has a countertale of tragedy from a lack of forethought or an unchecked ego.…