Illume Magazine

The Muslim Next Door: The Qur'an, the Media, and that Veil Thing

Mon, 17 Nov. 2008 11:24:09 PST

What if you could sit down at a kitchen table with an American Muslim mom and ask her anything you wanted about her faith and religious practice?

Slumdog Millionaire

Thu, 13 Nov. 2008 02:29:33 PST

The best move of the year (so far) wears its Dickensian spirit and soaring optimism shamelessly and proudly on its tattered, slumdog sleeves.

Danny Boyle's cinematic triumph demands and requires the audience to immediately believe in destiny. One that has already written the fated union of two slumdog lovers, Jamal and Latika, from an abundant inkwell overflowing with all the vibrancy, chaos, joy, despair and hope that defines modern day India.

Traitor

Sat, 08 Nov. 2008 04:54:08 PST

Like its protagonist, the movie Traitor exists with conflicting loyalties and a fleeting sense of fidelity to its honorable, yet ultimately porous, intentions. The Don Cheadle-headed action/thriller, co-written by comedian/playwright Steve Martin and director Jeffrey Nachmanoff, inelegantly attempts to combine cardboard, blockbuster plot mechanics with the important, philosophical musings of a complicated post 9-11 world.

Sex In The City

Sat, 08 Nov. 2008 04:41:08 PST

Driving to the “Sex and the City: The Movie” premiere, I felt like Morgan Spurlock, the director of “Super Size Me” who foolishly consumed fast food for 30 days; a man voluntarily condemning himself to masochistic pain for sake of a cultural experiment. Even before entering, the publicity coordinator, who knows me and the other frequent movie critics, said, “Dude, you’re like one of 6 guys in the entire movie theatre.”

Indiana Jones And The Kingdom Of The Crystal Skull

Sat, 08 Nov. 2008 04:08:25 PST

“How much of human life is lost in wait,” muses a character towards the end of the highly anticipated, twenty years in the making Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull.

Although I lack the wisdom to answer the philosophical question, after watching the premiere of the sequel, however, I can say much of the original wit and frenetic energy of the series is lost in a muddled and confused screenplay.

How Does it Feel to be a Problem: Being Young and Arab in America

Mon, 25 Aug. 2008 20:55:02 PST

With his book, How Does it Feel to Be a Problem, author Moustafa Bayoumi writes about Arabs coping with their home, the United States, turning their back on them in this post 9/11 world we live in.

Tropic Thunder

Wed, 13 Aug. 2008 03:57:48 PST

Introducing Alpa Chino’s Booty Sweat: A new energy drink.

Now, if you were to see a very well made, faux trailer promoting a cartoonish, hyper-sexualized rapper’s version of “Red Bull” known as “Booty Sweat” and you laugh, then this movie is for you. If this confounds you and leaves you flabbergasted with disgust and outrage, then please, for the love of God, go see Kit Kittredge. Ben Stiller’s new movie is an absurd, violent, gleefully politically incorrect and at times uproariously funny skewering of Hollywood, War movies and pretentious thespian egos.

The Dark Knight Ascends

Sat, 19 July 2008 06:02:23 PST

The Dark Knight boldly deconstructs and resurrects the superhero movie, confidently allowing the comic book genre to soar beyond superficial assumptions and transcend new heights as a legitimate, epic, philosophical narrative. The highly anticipated sequel to Batman Begins is surely not without its faults and not quite a “masterpiece,” but nonetheless it rightfully breaks new ground in tackling the much derided and mocked “comic” culture with a mature, intense sophistication; one that refuses to carelessly disavow the question, “What if a billionaire really did fight crime dressed like a giant bat?” Talented and intelligent filmmaker Christopher Nolan answers the question as philosophical meditation on morality, with an ethical code and moral boundaries as defining the nature of heroism and identity all amidst the vast backdrop of an old fashioned crime “epic” – oh, and with tons of massive explosions and excellent special effects, too.

Wanted

Sun, 29 June 2008 04:49:28 PST

WANTED is a relentless, kick ass summer action movie that succeeds where most summer entries have failed: it actually entertains. To truly enjoy the graphic novel adaptation, one must suspend logic, desire for a meaningful plot, emotional depth and aversions to violence and CGI blood. It’s pure cotton candy - eye popping, visceral, action packed entertainment thoroughly well delivered by successful Russian director, Timur Bekmambetov [Director of Russia's most lucrative movie franchise Night Watch and Day Watch, two ludicrous, off the wall, yet very enjoyable and well made fantasy-action oddities.]

Warriors Of God

Fri, 13 June 2008 03:13:32 PST

Acclaimed scholar and writer, James Reston Jr., sometimes writes fiction, sometimes non-fiction, and sometimes he combines both; and it is in this book that he successfully infuses both elements of writing ability: his mastery of medieval history with his ability to write a thrilling narrative. The author has lectured widely in the United States and overseas on the millennium and the Crusades, citing their relevance to modern issues. He has been a fellow at the American Academy in Rome, a scholar in residence at the Library of Congress, and is currently a senior scholar at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars in Washington.