Tag: Dylan Lemert

Why we need another space race (with ourselves)

By DYLAN LEMERT Columnist @dlemert We’ve come a long way since the humble, utopic vision of the mid-20th century. Refusing to be anymore defined by white picket-fenced yards and clean-pressed suits, our current national opinion of ourselves seems to be gradually shifting south along with our nightly, newsworthy predicaments. When things hit rock bottom, as

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How the king of meta TV got its groove back

By: DYLAN LEMERT Columnist The strange world of television sitcoms, for its overall breeziness and oft-criticized shallow brand of humor, is a curious place to find programming aimed more at genre-bending than good ratings. But in its fifth season, the Dan Harmon helmed “Community,” a show notorious for the way it plays with pop culture

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On both sides, why can’t we come to terms with Bible movies?

By: DYLAN LEMERT Columnist On the tail end of the last weekend-released “Noah” film comes a wave of controversy. In reality, seedlings of this contention were planted months ago when it was divulged that director Darren Aronofsky’s take on the well-known Bible story would be given a spectacularly Hollywood treatment. And with a budget of

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What I learned about technology after taking a look at “Her”

By: DYLAN LEMERT Columnist The central gimmick in Spike Jonze’s new film “Her” — that an adult man would be so lonely and desperate enough as to fall in love with a computer operating system (or an “OS” for short) — is enough to engage or disgust potential audiences right off the bat. Forgive me:

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Switchfoot’s “Fading West,” or how there is beauty in letdown

By: DYLAN LEMERT Columnist “Fading West,” the new album from San-Diego-bred rock band Switchfoot, comes off as less than I expected. I know, I know: “Those guys are still around?” you’re probably thinking. They are, though admittedly they’ve yet to repeat the double platinum success they found in 2003 with “The Beautiful Letdown.” (That album?

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The uniquely futuristic cautionary tale of Dave Eggers

By: DYLAN LEMERT Columnist Dave Eggers’ newest novel is a work of nightmarish proportions. It’s a look at one possible version of a specifically-westernized apocalypse, an overblown tale of what happens when power is first given an inch, but takes a mile. “The Circle,” both the title of the novel and the name of the

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