Email Author Pete Vonder Haar

2013 Stories by Pete Vonder Haar

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  Tracing the Immediate Aftermath of the Kennedy Assassination in Parkland

  published October 2, 2013

  "What a shitty place to die." Whatever your feelings about Dallas, that's a pretty harsh assessment. Then again, the character in... More >>

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  Grisly Manila Street Crime Meets Political Corruption in the Engaging and Surprising On the Job

  published September 25, 2013

  It's a familiar problem for the criminal element: You need to rub your enemies out, but those pesky police always end up apprehending your... More >>

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  Continued Riches for the Rich and a Sobering Message for Everyone Else in Inequality for All

  published September 25, 2013

  The rich get richer, the poor get the picture, as noted U.S. policy experts Midnight Oil once said. And in America at the outset of the 21st... More >>

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  An Odd Family Reunion with Horrific Twists in We Are What We Are

  published September 25, 2013

  As anyone is likely to tell you after spending a long weekend home for the holidays, family can be a chore. And most of us don't even have... More >>

• Red Obsession Gives a Taste of Chinese Wine Mania

  published September 4, 2013

  As such things go, the clash of civilizations between the patrician French winemakers of Bordeaux and the upstart investors of 21st century... More >>

• Spark: A Burning Man Story Shines a Light on Burners But Misses the Shadows

  published August 14, 2013

  We open with a static shot of a shimmering desert, reminiscent of the intro to High Plains Drifter. Instead of Clint Eastwood's... More >>

• Jug Face Keeps it all in the Family

  published August 7, 2013

  The anthropologist Margaret Mead played an instrumental role in dragging America out of its post–WWII frigidity by documenting the... More >>

• Rushlights's Moments of Illumination Quashed by Missteps

  published June 19, 2013

  Film noir is a genre we largely associate with private dicks, feisty dames, and rain-slicked city streets. That is, until somebody decided... More >>

• Babies Aren't For Everyone in The Stroller Strategy

  published June 12, 2013

  Who doesn't love babies? Lots of people, as it happens. Not all of us are cut out for the awesome responsibility and social demise that comes... More >>

• A Green Story Is More Monotonous Than Mythic

  published May 22, 2013

  The American immigrant experience is certainly compelling material for filmmakers, with centuries of rich tradition and robust narrative. Not... More >>

• The Painting is Almost Reminiscent of a Work of Art

  published May 8, 2013

  We spend so much time complaining about the current state of mainstream grown-up cinema—all comic books, sequels, and comic book... More >>

• Desperate Acts of Magic Is A Pleasant Little Film

  published May 1, 2013

  Magicians, as a friend tells Jason (Joe Tyler Gold) in Desperate Acts of Magic, are the "third-most mocked profession," after... More >>

• 1st Night's Ridiculous Script Jumps to Ridiculous Conclusions

  published May 1, 2013

  Opera is a form of entertainment largely performed by and for adults. Most of the better-known works deal with grown-up themes, and it takes... More >>

• Seven Depressing Things About Scary Movie V That Have Almost Nothing to Do with the Movie Itself

  published April 10, 2013

  Picking up a mere seven years after the previous installment, Scary Movie V features no original cast members, no Wayans brothers... More >>

• Tomorrow You're Gone Resolves to Less than the Sum of Its Parts

  published April 3, 2013

  "God and the Devil are the same." So says the crime boss "Buddha," portrayed by Willem Dafoe, in an unintentionally hilarious moment, given... More >>

• Hunky Dory Glams Up the Musical

  published March 20, 2013

  Adolescent angst is mostly insufferable to almost anyone past voting age, and the rebirth of the musical drama, where feelings are condensed... More >>

• The Energy Industry Gets Needled In Greedy Lying Bastards

  published March 6, 2013

  We can speak of climate change with a fair amount of certitude: shrinking Arctic ice cover, rising global temperatures, and the increased... More >>

• The Sweeney: Keeping Up With the Flying Squad

  published February 27, 2013

  The late, great Bill Hicks once made a joke about how Britain's so-called "terrible crime" paled in comparison to the US variety ("Yesterday,... More >>

• Inescapable's Pre-Civil War Syria Seems Almost Quaint

  published February 20, 2013

  Given the current state of affairs in Syria, it's hard not to look at Ruba Nadda's Inescapable as almost quaint, a period piece... More >>

• Texas Chainsaw 3-D

  published January 2, 2013

  Three sequels, a remake, a prequel to the remake, and now another sequel. What is it with chain saw massacres of the Texas variety? This latest... More >>