编者按:这是每周一篇专栏文章的第一部分。由于拉里·金(Larry King)无法参加每周一次的文化和电影学术评论，我们不得不请了公司内部的电影评论家、前艺术编辑马丁·蔡(Martin Tsai)。这就是生活。你能相信夏天已经过去了吗?对于暑期电影和音乐来说，今年的表现并不尽如人意。尽管《碟中谍2》、《x战警》和《角斗士》的总票房超过了1亿美元，但它们不太可能在我们的集体记忆中经受住时间的考验。我们现在不是都厌倦了艾米纳姆吗?今年夏天最令人难忘的事件不是一部大片或一首热门歌曲，而是全民痴迷的《幸存者》。去年春天，一些电影研究专业的学生曾经参与了关于导演主义的硬核辩论，今年秋天，他们也作为《幸存者》的狂热分子回来了。为什么我们这么喜欢《幸存者》?这是一个关于16个像我们一样的普通人的成功和失败的故事——男人和女人，老人和年轻人，聪明和愚蠢，黏糊糊的和天真的。他们不仅要在大自然中生存，也要在彼此之间生存。我们很容易认同那些和我们有相同价值观和工作道德的漂流者。我们支持他们，并通过他们生活。 \n"Survivor" metaphorically reflects on America's cutthroat corporate culture. At first there is healthy competition, then there's a merger. Those who have good work ethics and strong abilities are being eliminated one by one, and the businessman comes out on top. \nNow that "Survivor" is over and the evil fat naked guy Richard is literally rich, what is there for us to look forward to every week? Can we really settle for the bi-weekly banishment of "Big Brother" houseguests until "Survivor: The Australian Outback" comes on? \n"Big Brother" is no "Survivor." Although the show is a big hit around the world, "Big Brother" makes a fatal mistake in this country. If the politicians we elect to run our government are any indication, you can't trust the American public to vote for who get to stay and who get to leave. Those who complain about "Big Brother" being boring only have themselves to blame. \nStill, "Big Brother" is getting more and more interesting as it slowly unfolds. The increasingly subversive mindgames the producer is playing with the houseguests makes great television. Jamie, the beauty queen, is gradually emerging as the "Big Brother" equivalent of Sean, and it's time for us to vote her off the Big Brother house.
独立电影《梦的安魂曲》被美国电影协会评为Nc-17级，达伦·阿罗诺夫斯基备受期待的《少年派》后续作品，已被美国电影协会评为Nc-17级。该片发行商Artisan Entertainment将于10月6日在没有剪辑和评分的情况下上映。这部电影根据休伯特·塞尔比的小说改编，讲述了一群吸毒者的恶性循环。自从今年在戛纳电影节首映以来，《安魂曲》就引起了很大的轰动。从这部电影令人着迷的预告片来看，《安魂曲》似乎是一部更黑暗、更美国化的《猜火车》(Trainspotting)。这个噩梦般的预告片以一组令人不安的图像拼贴为特色，并进行了快速编辑。这当然是在电影中平淡无奇的一年里值得一看的电影之一，谢天谢地，它的发行商有勇气支持导演的愿景。
